The Voter File

Jack Sharpe #3

by David Pepper

"Pepper comes through again with this clever tale of how cyber sabotage of elections, coupled with highly concentrated ownership of traditional media operations, can undermine American democracy." -President Bill Clinton

A twisty, one-step-ahead-of-the-headlines political thriller featuring a rogue reporter who investigates election meddling of epic proportions written by the ultimate insider.

Investigative reporter Jack Sharpe is down to his last chance. Fired from his high-profile gig with a national news channel, his only lead is a phone full of messages from a grad student named Tori Justice, who swears she's observed an impossible result in a local election. Sharpe is sure she's mistaken...but what if she isn't?

Sharpe learns that the most important tool in any election is the voter file: the database that keeps track of all voters in a district, and shapes a campaign's game plan for victory. If one person were to gain control of an entire party's voter file, they could manipulate the outcome of virtually every election in America. Sharpe discovers this has happened--and that the person behind the hack is determined to turn American politics upside down.

The more he digs, the more Sharpe is forced to question the values--and viability--of the country he loves and a president he admired. And soon it becomes clear that not just his career is in jeopardy...so is his life.

Genres: Politics, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Political Thriller

432 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2020

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE VOTER FILE by David Pepper is the third book in the Jack Sharpe political thriller series. Jack Sharpe is an investigative reporter that has exposed several political scandals. However, when he and his national news channel collide, he is out of a job and doing freelance reporting for his old newspaper. Tori Justice worked on a campaign for a judge that should have won, but didn’t. Her data gathering and analysis skills point to a problem. When the two finally connect and decide to work together, they never knew where it would lead.

Jack and Tori are strong main characters with some depth and someone you can root for. I believe that reading the first two books in the series first would provide even more dimension to Jack. Their goals were clear and definitely influenced the plot with believable motivations. The prose was well-written and thought-provoking. The plot was suspenseful, complex and fast-paced. The ending was impactful.

Overall, this book was unforgettable due to the timeliness of the topics covered and the excellent prose. Themes included everything from murder, election meddling, the loss of family farms, the acquisition of small local or regional banks to national or global institutions, the rise of media and tech giants, and great investigative journalism. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

I won a digital copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Thanks go to Goodreads, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and David Pepper for the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still enjoying this political thriller series by David Pepper. Gripping and highly realistic, the novels pulled me in with ease, leaving me eager to keep reading and learning more. After Jack Sharpe is fired from his job in D.C., he begins looking for the next big scoop. When he connects with a unlikely source who has been examining the recent special election results in Wisconsin, they begin to see some anomalous election results Sharpe uncovered not too long ago. As the spillover could have national and significant results, Sharpe tries to get to the core of the manner before all the blocks come crashing down. Pepper pens another stunning thriller, sure to impress the attentive reader.

Investigative reporter Jack Sharpe has experienced many highs and lows in his career. After being fired by a national news network where he broke many political stories, Sharpe is left to respond to a pile of phone messages. Included in the collection are some from Tori Justice, a grad student who’s sure she’s just seen an impossible election result in Wisconsin. While Sharpe is sure she's mistaken, this story sounds all too familiar from a past sensational story.

Sharpe connects with Toni, who explains that the key tool in any election is the voters’ list, ful of intel and background needed to shape advertisements and tip the scales in a certain direction. Should someone gain control of the entire list, it could be the one thing needed to push an entire election in a specific direction. Manipulation of the entire electorate could resonate all the way up to the White House and Sharpe worries that someone might be trying to do just that. Working on a smaller scale as a test, Wisconsin could be the perfect place to ensure things run smoothly.

Sharpe and Teri realise that this has happened and someone is pulling strings to ensure that key races are skewed, which could have subtle impacts on the larger results. It’s someone well-known to Sharpe from past political machinations, which is more worrisome than anyone could imagine. Armed with this knowledge, Sharpe will have to decide how to handle it and what to do, as the White House is vulnerable. Working with Teri to uncover the truth and save the country, Jack Sharpe soon learns that democracy is not the only thing hanging by a thread, he life could as well. David Pepper adds to this intriguing series with ease.

Many who know me realise I love a well-crafted political thriller. David Pepper has impressed with his solid stories, supported by great political writing. A narrative comprising a strong base offers a swift opening that builds effectively. Pepper uses his vast knowledge of the political realm to influence the story’s plot, presenting realistic and idealistic moments. Pepper uses chapters of various lengths to reel the reader in and hook them for the journey.

