Review for "The President is Missing" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

Rating: 3 stars

This was definitely not my preferred genre - I don't normally read thrillers, and this is literally the first political thriller I've ever read. I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging the story was. I expected to feel a little bit lost, and more than a little bit bored, but I followed everything that was happening and I found the plot intriguing. I think there was a logical flow of events, and I really appreciated the first person POV so that you could get inside the mind and decision-making process of President Duncan. Speaking of President Duncan, I think that even though we could hear his thoughts, the authors still did a very good job of keeping him politically neutral. After finishing the book, I wouldn't be able to tell you for certain if Duncan was republican/democrat. Maybe he was extremely moderate, I don't know. In any case, I really appreciate the neutrality and the avoidance of polarization.

You must be wondering, after my previous statements, why only 3 stars then? I do of course have several criticisms of this book, and considering their number and magnitude, it's pretty impressive that the intrigue of the plot was able to bring the rating up to 3 stars. I listened to this book on audiobook (and every time I read audiobooks, I can't/don't go to the effort of bookmarking/annotating), so I don't have specific examples of everything I am going to be discussing, but I can point out some general grievances.

1. The audiobook
This audiobook... was not good. There were 4-5 different narrators for different POVs. The main character (President Duncan), voiced by the narrator that read the grand majority of the book, was not bad, but it was definitely difficult to understand what he was saying at times. His voice was very low and gruff, so some words did not come out clearly, especially when he would get quieter at the end of sentences, usually at the end of chapters. There were two other consistent narrators that didn't take up near as many chapters, but they were horrible. Truly. They were completely monotone, and the female one actually sounded like a robot, like Siri. The man was also very monotone and robotic. On top of this, the female character had a music theme in her backstory, so they would play classical music on top of her narration, and sometimes I couldn't hear a thing she said! In short, just read the physical copy of the book because you won't gain anything from the audiobook.

2. The political agenda
I mentioned previously that President Duncan was a very politically neutral president protagonist, and while this is true, it doesn't mean that there weren't clear political messages forced onto the reader. This is ESPECIALLY obvious in the last chapter when Duncan gives his speech to the public, where he just throws in literally every political topic out there that have nothing to do with the terrorist attack: immigration, racism, education, so many others. Honestly, the book felt like Bill Clinton was trying to redo his presidency in a fictional situation, to do everything better and have approval ratings and success that he didn't have a ton of during his time in office IRL. I'm just saying, I think it's pretty clear this book was written by a politician. A lot of President Duncan's internal monologuing didn't add to the story, but it was merely an outlet for the authors to get their political opinions out in the open. I also think there are clear connections to Bill Clinton's life in general, and it's a little bit cringe-worthy to read them, like I'm intruding on his personal affairs (no pun intended). President Duncan is very adamant about avoiding scandal, something Bill Clinton was unable to do in his presidency, plus the authors completely cut out President Duncan's wife in the story which I find curious... Also, President Duncan talks a lot about his love for his daughter, which is all good and fine, but every time I read about it I just pictured Chelsea, and it made me a little bit uncomfortable.

3. Thrill factor
As I mentioned, this was my first political thriller and it did exceed my expectations in terms of its fast pace and intriguing plot. However, I thought the plot twist was just a bit too predictable; I had it picked out less than halfway through the book. Also, I think the title of the book is misleading. I expected the book to actually be about how the president is missing, but it was really more about a cyberterrorist attack on the United States, plus espionage and political scandal and all that good stuff. I didn't think this plot was bad by any means, I just don't think the title was right for it.

Overall, I recommend this book for people who like fast-paced political thrillers (Tom Clancy, James Patterson obviously, etc.), but if you're more into the creepy Gillian Flynn/Paula Hawkins type of thriller, this probably is not for you. If you do decide you want to read this book, remember: the physical book is so pretty, just read that instead of listening to the audiobook!