The Candidate

"If all thrillers were written as smoothly, as unpredictably, tense, and thrilling as THE CANDIDATE, I'd be reading all day and night and would probably be out of a job." -- Strand magazine Jack Hodges, a little-known US presidential candidate, knows his campaign is on its last legs. As he speaks at a rally in Iowa, a shot rings out. He survives the attempt on his life, and the incident finally propels Hodges to the front pages. Police arrest the would-be assassin, but she refuses to say a single word about who she is, or why she wanted Hodges dead. Entered outspoken campaign manager, Dee Babineaux, who seizes the momentum to get Hodges elected, and soon electrifies a nation with her candidate's qualities. But she knows it's vital to keep the mystery of the assassination attempt quiet, and that task falls to Make Sweeney, the true believe in Hodges' cause. Trying to outsmart journalists who are on the trail of for the truth, Sweeney's journey uncovers more and more disturbing information. Can he keep a devastating secret from being exposed, and if he does, will it mean the wrong man gets elected to the nation's highest office? THE CANDIDATE. Nothing stays buried. Not even the dead. "An addictive page-turner. This one is a winner." -- Craig Hickman, international bestselling author of THE INSIDERS About the AuthorPAUL HARRIS is a US Correspondent for the British newspapers The Observer and The Guardian. He lives in New York and writes about all aspects of American political and cultural life. The 2012 race is the third US presidential election he has covered, including 2008’s epic primary battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Prior to being posted in the US, Harris was a journalist in Britain and Africa. He has covered conflicts in Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Burundi and South Africa. His experiences covering the civil war in Sierra Leone formed the inspiration for his first novel, THE SECRET KEEPER. He is glad to have swapped writing about war zones for the equally exotic but slightly less life-threatening world of American politics.