The pace of the first part of the story is slow ... This slow pace at the beginning is, perhaps, due to Tapper’s excessive overuse of footnotes. He employs this creative technique (that is primarily a nonfiction devce) to detail events and individuals from this era. He would be better off assuming that his readers have a good knowledge of these events and persons ... On the whole, it’s a good story and a good read.
A devoted history buff, Tapper, the CNN host, litters his novels with period details ... Ultimately, they serve the narrative less than the narrative serves them. Tapper feels compelled to explain his characters’ references to familiar things, rather oddly including footnotes in chapters narrated by Lucy ... A quasi-mystery in search of authenticity.
Limp ... Overwrought prose... doesn’t help sell some wildly improbable plot developments. When a character literally jumps the shark, it’s a sign that Tapper’s formerly exciting series may have done so as well.
