Nobody does the thriller milieu better than Mills, who once again uses his skill as a magazine writer to bring complicated fictional scenes of crime, law, and politics to instant and completely credible life. When Alabama judge Gus Parham is nominated by the president--his old college friend--for an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, it brings out of the woodwork everyone from a 13-year-old daughter he never knew he had to a vengeful Colombian drug dealer who can orchestrate more damage from behind prison bars than most villains on the outside. There's also a fascinating, complex character named Helen Bondell, who runs an alliance of public interest groups known as the Freedom Federation and who at first sees the nomination of moderate Southerner Parham as a bad idea. Bondell wants to keep Gus off the Supreme Court in the worst way--until she realizes that her supposed allies have much worse ways than she can imagine. Helped by a supportive president with some resourceful aides, a tough DEA agent friend, and Samantha, the delightful and courageous daughter suddenly thrust back into their lives, Gus and his wife Michelle resist all pressures to withdraw from the race and avoid a bloody Senate hearing. By making sure that every detail of motivation and landscape rings true, Mills keeps us captivated every inch of the way. Some of his memorable early works such as Panic in Needle Park and Report to the Commissioner, are out of print, but more recent books (Haywire and The Power) are available in paperback. --Dick Adler


From Publishers Weekly
Few thriller writers handle the milieu better than Mills, who in his eighth novel (after 1995's Haywire) once again uses his skills as a journalist (evidenced in The Underground Empire and other nonfiction bestsellers) to bring complicated fictional scenes of crime, law and politics to instant and completely credible life. When Alabama Judge Gus Parham is nominated by the president?his old college friend?for an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, his new prominence brings a lot of people out of the woodwork, including a 13-year-old daughter he never knew he had and a vengeful Colombian drug dealer who can orchestrate more damage from behind prison bars than most villains on the outside. Add to the mix Helen Bondell, a fascinating, complex woman who runs an alliance of public interest groups known as the Freedom Federation and who at first sees the nomination of Parham, a moderate Southerner, as a bad idea. Bondell wants to keep Gus off the Supreme Court in the worst way?until she realizes that her supposed allies are determined to do so in more ways than she can imagine. Helped by a supportive president with some resourceful aides, a tough DEA agent friend, and Samantha, the delightful and courageous daughter suddenly thrust into their lives, Gus and his wife, Michelle, resist all pressures to withdraw from the race and avoid a bloody Senate hearing. Ensuring that every detail of motivation and landscape rings true, and pacing his story with capable ease, Mills will keep readers captivated through this strong and smartly told story. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Abortion, drugs, and a Supreme Court nomination are Mills' ingredients in this spottily exciting but ultimately vapid political yarn. Judge Gus Parham's law school classmate has become president and gives Parham the nod for the high tribunal. The pro-choice dirt diggers mobilize and uncover an out-of-wedlock daughter Parham assumed had been aborted by the woman who would become his wife, but instead Michelle gave birth and then put the baby up for adoption. The drug angle enters in the person of a Colombian cocaine boss, convicted by Parham when he was an attorney, who now not only vengefully alleges Parham filched drug money but also claims Parham will legalize drugs by judicial fiat in order to profit from a secret agreement. This subplot remains dormant while Mills develops the long-lost-daughter theme. Parham hands over the job of finding the girl to a DEA agent whose surveillance succeeds in uniting daughter Samantha with Parham and Michelle. The reunion is emotionally flat, which adversely effects the pacing of the novel, perhaps because there are two endings. The second is initiated by a gift from the drug kingpin--a bomb in a car parked in front of the Parhams' lodging. So Mills' tale winds up as a race against the detonator's clock. One-dimensional action thrillers sometimes become big sellers despite their failings; the publisher will work hard to see that this one starts cash registers ringing. Be forewarned. Gilbert Taylor


