The President's Daughter: A Thriller

The President's Daughter is a compelling, action-packed thriller from James Patterson and former President Bill Clinton. Here are my thoughts immediately after reading, with no spoilers:The book is divided into five parts and an epilogue, with a total of 136 chapters, and just under 600 pages of story. As you can imagine with that many chapters, each one is pretty short, at just a few pages. The setting or perspective often changes with a new chapter, so the story is slowly built up from different angles.The book starts out right away with descriptions of some brutal and dramatic events in the first chapter. The extreme nature of the antagonist is established, and some gruesome details are used to really portray him as a terrible enemy.Starting with Chapter 4 we get some chapters that are written in the first person from our protagonist President Matt Keating's perspective. There are a few details that I noticed right away that showed the possible influences of President Clinton on the story; including that President Keating's daughter attending Sidwell Friends School, the same school that President Clinton's daughter Chelsea actually attended when he was in office. The first person perspective of these chapters serves to really put the reader in President Keating's shoes, and made it easier to feel invested in the story. Part One does a good job of setting up the characters, as you also see the early tension between Keating and his successor, the new President Pamela Barnes, who had been previously been his Vice President.In Part Two the pace seemed to slow down a bit, even though this is where the former President’s daughter Mel is actually kidnapped. There are many chapters from her perspective, so her character's competent but frightened nature is well established. You get to see the situation from several different character's perspectives as the chapters switch back and forth, and the scope of the situation is fleshed out.The pace picks back up toward the end of the second part, and there is a ton of action and compelling scenes that made it hard to put the book down. I felt like the main characters were given just enough background and detail for the interactions to seem realistic, even with this plot that might initially seem somewhat unlikely. The authors really create an environment that sets up clear heroes and villains, and makes it easy to root for the protagonist.Overall I enjoyed this book. Even though it was pretty long at 600 pages, the shorter chapters and the constant switching of perspectives prevented it from ever getting too boring or tedious. It might not have been the most amazing or mind-blowing story I've ever read, but anything that can keep me interested for that long and come to a satisfying conclusion is a pretty good book in my opinion. 4.5/5

This book is exactly what you would expect from acclaimed author, James Patterson, and a former president of the US, Bill Clinton. The book is short, thankfully, on technology and long on character development. The plot gallops along like a loose stallion, never halting for even a breath. I had to leave it a couple of times because my eyes were getting tired. It took me two days to read. I never, not one time was distracted. Excellent book. My only complaint is the sprinkling of bad language, particularly G**d***, which is insulting to the many people who think this is blasphemy.

This is one of the best I have read. I simply could not put it down and would have finished it the day I received it but the time was short and my eyes weary!!! I was intrigued by the obvious political facts which were well thought out and were probably part of Bill Clinton's participation in writing this book. The intrigue and twists,and turns of the story kept me involved as a good book should do. Excellent reading....

The President's Daughter is the second novel written by Bill Clinton and co-authored with James Patterson. I enjoyed their first collaboration, The President Is Missing, and have been looking forward to this book. And, Clinton and Patterson did not disappoint; I love this book! In The President's Daughter, we meet Matthew Keating, a former Navy Seal and a one term president of the United States. After he has served his one term, his daughter is abducted by a terrorist, and the former president has to knock the rust off his Seal's training to plan and carryout a special op to try to rescue her. The President's Daughter is a true thriller; its pages are filled with thrill. From the outset, this reading experience felt like riding a thoroughbred who broke well from the gate and went wire to wire at a record setting pace. The President's Daughter did not slow from page one. It has been a long time since I have become so lost in a book that I had to work to control the need to continue to read it. But at 608 pages, this meaty text seems to require some pacing. And, the short chapters did not help that compulsion, as "just one more" becomes difficult to deny. As with the first novel, this book is well written with interesting, well-drawn characters and a rich and complex plot. The ending is bittersweet, both in the substance of the book and in my realization that I am going to have to wait a long time for Clinton and Patterson to write another 600 pages. The President's Daughter is highly recommended.

Great book! The story was very entertaining and believable. The characters were interesting and well developed. The events unfold at a good pace, keeping you turning the pages! It's a great and fun read.

This is a story about a 19 year old girl in some very tuff experiences. Remembering all the training she received while in the White House and also the words of wisdom from her Dad she is able to survive the ordeal she facedOnly Bill Clinton and James Patterson can do a story like this. Hopefully they will do another.

Absolutely Superb! Considering the length of this book, I think I read it in record time for me. Just couldn’t put it down. Fantastic storyline and brilliant twists and turns along the way. Nothing is ever as it seems but you’ve just got to keep reading! Fantastic. Please write another one soon. You must.

Great value at half price !!

Another great book by JP a real page turner

I really enjoyed this even though I’m not usually a fan of political thrillers but found this one easy to follow. My favourite JP novel in a long time.

Wow wow WOW! Oh my what a great book this was, I’m not sure just how much was contributed by Bill Clinton but together with James Paterson this was a true thriller something that other “triller “ authors should look to adopting, a behind the scenes look at the skullduggery in the Whitehouse, selfless people putting their lives on the line for their country, it doesn’t get much better than this. More more MORE please.