The idea of political strategy comes around the basis of power and the intention of how secrets are prepared. With "The Short Drop" [Matthew FitzSimmons/Thomas & Mercer/397pgs], the tendency rests in perception and how different characters see their part in their own story. The lead character Gibson Vaughn is built in an interesting way since most of what is shown in terms of character is reflexive backwards in terms of story structure. It tells the story of him growing up with his father Duke who was the right hand man for a power Senator, Benjamin Lombard. As we see twenty years later, Lombard has become the vice president and seems a shoo-in to become the next president. But that is not what is focusing Vaughn, who tried to take Lombard down as a hacker years earlier because he believed the Senator somehow drove his father to suicide. We see the aftermath of Vaughn: the betrayal, the trial, him going into the Marines and getting divorced after having a kid. His path is one of talent but also wrong angles. The crux of the story is the Senator’s daughter Suzanne nicknamed Bear. Vaughn grew up with her like a sister and the bond was unbreakable. But then his father died and he didn’t know how to cope and was sent to life with his aunt. The book begins with the last images of Suzanne in a convenience store as if sending a message...then nothing.
Vaughn is recruited by an old security guy George Abe that worked with his father because an old school money lady Catherine (who we later learn is a real power player) wants them to find out what happened to Suzanne, her goddaughter. What it turns into in the middle of the book is more of a road trip with shoot-outs involved but with some interesting stops along the way with Vaughn working alongside Jenn Charles, a former Fed and Hendricks, a grizzled and retired black cop. The way they interact and certain set pieces would make for a good series rather than a film since there is a good amount of moving parts. What elevates this as with another recent book, is that there is a predator lurking in the background above reproach, highly intelligent but also the worst one of the lot. And yet, he is the one with the best escape plan. In this way, Tinsley ups the game of the novel since when the team or others think they are two steps ahead, he is five. Ultimately the truth is both dark but the subterfuge leads back to a simple inevitability. Revenge is a weird perspective but it depends who is in charge of the throttle. Here cooler heads can prevail but no one is left untouched. The world keeps spinning though in a slightly different way. The author is able to throttle enough humor in Vaughn in knowing he is inevitably flawed and he has made bad choices (but so has everyone around him). It is just a matter of which ones have the most impact. “The Short Drop", specific to one scene in terms of its metaphor per se, is riveting and telling but also brings to bear what suffering means to the two main characters ultimately. The thematic reflects that life continues though in a slightly different context but hopefully with a brighter future. B
By Tim Wassberg
