January 6, 2003
Matheson brings all the skills one would expect of an experienced actor to Buckley's latest romp. In a story that's equal parts satire and courtroom drama, Buckley (Thank You for Smoking) slings barbs at lawyers, politicos and Washington's social elite. After President Ken MacMann returns from a lusty night in the Lincoln Bedroom with actress Babette Van Anka, his wife, Elizabeth, hurls insults and a priceless Paul Revere spittoon at him. When MacMann is found dead the next morning with the word "Revere" embossed on his forehead, the first lady becomes the prime suspect. Buckley lays his cards openly on the table: one lawyer is nicknamed "Shameless," while another's last name is Crudman. And Matheson captures them all, whether rendering Shameless Baylor's mock indignation at being refused a preposterous motion or evoking the arrogant commentary on a show called Hard Gavel. He also does excellent turns as the flighty, would-be Middle East peace activist Van Anka, a host of other witnesses and the no-nonsense judge who tries to keep the Trial of the Millennium in check. This may not be the year's most substantive audio, but with a plot that seems just crazy enough to be true and a crisp performance by Matheson, it never fails to entertain. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover (Forecasts, July 29).
June 1, 2002
In a spoof that bears absolutely no resemblance to real-life characters, First Lady Beth McManus (so ice cool she is dubbed Lady Beth Mac) is charged with the murder of her womanizing husband.
Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2002
" Forbes FYI" columnist Buckley knows Washington politics and uses them to good effect in this outrageous and witty whodunit. When philandering President Ken MacMann is found dead, his bossy wife, Beth, irreverently dubbed Lady Bethmac by the press, is charged with his murder. To represent her, Beth hires her law school sweetheart Boyce "Shameless" Baylor, known for getting even the most deplorable defendants acquitted. Trouble is, the new White House definitely wants to put Lady Bethmac in her place, and what better way than with a guilty verdict? If all of these characters sound familiar, just wait until you meet the ineffectual VP who succeeds MacMann; the groveling, power-hungry journalists who run with rumors; the plethora of defense attorneys acting as talking heads; and the courtroom judge who just wants to come out of the case not looking like a fool. Thankfully, Boyce and Beth turn out to be adequately likable characters whose personas are more media-made than true to life. A wild romp of silliness and irreverence that's sure to please political junkies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)
July 29, 2002
A tinted review in adult Forecasts indicates a book that's of exceptional importance to our readers but hasn't received a starred or boxed review. NO WAY TO TREAT A FIRST LADY Christopher Buckley. Random, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-375-50734-5 The lurid sexual excesses that dominated presidential politics in the late '90s provide plenty of comic fodder for Buckley's latest satire, which doubles as a legal thriller that begins when President Ken MacMann is found dead in bed next to his wife after a vigorous night in a White House guest room with his latest mistress, film star Babette Van Anka. First lady Elizabeth MacMann—whose tabloid nickname is Lady Bethmac—is first on the suspect list, largely because she bopped Ken with an antique spittoon after his latest infidelity, leaving a bruise that spelled out Paul Revere's name on the late presidential forehead. Beth quickly hires an expensive, successful legal gun named Boyce "Shameless" Baylor, who also happens to be an old flame, and Baylor wades into the sordid mess, using the well-established tactics of tabloid trials to steer his client toward reasonable doubt. But Beth gets cocky after his initial success and insists on taking the stand to clear her reputation, a tactic that backfires so badly that Baylor is forced to resort to jury tampering to try to force a mistrial. Buckley has to use some obvious narrative clichés to get Baylor and MacMann out of the mess after they rekindle their romance, but the good news is that this book is more plot driven than Buckley's earlier satires, making it more coherent and effective over the long haul. The political humor is first-rate as usual, as Buckley has plenty of fun with the slimy, silly mess that is Beltway politics. This is one of his better efforts, which should keep Buckley on the "A" list of American satirists. Author appearances in New York and Washington, D.C.
September 1, 2002
The first lady of Buckley's latest satire (after Little Green Men and Thank You for Smoking) is Elizabeth "Lady Beth Mac" MacMann, wife of President Kenneth Kemble MacMann. Kenneth, whose morals are as unreliable as a granny knot, meets an untimely death two and half years into his first term. Indicted for his murder, Elizabeth hires as her defender the one and only Boyce "Shameless" Baylor, to whom she had once been affianced. Elizabeth doesn't wear the widow's weeds long before she and her hotshot legal adviser get together for some unprotected fun in bed, with unintended but not unusual results. In strict story terms, the novel is a long tease-how many witnesses and how much testimony do we have to hear before finding out what really happened that fateful night in September? But it's worth the wait. The book is shot through with a particularly mordant vein of social satire and mocks the ludicrousness of modern life, something to which we've become numb. This should be on your list, near the top. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/02.]-A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.