The Incumbent

Madison Glenn #1

by Alton Gansky

Politics are about to become deadly.

As the controversial mayor of the beautiful coastal community of Santa Rite, Madison "Maddy" Glenn likes to face things head-on. But nothing can prepare her for a hostile visit from the chief of police-or his terrible news. Lisa Truccoli, Maddy's friend and the treasurer of her last campaign, has been kidnapped. All that remains at the crime scene is a shocking clue.with Maddy's name on it.

The ensuing hunt for answers only turns up more sinister clues in a terrifying game the abductor wants to play.with Maddy. Caught between a haunting past and a dangerous present, Maddy finds the walls that keep her from faith beginning to crumble.

The stakes turn lethal with a second abduction and a clue that reveals inside information about Maddy's run for Congress-a decision she has not made yet. Someone is going to dangerous lengths to make the choice for her.but it is a choice she'll survive?

Genres: Mystery, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Thriller, Ebooks, Politics

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Alton Gansky is the author of 30 books--24 of them novels, including the Angel Award winner Terminal Justice and Christy Award finalist A Ship Possessed. A frequent speaker at writing conferences, he holds a BA and MA degrees in biblical studies. Alton and his wife reside in Southern California.

Reviews

[Ayotunde Windapo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite some negative reviews of this book, I really enjoyed it myself. I wasn't much of a reader when I picked up this book so I didn't have other crime/mystery books to compare it to, it should be noted. But I thought Gansky's style was engaging and I enjoyed Mayor Madison Glenn's character as she told the story from her view point. While other people have claimed to have figured out the culprit in this kidnapping crime book, I personally didn't and it was a huge shock when it was revealed. While some have complained that some of the characters were unnecessary 'fillers' to the book, I didn't mind them and I thought they added to the story well. Of course there is the complaint about Gansky adding in Christianity randomly into it, and while I agree that it was very unnecessary and odd, it was such a minor part of the book (like 3-4 pages total) that it didn't matter to me.
The story was interesting, and being inside Madison Glenn's head was intriguing as she showed her vulnerability and developed strength in her personality in light of the kidnappings occurring in her town. I definitely will be reading the next book in the series.

[Lyle Wenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book kept my interest, and definitely during the middle of the book, i couldn't put it down. The end seemed anticlimatic, and unfortunately predictable.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have made a mediocre novella, as it is it makes an awful novel. The plot takes way to long to unfold. It isnt until the last quarter of the book that you actually find out what is going on. There are way to many instances of "filler"; that is, parts of the story that have no point other than to increase page count. This whole novel could have been 50 pages and lost nothing. A very disappointing read.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread 4 me. The denouement was weak for all the action/suspense so I did remove one star.
Over all a good read..LOTS of twists and turns..but some typos were noticed.
A good pick for Oct.2017 Book Club.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this particular series from Alton Gansky. Easy reading, enjoyable, but with enough twists to keep it interesting. This series is quite different from his other books which I also like.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally, I devour Alton Gansky's books, but this one was painful to read. It was overloaded with descriptions of things that don't matter and unimportant dialogue. Usually, I love a good mystery, but in this book, the reader wasn't drawn into the investigation. In general, when men try to write from a woman's point of view, it doesn't work, and this was no exception. The book fell flat and the ending was a bit predictable.

I have read almost all of Gansky's books, so I know his writing style. If I read this book without knowing the author, I would have never guessed it was him writing it. I will not be reading the others in the series.

[Shirley J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding out who and why the kidnappings happened didn't occur for me until the characters were revealed. I had been distracted by a character that appeared too often and too conveniently who turned out to be a red herring.

I usually am not inclined to read Christian fiction, although I do enjoy the suspense genre. For intrigue and suspense, this could be a cozy mystery with a boost of suspense. The author's writing style is easy to read and complements the voice of his protagonist/narrator, Madison Glenn.

The introduction of Biblical theology toward the end of the book felt contrived, as if it had to be put somewhere. I didn't perceive a lot of value toward the story to have done so.

