Power play by Tony Kent

A Pan Am flight explodes over the Atlantic, killing all on board. Amongst the hundreds of victims is Dale Victor, maverick candidate for the Presidency of the United States, and a man who just might have won. When a Syrian immigrant and airport baggage handler runs into a police station claiming to have committed the atrocity, it all looks like an open and shut case. But Dale Victor spoke at a press conference just a little before catching his flight home, whereby he claimed to know the truth about the stellar Afghan war record of the incumbent, President Knowles, and people now wonder what he might have known.

Tony Kent’s novels feature a strong cast, but first amongst equals is Joe Dempsey, a former special forces man now working for the UN's (fictional) spy agency, and Michael Devlin, London barrister with a dark past. Both featured strongly in the author’s debut, Killer Intent, Michael Devlin took centre stage in the sequel, Marked for Death, but Joe Dempsey is back centre stage in this, the third outing. That’s because unlike the second in the series, Marked for Death, Power Play returns to the author’s roots established by his debut, in the genre of conspiracy thriller stretched across a global stage.

In many ways, Power Play takes up where Killer Intent left off. The president is the same (he appeared to be the target of assassination in the debut), indeed Dempsey is conflicted by the possibility that President Knowles might be behind the downing of the Pan Am flight having always admired the man. His and Michael’s concerns are further heightened by the realisation that those trying to silence their investigation are members of the US Secret Service, the body of men and women whose task it is to protect the President. But are they rogue operators, or do they have Knowles’ sanction? 

As with Killer Intent, Power Play is a sweeping conspiracy thriller that is remarkably prescient in the current world. The US has elected war veterans before - most famously in President Dwight Eisenhower - and while there have been none in recent years, the military remains held in almost sacred esteem. Then there’s Dale Victor, the maverick candidate. While not based on Trump particularly (Victor only appears at the beginning of the novel, but he’s clearly more articulate than the current POTUS, and less clownish) it is a fact that one of the key planks of both the criticism and praise Trump has received has been his perceived independence. Critics claim that he has no anchor within the institutions of good governance, while supporters say he is not owned by vested interests. And this perception regardless of whether or not it's accurate (and in fact, Trump has as many ties to vested interests as any candidate) has led to the conspiracy theory of the Deep State, that the very vested interests that Trump has supposedly eschewed, are out to bring his administration down.

This is the plank on which the plot of Power Play rests, a what-if scenario where the author ponders how established interests - the rich and powerful elite families that have funded and sponsored politicians on either side of the aisle - would react to a truly independent character with the potential to win the White House. It’s an interesting thought experiment and one that prepares the ground for a gripping and thought-provoking page-turner.

As with Tony Kent’s previous novels, this is a five-star read, a brilliant third outing.  I know the author has started work on book four, and I wait patiently (well, impatiently actually) for its arrival.

5 out of 5 stars