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First Published:
Jan 2001, 496 pages
Paperback:
Dec 2001, 496 pages
With trademark surgical plotting, razor-sharp dialogue, and lightning pace, Meltzer explores the charged atmosphere of life inside the White House as it's never been seen.
John F. Kennedy, Jr., was Lark.
Amy Carter was Dynamo.
Chelsea Clinton was Energy.
Meet Shadow.
With New York Times bestsellers The Tenth Justice and Dead Even, Brad Meltzer emerged as one of the hottest new authors writing thrillers today. Now, with his trademark surgical plotting, razor-sharp dialogue, and lightning pace, he explores the charged atmosphere of life inside the White House as it's never been seen.
THE FIRST COUNSEL
Shadow is the Secret Service code name for First Daughter Nora Hartson. And when Michael Garrick, a young White House lawyer, begins dating the irresistible Nora, he's instantly spellbound, just like everyone else in her world.
It's a world all of us have heard about but few of us really know. A world where power is an aphrodisiac, your father is the President, your close friends wear earpieces and carry guns, and everyone watches your every move.
Like most, Michael thinks he can handle the pressure. Until, while together late one night, he and Nora witness something they were never meant to see - and become ensnared in a secret agenda, a scheme by a White House insider that includes betrayal and murder.
Suddenly, this young Washington power broker, who just yesterday was out on a dream date, finds himself trusting no one, not even Nora, in a battle to prove his innocence. It's a battle that will shake the walls of the Oval Office to their foundations - and may ultimately cost Michael Garrick his life.
In a fresh and knowing voice, Meltzer takes us down the rabbit hole of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and paints a riveting picture of a danger only one man will know-what it's like to fall in love with the world's most powerful daughter.
THE FIRST COUNSEL.
The President's Daughter.
You've never dated anyone like this.
Chapter 1
I'm afraid of heights, snakes, normalcy, mediocrity, Hollywood, the initial silence of an empty house, the enduring darkness of a poorly lit street, evil clowns, professional failure, the intellectual impact of Barbie dolls, letting my father down, being paralyzed, hospitals, doctors, the cancer that killed my mother, dying unexpectedly, dying for a stupid reason, dying painfully, and, worst of all, dying alone. But I'm not afraid of power—which is why I work in the White House.
As I sit in the passenger seat of my beat-up, rusty blue Jeep, I can't help but stare at my date, the beautiful young woman who's driving my car. Her long, thin fingers hold the steering wheel in a commanding grip that lets both of us know who's in charge. I could care less, though—as the car flies up Connecticut Avenue, I'm far more content studying the way her short black hair licks the back of her neck. For security reasons, we keep the windows closed, but that doesn't stop her from opening...
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