The Rundown
Review of THE LATINA PRESIDENT AND THE CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY HER by Joe Rothstein
Mexican immigrant, Isabel Aragon Tennyson, rises to the highest political office in the world, at lightning speed. As a descendent of Catherine of Aragon, leadership is in her genes. But so is playing fair and being concerned about the needs of the average citizen, which proves to be her downfall, at least in the eyes of her powerful enemies. Politicians and business leaders want her out of the way so they can continue doing business as usual, which means putting billions into their own pockets, while treating consumers unfairly.
Years before, she attends college at NYU then gets married and divorced while still in her twenties. Her family-owned company, Groupo Aragon, hires her on as a dealmaker, but she has no idea how corrupt the business really is until her grandfather dies, leaving her in charge of his Mexican company. She decides to accept the position on the condition that the board members change their corrupt ways and treat the average Mexican consumer more fairly. She is met with resistance and shown the door, but not before receiving an enormous amount of money to buy her quiet acceptance of their business practices.
In order to get in touch with real people, Tenny dedicates herself to serving the poor in Los Angeles through a charitable group known as L.A. Lights. Through her work she becomes a popular and well-liked leader. It is there that she meets her love interest and mentor, Hal Thompson.
Years later, after they’ve parted ways, Hal becomes governor of the state of California. He convinces Tenny to go into politics and she is on her way. But she can only go so far, or so she thinks. She slowly rises in the world of politics and is soon tapped to run for President of the United States. Her goal is to destroy the corruption found in the business world and help the average citizen by doing so. Now her family’s old company, Groupo Aragon, and its leader, Javier Carmona, are out to stop her any way they can.
Joe Rothstein’s novel is well a well-researched journey into the dark world of political intrigue and corrupt business practices. The author manages to portray physical brutality without overly graphic violence and also reveals details about Tenny’s romantic escapades while leaving specifics to the imagination. Rothstein creates believable and sometimes spine-chilling characters and establishes a world where rising to the top no matter what the cost is simply seen as normal ambition.
The beginning chapters included details about the characters that were not essential to the plot, which slowed the pace. However, once key events occurred a few chapters in, it made for an interesting read. The ending is not a foregone conclusion and there are some surprising twists. The last few chapters will leave the reader quickly turning the pages to find out what will happen next.
The Recommendation
Those who regularly read political thrillers or crime thrillers will enjoy this book.
The Rating
4.5 Stars (out of 5): Highly recommended. This book is a great read. It can hold its own against any traditionally published novel in its genre, and surpasses many.
The Pros & Cons
Pros: Believable, Characterization, Dialogue, Page Turner, Strong World-BuildingCons: Starts slow
The Links
The Reviewer
Melody Delgado
Visit Melody Delgado‘s website.Joe Rothstein’s novel is well a well-researched journey into the dark world of political intrigue and corrupt business practices. The author manages to portray physical brutality without overly graphic violence and also reveals details about Tenny’s romantic escapades while leaving specifics to the imagination. Rothstein creates believable and sometimes spine-chilling characters and establishes a world where rising to the top no matter what the cost is simply seen as normal ambition. The beginning chapters included details about the characters that were not essential to the plot, which slowed the pace. However, once key events occurred a few chapters in, it made for an interesting read. The ending is not a foregone conclusion and there are some surprising twists. The last few chapters will leave the reader quickly turning the pages to find out what will happen next. Those who regularly read political thrillers or crime thrillers will enjoy this book.
Read The Latina President