[W. Franklin Lattimore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the story was terrific, and the characters were great. The ending, however, was horrible. It wasn't only a surprise ending, but a ridiculous one at that. It also had nothing to do with an incumbent. Why that title?

I'm a long-time Gansky fan, but this book was a disappointment. That said, I am reading book 2 of the Maddison Glenn series. Sure hope the ending lives up to what I've come to expect of Alton Gansky.

[Tim Stakenborg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, but little depth, some repetition and contains some annoying real american style paragraphs.

[Alberto Tebaldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written, but without an impressive plot

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Kristopher Mcclanahan · Rating 1 out of 5]

REVIEWS OF UNUSUAL SIZE

---Re--- When Mayor Madison "Maddy" Glenn's confidants, advisors and friends start disappearing mysteriously, with only cryptic clues remaining, and signs that the abductor knows more than they should, Maddy must make a choice. Hide in fear or carry on like she has always done things, confronting the abductions and even a killer bravely and headfirst.


---Outstanding--- This was an interesting idea, and I thought the small town in California where it was set to be very appealingly described. Most of the characters were well rounded and had some personality.


---Unacceptable--- Unfortunately, the story never grabbed me. It was a slog to continue reading as page after page was filled with emotional drama, the story focusing on her tears and internal turmoils and minor aches and pains with her job, rather than the kidnappers and the investigation, which was a genuinely good idea and could have been an engrossing story. There was also a major side story featuring the daughter of a victim and her estranged father that did nothing for the story but give it a broadly defined man to hate and some drama that should have come from the main story instead.


---Summary--- What tries to come across as a kidnapping thriller behind the cover of a legal thriller ended up being something more akin to a chick-lit book with a kidnapping. It could make a pretty dramatic movie of the week on Lifetime, with her constant bickering and fisticuffs with the estranged father and self-absorbed sniffling. The Incumbent feels like a novel written by a county clerk that wanted to write a police thriller but didn't know enough about police investigations or thrills to actually include any in the book.

http://r-o-u-s.blogspot.com/

[Jasmyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddy Glenn is the mayor of a small town, Santa Rita, in California. Small town politics are her daily business until her campaign treasurer is abducted. The only clue is a Madison Glenn business card with 4 drops of blood on it. And of course that's not all. As the crimes continue with more and more clues linking Maddy to the case, things begin to get dangerous. Police escorts, private investigators, angry fathers, and a van that seems to be following her all add up to lots of stress.

I really enjoyed Maddy as a character. She was a strong woman, but was had a deeper side to her than your stereotypical "strong female lead" role. She was compassionate to others effected by the crimes, and regularly complained about how over protective her parents could act, even though she had been out on her own for years. The characters surrounding Maddy were also very fun to read about. My only complaint were the main police characters seemed a little over the top. The disgruntled (and highly agitated) ex-husband of the first victim was an interesting addition to the story, but he almost played too large a part. However, since this is a series, they could just be setting the players for the second book.

The book was quite enjoyable, but I had the mystery figured out way too early to get excited about the big revelation near the end.

3/5

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story whose title got me thinking there would be great political intrigue, but there was not. I do not think I am too far off in calling it 'cute' as it was a quick read, but had little deep drama and the story was basic. While some say they knew who did it in Chapter 3, I just wanted to see why... neither ended up being highly intriguing.

I suppose small town mayors are not meant to have highly political lives, but in this story, it was as though her position was secondary. A hip, young mayor is faced with questions when financial backers from her campaign turn up missing and one is later found dead. Add some suspense, stalking, and even some bonding with a friend's daughter and you have the storyline in a nutshell.

For some reason, Gansky chose to inject Bible quotes and verses into the story (no, not some evangelical killer who is doing it because THE BOOK told him to) for no apparent reason. I presume we are to expect that she has 'seen the light' but it does nothing. Editors, you could have removed it. Then again, the publisher specialises in books of faith, where I am equally confused. Had to add it to get it published, Alton? Oh well.

