“Mounting Fears” by Stuart Woods (Putnam)

The third President Will Lee, Washington Thriller

President Will Lee is having a rough week. His vice president just died during surgery. Confirmation hearings for the new vice president are under way, but the squeaky-clean governor whom Will has nominated may have a few previously unnoticed skeletons in his closet. And Teddy Fay, the rogue CIA agent last seen in Shoot Him If He Runs, is plotting his revenge on CIA director Kate Rule Lee — the president’s wife.

Plus there are some loose nukes in Pakistan that might just trigger World War III if Will’s diplomatic efforts fall short. It’s up to President Lee — with some help from Holly Barker, Lance Cabot, and a few other Stuart Woods series regulars — to save the world, and the upcoming election.

This is the third novel by Woods that focuses on Will Lee’s presidency (after The Run and Capital Crimes). It maintains the relentless pacing of the first two novels, but it unfortunately doesn’t address some of the issues I found with the previous books in the series – in fact, the flaws are more pronounced. Entertaining, but thin and ultimately unsatisfying.

[There are spoilers in this review – they were unavoidable, due to my chagrin at how the story played out.]

“Capital Crimes” by Stuart Woods (Signet/Penguin)

A ideologically-motivated serial killer in DC?

When a prominent conservative politician is killed inside his lakeside cabin, authorities have no suspect in sight. And two more seemingly different deaths might be linked to the same murderer. From a quiet D.C. suburb to the corridors of power to a deserted island hideaway in Maine, Will, his CIA director wife, Kate, and the FBI will track their man, set a trap-and await the most dangerous kind of quarry, a killer with a cause to die for...

This is the second novel in Stuart Woods’s Will Lee series that I’ve read, and I blitzed through it quicker than my first, The Run. It’s tightly plotted, engaging and extremely fast-paced. Despite not focusing on politics quite as much as I would have liked, this novel is very enjoyable, and I was hooked from the very beginning.

“The Run” by Stuart Woods

An unexpected, lightning-fast Presidential Campaign thriller

A respected senator from Georgia, Will Lee has loftier aspirations. But a cruel stroke of fate thrusts him onto the national stage unexpectedly, and long before he’s ready for a national campaign.

The road to the White House will be more treacherous – and deadly – than Will can imagine. A courageous and principled man thrust into the spotlight, he suddenly finds himself the target of clandestine enemies who will use all their money and influence to stop him... dead.

Now Will Lee isn’t just running for president, he’s running for his life.

I’m not really sure what made me pick this up when I did. I’d been reading lots of fantasy and science fiction, and I think I just needed something different. I’d also just finished watching West Wing again, so was in the mood for an American political thriller. The Run is by no means a perfect novel, but it does exactly what we want a thriller to do, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.