The Slate
Matthew FitsSimmons
297 pages
Thomas & Mercer
Published on October 8th, 2024
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The Slate is a gripping political thriller by the author of the excellent Gibson Vaughan series, about a Washington DC-based woman’s quest for redemption, years after her role in covering up a young staffer’s death. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by FitzSimmons, and this was no exception – a tight plot, a flawed but sympathetic heroine, good support characters, dastardly politicians and a believable conspiracy threatening the powers that be.
In 2001, Agatha Cardiff was asked by her boss, a powerful congressman, to save the reputation of one of his allies by removing the body of his young mistress from his hotel room after she died of an overdose. Wracked by guilt, Agatha ran away overseas and abandoned her career. Now, twenty years later, the favour is being called in and misanthropic Agatha is forced to re-enter the murky world of politics to save another young woman’s life.
This is a thriller without significant action, mystery or twists, and yet I was quickly drawn in by the writing and kept turning the pages to find out how it would all turned out. I loved the character evolution and the relationship between Agatha and Shelby. Reading this as we hurtle towards this year’s US election just highlighted how dysfunctional and corrupt their political system seems to the rest of the world. The ending was a little too open for my taste – I really hope there is to be a sequel, as I would love to read more of their and plucky journalist Isha Roy’s adventures. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
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