From Kirkus Reviews
A witty morality tale about the depraved events that can influence a controversial Supreme Court nomination is, wonderfully, about character. How can we know who is right for any job in Washington when everyone has a skeleton in the closet? Sleazy criminal lawyer John Harrington, who had unsuccessfully defended repulsively fat Colombian druglord Ernesto Vicaro, warns Gus Parnham, the federal judge who sent Vicaro to prison, that if Parnham accepts a nomination to the Supreme Court, terrible things might happen to the daughter Parnham never knew he had. It seems that when Parnham was attending Harvard Law, Michelle, the girl he eventually married, became pregnant with his child. Without telling him, Michelle chose adoption instead of an abortion. As far-fetched as this sounds, veteran thriller writer Mills (Haywire, 1995, etc. ) makes it work by reminding us that sometimes love means believing only what you want toand forgiving anything else. It takes Parnham's law enforcement buddy Carl Falco only a few days, ten thousand frequent flyer miles, and some comic viciousness to find the girl's nasty stepmother Doreen in Wisconsin and then to locate her kinder, gentler stepfather Larry Young, a cocktail pianist at a swank Saint-Tropez nightclub. Gus and Michelle successfully manage a teary reunion in France with biological daughter Samantha. Come what may, Gus accepts the nomination. Meanwhile, Harrington, aided by a murderous assassin supplied by Vicaro, the ruthless confirmation committee chairman Senator Eric Taeger (a live ringer for Bob Packwood), and the depraved ``subviolent'' spin doctors of the Freedom Federation, an utterly immoral ``social activist'' lobbying group, go after Parnham and company in public and in private. The story suffers credibility when an assassin's bomb almost blows up the Parnhams, but Samanthas testimony to defend her father brings it to a rousing climax. That innocence ultimately triumphs over guile is, perhaps, the only unbelievable element in this cooly constructed, smartly plotted Washington-insider novel. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Judge Gus Parham is Alabama's favorite son, a man with a soaring career and a perfect marriage. To sweeten perfection, he has just been nominated to the United States Supreme Court by his old friend, the nation's President. But Gus has an enemy no man has ever successfully crossed: Ernesto Vicaro, an organized crime leader who, thanks to Gus's courage and resolve, is an inmate of America's prison system. Gus's political opponents uncover a daughter from a pregnancy Gus thought his wife, then his fiancee, had aborted twelve years before. The existence of Samantha, a lovely young girl with a troubled past, unleashes a media feeding frenzy that rocks his nomination. Gus has to handle a vacillating White House, unmerciful members of Congress, and a beautiful lobbyist whose agenda of compassion is fueled by a calculated ruthlessness. Then, beset by forces from both the left and the right, Gus and his wife, Michelle, are plunged into a world of blackmail, suicide, and terror. Now the nominee must make the most difficult decision of his life. Faced with two choices - to embrace a lie or do something he knows is desperately, unalterably wrong - he will make an astonishing decision.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Few thriller writers handle the milieu better than Mills, who in his eighth novel (after 1995's Haywire) once again uses his skills as a journalist (evidenced in The Underground Empire and other nonfiction bestsellers) to bring complicated fictional scenes of crime, law and politics to instant and completely credible life. When Alabama Judge Gus Parham is nominated by the president--his old college friend--for an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, his new prominence brings a lot of people out of the woodwork, including a 13-year-old daughter he never knew he had and a vengeful Colombian drug dealer who can orchestrate more damage from behind prison bars than most villains on the outside. Add to the mix Helen Bondell, a fascinating, complex woman who runs an alliance of public interest groups known as the Freedom Federation and who at first sees the nomination of Parham, a moderate Southerner, as a bad idea. Bondell wants to keep Gus off the Supreme Court in the worst way--until she realizes that her supposed allies are determined to do so in more ways than she can imagine. Helped by a supportive president with some resourceful aides, a tough DEA agent friend, and Samantha, the delightful and courageous daughter suddenly thrust into their lives, Gus and his wife, Michelle, resist all pressures to withdraw from the race and avoid a bloody Senate hearing. Ensuring that every detail of motivation and landscape rings true, and pacing his story with capable ease, Mills will keep readers captivated through this strong and smartly told story. (July)

Kirkus Reviews

A witty morality tale about the depraved events that can influence a controversial Supreme Court nomination is, wonderfully, about character. How can we know who is right for any job in Washington when everyone has a skeleton in the closet? Sleazy criminal lawyer John Harrington, who had unsuccessfully defended repulsively fat Colombian druglord Ernesto Vicaro, warns Gus Parnham, the federal judge who sent Vicaro to prison, that if Parnham accepts a nomination to the Supreme Court, terrible things might happen to the daughter Parnham never knew he had. It seems that when Parnham was attending Harvard Law, Michelle, the girl he eventually married, became pregnant with his child. Without telling him, Michelle chose adoption instead of an abortion. As far-fetched as this sounds, veteran thriller writer Mills (Haywire, 1995, etc. ) makes it work by reminding us that sometimes love means believing only what you want toþand forgiving anything else. It takes Parnham's law enforcement buddy Carl Falco only a few days, ten thousand frequent flyer miles, and some comic viciousness to find the girl's nasty stepmother Doreen in Wisconsin and then to locate her kinder, gentler stepfather Larry Young, a cocktail pianist at a swank Saint-Tropez nightclub. Gus and Michelle successfully manage a teary reunion in France with biological daughter Samantha. Come what may, Gus accepts the nomination. Meanwhile, Harrington, aided by a murderous assassin supplied by Vicaro, the ruthless confirmation committee chairman Senator Eric Taeger (a live ringer for Bob Packwood), and the depraved "subviolent" spin doctors of the Freedom Federation, an utterly immoral "social activist" lobbying group, go afterParnham and company in public and in private. The story suffers credibility when an assassin's bomb almost blows up the Parnhams, but Samanthaþs testimony to defend her father brings it to a rousing climax. That innocence ultimately triumphs over guile is, perhaps, the only unbelievable element in this cooly constructed, smartly plotted Washington-insider novel.