The story had a lot of potential, however I feel the author blew it. There was none of the easy flow which is evident in most good books; I found it terribly stilted and it read more like a series of dot points for a movie set and also reminded me of how my children's 'first reader' books read.

A little bit of research into how things really happen in the real world would have gone a long way as well. ( )

The plot sounded interesting—the First Lady of the United States is kidnapped— but I cannot recommend The Taking of the First Lady. In my opinion, it was a significant error in judgment to release this book for review in its present form.

Numerous flaws mar the book throughout. For one, Tanner Bentler seems to lack an understanding of what details to include. A fundamental principle is that the author should not provide unimportant or trivial details or tell readers what they can figure out for themselves. For example, at one point, the detectives decide to leave the hospital where they wanted to talk to a Secret Service agent injured at the time of an attempted assassination of the President. Tanner writes,

“Jack smiled and said, ‘I am, too. Let’s go.’

They entered one of the elevators and rode it down to the lobby. They exited the elevator and walked to their respective cars.’”

Ending the passage after “Let’s go,” would have been preferable. Providing details readers do not need slows the story’s pace and irritates readers. Yet the inclusion of unnecessary details occurs on almost every page.

Tanner has no feel for natural-sounding conversation or how people who have worked together for years banter back and forth. His efforts to depict such banter come across as stilted and unbelievable. When Detective Jack Richman wants to know what his partner, Maggie Turnbull, learned from questioning a person of interest, he asks a series of precise questions (e.g., gender, race, age). He receives equally limited answers (e.g., male, Caucasian, 52). A more plausible and entertaining approach would be for Richman to ask Turnbull what she learned and for her to provide a concise summary.

Tanner also seems to lack an understanding of police investigative procedures and the restraints that limit the powers of the police. For example, Detective Jack Richman arrests Danny Bickerstaff, who participated in the kidnapping of the First Lady. However, he believes Danny is incapable of planning the kidnapping and wants Danny to identify the mastermind behind the abduction. Richman arrests Danny and holds him in a cell in the Police Department for a week, without representation, until Danny finally divulges the identity of the person who planned the kidnapping. That is so far from the restraints on police officers it borders on fantasy or science fiction. ( )

Nice plot line but a great deal of repetition in the descriptions. “ounces of tea” instead of saying he drank some more tea. There were more of these but I won’t be repetitious with it. I liked the characters and the setting. ( )

It was a good mystery book but a little repetitive at the beginning. I figured out who did it almost from the beginning although the story was good how the detectives figured out who did it. ( )

I really enjoyed ths book. What starts out as an accident investigation slowly evolves into a great whodunit. The characters introduced on page one are nicely fleshed out as the story unwinds. I found myself trying to guess "who' about midway through. If I have any complaint it is that on occassion the narrative bogs down a bit. That didn't hamper my interest in continuing to turn the page. This is a well written short novel that never failed to pique my curiosity. Five Star. ( )