Imposters of Patriotism

Ted Richardson

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1499175884 ISBN 13 : 9781499175882

Editeur : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Revue de presse :

A fun read from an author worth watching.

Richardson makes his assured fiction debut with a thriller that questions the actions of one of America's most towering figures. When Matt Hawkins, an antiques dealer in Savannah, Georgia, finds a diary hidden inside an old atlas, he has no idea that it will reveal that George Washington wrote a letter of surrender during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. The letter was drafted but never reached its intended recipient, thereby allowing the Americans to continue their fight and claw back to victory. Hawkins realizes the implications of this revelation and enlists the help of a local scholar and her history-buff father to help him investigate the diary's claims and eventually go searching for the letter. At the same time, a rising presidential candidate whose lineage traces directly back to George Washington has staked his campaign on the image of the founding father. When his operatives learn of Hawkins' discovery, they dispatch ruthless agents to ensure the documents never become public. The two parties meet with explosive consequences. The narrative toggles between the present and past, revealing the circuitous path the letter took as the main characters gather clues to determine its final resting place. Anyone familiar with the recent glut of historical revisionist thrillers will find a lot that is familiar in Richardson's novel, but that doesn't diminish the simple pleasure of a well-told story. This one is complete with genre touchstones like a dashing academic, a deformed villain, a charmingly rumpled hero and a secretive society. The novel is consistently exciting. Readers will find a page-turning read filled with likable characters and enough real history to make it all feel believable.

This could signal the arrival of a welcome new voice in the genre.

 - Kirkus Reviews

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Savannah, Georgia antiques store owner Matt Hawkins discovers a two-hundred-year-old journal containing a stunning accusation. The journal claims that America’s most revered hero, George Washington, wrote a secret surrender letter to the British during the Revolutionary War—a seditious act that would have ended America’s fight for independence. Meanwhile, the present-day race for president of the United States is a dead heat. The Republican nominee, a direct descendant of Washington’s family, has shamelessly exploited his ties to the Founding Father—a strategy that has worked brilliantly to eliminate a once wide gap in the polls. As the past collides with the present, Hawkins and lovely historian Sarah Gordon are determined to unearth the truth about the journal’s remarkable claim. But they must avoid a shadowy adversary who has a billion dollars riding on the election’s outcome—and who will stop at nothing to ensure that Washington’s surrender letter remains a secret. Ted Richardson’s debut novel can perhaps best be described as historical fiction wrapped inside a modern-day mystery. Richardson ingeniously blends actual historical events with innovative mystery to create a fast-moving, well-plotted tale of suspense.