The Patriots' Club (Hardcover)

After a brief trip back in time to the end of the War of Indpendence and the founding of the titular 'Club' story proper opens with Tom Bolden, street orphan turned successful Wall Street exec being mugged on his way back from a gala dinner in his honour. Except it rapidly becomes apparent that he isn't the victim of random street crime. Instead he has been deliberately targeted by a shadowy organisation who as well as being remarkably well funded also have links to the highest levels of the US administration. Apparently they have come to believe that Bolden is working against them, and are out to silence him.

Except that Tom fights back. Even when they destroy his reputation, frame him for murder and threaten his life and the lives of those he loves the long buried street fighter inside him will not give up. With help from suprising sources Tom struggles to clear his name, uncover the truth behind the conspiracies he is caught up in and reveal the true perpetrators. In doing so he uncovers secrets about American history, the Government, Wall Street and himself and reveals a plot that stretches could change history and is intimately tied in with a the secret cabal known as the Patriots' Club.

After books dealing with the DotCom boom (The First Billion) and the war on terror (The Devil's Banker) Christopher Reich has turned his hand to crafting a conspiracy theory that looks at the pertinent issue of ever closer connections between business and government. In a time when the Vice President of the USA is a former head of Haliburton, one of the companies profiting most from the War on Terror, and the Presidentcounted amongst his closest advisors the head of Enron prior to its collapse this is yet another 'hot button issue' that he is dealing with.

As usual however, Reich wraps serious issues up in a convoluted thriller so that the reader is hardly aware of the serious points and questions that underlie events on the page. This is something he has a rare talent for and does extremely well. The Patriot's Club is not his best novel. Personally I believe The Runner takes that honour. It is however, up to his usual standard.

The plot as it unfolds is complex, with multiple twists and turns. There are back stories and sub-plots that go back thirty plus years or more and multiple characters to deal with. Facts about the fictious world in which the book is set (a female President about to be sworn in) are introduced in passing as part of the narrative rather than in chunks of clear exposition. There is little dramatic irony, with readers discovering facts as the protagonists do. This is a book that demands attention and concentration in order to follow events.

At the core however, are the trials and tribulations of Tom Bolden, and it is this part of the book that truly feels like a throwback to the conspiracy thrillers of the 70's. All the ingredient's are there. A young, innocent male protagonist (a Robert Redford type) is caught up in a hidden conspiracy, has his life destroyed and has to fight back against the forces of government arrayed against him. In doing so he reveals a threat to democracy at the very heart of government. Its well done and hugely evocative of earlier stories dealing with similar ideas.

If there are any weaknesses to the book they would be in the characters themselves. Whilst Tom Bolden is a plucky hero with hidden strength, he's also not a hugely sympathetic character. You don't warm to him and so you're never 100% engaged with his struggle. Other characters are warmer and easier to associate with, such as Detective Franciscus, but many are too sketchily drawn to do more than service the plot. This is a consequence of of having a story where so packed with incidence.

To call the denoument complex would be an understatement. As events unfold and more secrets are revealed matters become ever more complex. One or two fewer twists might even have improved things as the final few chapters are so busy some revelations push disbelief to breaking point.

Overall however, The Patriots' Club is another winner from Christopher Reich. Its not the most accessible thriller in the world and may leave some scratching their heads, but its both contemporary and at the same time a wonderful homage to stories from a past decade. If you like multiple twists and a strong sense of paranoia then you will enjoy this book.

Recommended.