Decent work, Mr. Gansky. Yeah I will read the other two books in the series, but space them out. I have some hardcore political thriller need and one in mind to sate me.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good mystery. It was fast paced and there was some interesting tension between the main character and the lead detective. I'm not sure if this is part of a series, but if not, I thought the characters were well developed enough to continue on. Especially to flesh out that tension I mentioned. Confusing though was the Christian message. I don't know if this book is listed under Christian fiction, as it seemed that the Christian message was just tossed in randomly two or three places. Suddenly at the end the heroine determines she's ready to believe in Christ... That aspect just didn't blend. That said, if you're looking for an easy read mystery, thus is good.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read quite a bit of Alton Gansky's works, and, although The Incumbent is good, it isn't as great as some of his other works, especially Dark Moon. The story of The Incumbent was mostly engaging, the writing and characterization were great, and it made for an enjoyable whodunit; however, there were a few tedious spots and the ending felt a bit rushed. Thankfully, Before Another Dies, the next entry in the Madison Glenn series, is an improvement over this premiere novel. Fans of Mr. Gansky's other works will love The Incumbent, but, if you're new to the author's works, I suggest starting with the aforementioned Dark Moon.

[Dori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you can't find anything really wrong with; but it also doesn't jump right out and grab you either. I was intrigued by certain elements of the story at various times in regards to the kidnappings and murder. However, I also felt like the more interesting story was the side story of Celeste's father. I kept waiting for it to tie in somehow to the main story but it never really did.
The end was predictable, as well. I don't know that I would recommend it or not. Wasn't terrible, wasn't great

[Shane Keener · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. While the title suggests it will be a political thriller, it was more of a crime story. The gist is that this small town Mayor is connected to several abductions in her town, but can't understand why. I'll leave it at that.

There were some disjointed story lines that you end up wondering why they were included. However, there were some great scenes that left me laughing, incensed and wanting more.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - got if for free from B&N Free Fridays. Can't beat that price. It was a light read but a decent story. The main characters were likeable and the 'bad' characters not likeable...As I neared the end I was thinking the suspect(s) would be introduced late and I would be disappointed but there was a good twist and all was resolved in a pretty satisfactory way. I would recommend this book for anyone that's looking for a light read and enjoys 'mysteries'.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is published by a Christian book publisher. There really was only one small part that had anything to do with religion and in context with the story it made sense. It was overly smack you in the head preachy as well. The main character is the mayor of a medium sized town, she is a strong minded, independent woman and is interesting as a character. Overall I thought it was pretty good. It was a free Friday pick from BN for the Nook and I'm probably going to read the next one.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was kind of enjoying this as a silly fluffy thriller until there was a sudden awkward attempt to shoehorn a Christian message into it. The author seemed as uncomfortable with it as I was, since it then disappeared and didn't come back until the end. It took a book I'd been having fun with (albeit not a very good book) and suddenly tried to force an ill-fitting poorly written conversion story. That drops it down for me from three stars to two. It just doesn't fit.

[Liquid Frost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindle freebie I've had for a long time - just getting around to it. So far, it is an easy read. More as time goes by --

Well, time went by. Like I said, it was free - so the price was right. It began well; interesting, and had the potential to be a quality thriller. However, the characters were blah for me, the whole left-field god talk killed it. The end was abrupt with a pretty bow.

[Linda]

As a lover of mysteries, this is a really good one.

[Eddie Snipes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great character development.

[Ona · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a free e-book from B&N and it shows. Gratuitous proselytizing and stereotyped characters.

[Kay Hilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable, but interesting. A quick read.

[Joanne Flanagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting mystery with a religious/faith based twist at the end. It was so subtle that I don't know why the author added it other than to say it was a religious book. The mystery itself was o.k.

[Carol Pennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great story! Quick read.

[Soepodcast Rekoske]

Ashlanne mentioned in Podcast 98

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Freebie Very good first of a series. Entertaining even though I figured out the "bad" guy by the third chapter.