And the winners are....

Using Random.org's integer generator (which is wicked cool, by the way), the winners were chosen for my First Daughter Giveaway this morning. Congratulations to:

• SweetSue

and

• Caite

I will be contacting you today to coordinate shipping. For those of you who didn't win, if you'd like to purchase the book, Amazon has it here for $17.13. Also, check back here soon. In the next couple of weeks, I plan on having another giveaway (for a hardback copy of one of my favorite series books - not telling you'll just have to come back to find out).

GIVEAWAY: First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader

I have two copies of Eric Van Lustbader's political thriller First Daughter to give away.

You can read my review here.

Jack McClure has had a troubled life. His dyslexia always made him feel like an outsider. He escaped from an abusive home as a teenager and lived by his wits on the streets of Washington, D.C. It wasn't until he realized that dyslexia gave him the ability to see the world in unique ways that he found success, using this newfound strength to become a top ATF agent.

When a terrible accident takes the life of his only daughter, Emma, and his marriage falls apart, Jack blames himself, numbing the pain by submerging himself in work. Then he receives a call from his old friend Edward Carson. Carson is just weeks from taking the reins as president of the United States when his daughter, Alli, is kidnapped. Because Emma McClure was once Alli's best friend, Carson turns to Jack, the one man he can trust to go to any lengths to find his daughter and bring her home safely.

The search for Alli leads Jack on a road toward reconcilliation...and into the path of a dangerous and calculating man - someone whose actions are as cold as they are brilliant, and whose power and reach are seemingly infinite.

Faith, redemption, and political intriguq play off one another as McClure uses his unique abilities to journey into the twisted mind of a stone-cold genius who is constantly one step ahead of him. Jack will soon discover that this man has affected his life and his country in more ways than he could ever imagine.

-taken from the cover of First Daughter

To enter to win one of the two advance release copies of First Daughter, do one or more of the following:

1. Comment on this post for 1 (one) entry. Make sure you provide a way for me to contact you (a link to your blog is fine).
2. Comment on my review of First Daughter to receive 1 (one) entry.
3. Blog about this contest to receive 3 (three) entries. Be sure to comment with a link to your post.

The contest will run until August 31 at 10 p.m., and I'll notify the winners on September 1.

First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader

ISBN: 978-0765321701
Publisher: Forge Books
Hardcover: 400 pages
Genre: Fiction
First Line: Alli Carson sat in the back of the armor-plated limo, sandwiched between Sam and Nina, her Secret Service detail.
One Word Review: Timely

When President-Elect Edward Carson's 19 year old daughter, Alli, is kidnapped just one month before his inauguration ceremony, he implores his friend, ATF agent Jack McClure, to help find her. Jack must deal with a multitude of obstacles during the desperate search for Alli and her kidnapper, including his own dyslexia, a current president who doesn't appear to want Jack to succeed, and the anguish he feels over the recent death of his own daughter.

First Daughter captures its reader from the few paragraphs. The story starts off with a bang, and continues with a fast pace and a tightly woven plot. As Jack searches for Alli, we catch glimpses of his past. It not only adds depth to his character, but also adds another element of surprise and anticipation. There are many political and religious questions addressed throughout the book. It would have been easy to turn this otherwise solid book into a monologue of what the author believes, but it doesn't read that way at all. Instead, it allows the reader to ask themselves how they feel about the concept of the separation of church and state in the United States. It's certainly a timely topic considering the state of the government today.

What Lustbader does best, in my opinion, is develop the character of Jack McClure. If, as I would imagine, this turns into a series, it'll be all the better because we've already been introduced to Jack and have shared his secrets and fears. Imagine a dyslexic Jack Bauer with a little bit of Alex Cross and a dash of Jack Ryan, and you'll get a sense of Jack McClure. He's made all the more human through his flaws, and it's what, I think, people will love about him.

First Daughter is a first rate political thriller that will grab you from the beginning and keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.