The Guns of Ridgewood, A Western of Modern America

The Guns of Ridgewood, A Western of Modern America, is Aaron Cooley’s third novel and the second one reviewed in this blog. I kid you not, and excuse my graphic image, but except for occasionally attending to bodily functions, I did not put this book down until I read the last page.

Cooley opened his book with a brief and chilling prologue:

           

            They rode in silence, their mission heavy on their souls.

            And on their minds, the horrific events for which this was to be their response.

            They knew vengeance could never be achieved like in the stories they once told their children,

            but believed this was the only quest that might bring quiet to their pain.

            Only a soul as tortured as their own would have any prayer of stopping them.

And then in his first chapter, Cooley told the story of the bloody and successful assault against a Congressman and his family, a week after a similar assault had occurred against a Congresswoman and her family. The assailants in both case left their weapons to be discovered, as if they were leaving a message. Cooley had this reader in his grip from that point, and he never let go until this political drama had been told.

Yet another Congressman, Homer Blunt, thought he might be the next target, and it was his decision to bring in Clayton “Sour” Manco, who had previously been the lead agent for the FBI’s High Value Targets team. But, he had left the FBI with a stain on his reputation and had deteriorated into a deep depression and deeper alcoholism. Blunt knew that Manco was the guy to protect him if he could just get him off the juice and focused on the task at hand.

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The author skillfully advanced his story with complimentary characters while occasionally giving the hungry reader some details about Manco’s backstory. The timing of the story development was perfect. I can tell you that the author was writing about a crucial and current political topic that is quite real, but I don’t want to give away the plot. I gave his other novel Four Seats great praise, and this master storyteller has done it again.

Note the reference to this blog on the cover of the book - how cool is that?!

Four Seats by Aaron Cooley

Scroll down a few reviews for West Coast Don's review where he called me out to read this in part because it's based in my not-so-humble hometown of Washington, DC.

The new session of the US Supreme Court begins the first Monday in October. Jason Lancaster, a former 'combat engineer' in Afghanistan (he blew things up), is part of the police force for the Supreme Court (didn't know they had their own cops, did you?) whose main squeeze is his boss, Miranda Whitney. They are out on the Sunday before the first Monday. Neither drinks, but Jason is feeling tipsy. After a raucous night back at his place, he wakes up hungover, late for work on this important day, and Miranda gone. She's the top cop so she can't be late.

But being late means he wasn't blown up with four of the justices and 120 assorted employees and visitors that morning, including Miranda. As one of the only employees to survive, Jason is suspect #1. Homeland Security investigator George Aug questions Jason and after a lengthy interrogation believes him even to the point of allowing Jason to look at one unexploded ordinance. With the help of Miranda's struggling hi-techy brother, Ollie, they learn the attack was triggered by a cell phone call that came from Detroit. Jason hustles off for Michigan.

Meanwhile . . .

The current President, Antonio Salas (America's first Latino President) must quickly fill four seats. The immediate former POTUS (Reginald Irving) and FLOTUS (Rosemarie) offer their services to navigate the political waters to get the seats filled and get the court back in business. In reality, this book is about the political savvy of the FLOTUS.

Cooley thus presents, essentially, two parallel stories that will, of course, eventually intersect. The hunt for the bombers and the politics behind Presidential appointments. I read one review that equated this to the TV show 24 and the Netflix series House of Cards. While I also thought of the House of Cards comparison, I hadn't come up with 24 only because Jason isn't as forceful and undeniably righteous as Jack Bauer (at least in Jack's own mind).

Both stories are riveting on their own merits, making this a big read (nearly 700 pages), but I highly doubt many will find that overwhelming.

Despite my recommendation and WCDs endorsement, after the introduction of about the 50th-ish character, I started to picture some editor, or committee of editors,  tinkering with who the characters were in order to meet some list of necessary traits in order to check as many items as possible on the  political agenda list. To wit:
Hispanic President? check
Likable, but lustful former President? check
Behind the scenes FLOTUS as the real brains behind the First Family? check
American Indian? check (the guy vetting potential candidates)
Asian American? check (ghost writer of a biography of one of the potential candidates)
Hero of the war on terror? check (one of the candidates)
Homosexual themes? check (the same candidate)
Rape victims? check (no spoilers from me)
Military coverup of sexual harassment? check (see above)

See what I mean? Plus there were a couple of details that only a sports nut like me might see. For example, in a former life, President Salas, even though he was born in the USA, was a GK in South America and played in the Copa Libertadores (the South American version of the Champions League) against Boca Juniors (Argentina). Really? How does a pro GK down there climb to the pinnacle of US politics? That's a stretch. Or the Justice who played linebacker in college and won the Heisman Trophy? Another stretch. But those don't detract from the story; just details that a small fraction might spot.

WCD said this has been optioned to Hollywood. IMHO, this would not make a good movie. Too much story for the typical 2hr flick. But it would make a good special series along the lines of True Detective, or The Killing, et al.

ECD

Four Seats

Four Seats is Aaron Cooley’s second novel, and this is a remarkable thriller. The premise is that someone has blown up the Supreme Court building with four of the justices inside, all of whom were killed along with more than 100 other people. Cooley spins an incredible conspiracy tale, in a six-part novel, of the solving of the crime and the intrigue behind the replacement of the four murdered justices. This one is a barnburner, and given that it takes place in DC, I know East Coast Don will be on it in no time – I’m sure he’ll give a more comprehensive review. Jason Lancaster is the compelling protagonist. In setting up the story, Cooley jumps forward and backward in time from one subplot to the next, in a way that works. This one gets my strongest recommendation. Just to whet your appetite, see this promo from Amazon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut-J7_r1O5Q. Rumor has it that the film rights have already been sold.