Southern
ScribeSouthern
Scribe
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Political Thriller Review |
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This political thriller set in the near future of 2002,
grabs you in the opening chapter as a Christian Coalition style President
turns Roe vs. Wade around. Abortions
are once again illegal, and the backroom butchers open shop. Brewster Milton Robertson in his debut novel has created a
charming hero in Buchanan Forbes. As
he loses his job and his wife takes the kids home to the grandparents,
this pharmaceutical sales representative going through a mid-life crisis
becomes “God’s Gift to Women” to such a point that the reader
wonders if Viagra is among his collection of samples.
At age thirty-five, Buchanan attracts sexually aggressive females
from age nineteen to forty-three. Even
the IRS, who is bugging his every move as they wait for him to sale
samples on the black market, are in awe of his growing stable of female
admirers. The truth is, Buchanan Forbes is a nice family man who went
into pharmaceutical sales to provide for his wife and four sons, though he
is a talented writer and artist. Alma,
his wife makes the Wicked Witch of the West look like Glenda.
His best friend and renown North Carolina lawyer Cammie Brawley
decides it’s open season when Alma moves with the kids to Virginia, and
sets a series of traps in order to bed Buchanan.
Talented writer and student Penny Wagner trapped in an unhappy
engagement, clings to Buchanan after a wild weekend of passion.
Decorator Maggie O’Brien is passionate about everything, and she
is in many ways Buchanan’s match.
The various relationships take on a roller coaster ride of
emotions, as Buchanan becomes a target in illegal abortions.
The story becomes an interesting study of character and loyalty as
Buchanan must prove his innocence and provide information about the doctor
who used his car the night a body was disposed of in a swamp.
As much as Rainy Days and Sundays is a political
thriller, it is also a medical thriller.
Robertson draws on his knowledge of pharmaceutical sales from
personal experience. The
insider’s view of how samples are abused, the power play from the FDA to
the IRS, and the details of how an IUD can be used to abort a fetus,
provide the story with an intensity that runs throughout the novel.
The country doctor and county sheriff provide moments of
humor. The sheriff is caught
in the atmosphere of romance. He
loses his free-loving nurse as he dates a nice woman his matchmaking
sister picked out. Also, he
temporarily gives up his tobacco-chewing habit for the new lady.
The search for a doctor wearing shirts with the monogram “EL” on the cuff, leads the reader and Buchanan in one direction much of the novel. However, a curve at the end points the guilty finger at another, making this an enjoyable read for mystery fans. The title refers to the moments of shared pleasure, which can also be used to describe this well-crafted thriller.
© 2001 Southern Scribe Reviews, All Rights Reserved |
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