Character development adds essential depth and flavouring to the story, in a politically-heavy piece that requires an exploration and has been key through all three novels in the series. Jack Sharpe is back and delivers stellar investigative angles, with a few reporters serving as key secondary characters. Add a handful of strong protagonists and there is something for everyone. Pepper keeps adding the continuity this story needs, linking the previous novels effectively as things heat up. Pepper checks all the boxes once more as he develops wonderful characters.

The plot offers another fresh look at electoral politics in America, examining how to corrupt the most innocuous information can be. Private information can be so powerful, filtered properly and synthesised by one with a clear understand of the larger picture. Political thrillers need twists as their oxygen and Pepper infused just enough to create a scorching burn for the political reader. The reader is treated to plot developments as the story gains momentum. With a shocking ending, this is sure to pave the way for yet another novel to blow the lid off this series!

Kudos, Mr. Pepper, for keeping me enthralled until the final page.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Christi M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time this was fiction. When the thought of foreign influence was just something you would read in a thriller novel. Over the past few years, we’ve heard many different accounts and facts regarding elections, rights of voters, voting infringement, election stealing… We’ve also heard about how elections are being influenced through social media. And even though we have heard this on the news for several years now, I wonder how much the typical individual actually knows about voter files and voter data. What The Voter Files brings is an entertaining thriller that helps shed some light on how voter data is collected and used along with other major issues and dilemma’s the U.S. is facing.

It all starts when something astounding and unexpected happens. Tori Justice’s candidate won. Except…he wasn’t supposed to. Tori was the voter file manager for a local campaign. She knew the voting files backwards and forwards and no matter how she looked at it – nothing added up. Her candidate was supposed to lose. Most of us would take the victory lap. Tori, instead, called newspapers and journalists. She called anyone who would listen and Jack Sharpe is the one that answered her call. While Tori and Jack begin their investigation, we see “investors” buying up millions of land from farmers of all types – dairy, wheat, soybeans. Farmers giving up due to conglomerates squeezing the market, allowing foreign investors to see a way in.

The Voter Files! My favorite chapter(s) and part of the story was when Tori and Jack meet for the first time and Tori explains to him all about how the voter files and voter data works. As voters, when we respond and say “I will never, ever, ever vote for “Candidate X”, you are then given a number between 1-5 that indicates your likeliness for voting a certain way. The number you are given will determine what type of ads or messages you then receive, it also prompts them to help send you reminders for voting. You see, it’s all about ensuring you remain engaged and excited to vote. It’s all about ensuring you vote. So, if you are a strong “Yes! I will vote for Candidate X”, then you could receive ads generated to ensure you remain emotionally engaged. An example would be an ad that others may see as over-the-top or emotionally charged. They aren’t there to change your mind, just ensure you still have the desire to vote the way you said you want to. Others that are in the middle – moderates, independents, and those still undecided might receive an ad or message more tailored to how the candidate will work across the aisle, or one that gives examples on their more moderate views. But the voting file is much, much more than that. State and national information mixed together with vendor information – all stored at the national level – always adding, never subtracting. The story goes into greater discussion and depth than I do here and it was fascinating.

I loved Tori. I loved her tenaciousness. It’s not just anyone would who question why their candidate won and then seek out someone to help look into her story. Even the losing candidate’s voting file manager was surprised by her when he found out what she was looking into. But beyond that, I found Jack’s and her partnership very enjoyable. Upon meeting her he immediately notices how their different generations respond/react differently, but even so they meshed very well together.

All in all, this thriller has exactly what you might expect: murder, subplots, certain individuals tracking and following other individuals, foreign actors, investigative work – just to name a few. It was a fun read that was very educational too. Although the title says The Voter Files it also covered other topics as well such as gerrymandering and monopolies.

Voting and elections are a very hot topic right now in the news, especially as the U.S. grows closer to November when the presidential elections will take place. This is the perfect time to read this book, especially if you are looking to become more educated on how some of the process works, but in an entertaining way.

Rating: 4.5 stars

[3 no 7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Voter File” is the perfect read for an election year. It blurs the line between fact and fiction, and reads almost like tomorrow’s headlines. Politics is a crazy game, and one never knows what might happen.

Data gathering and analyzing is Tori Justice’s area of expertise, and when she looks at the results of a recent special election, she knows something is wrong, very wrong. She seeks the help of former TV reporter Jack Sharpe, now a freelance investigator. It is a long shot of a story, but if true, it will resurrect his fading career. Together they dig into political campaigns and the cesspool of political influence that surrounds them. It is politics, so they expect a certain amount of superficial appearances, but they discover that someone is accessing databases housing the private information of millions of Americans in a nefarious hidden agenda to win hundreds of up‑coming small elections all over The United States.

The story is fast paced with most happening over a week or so, and the action bounces from Wisconsin and Ohio to settings in Utah, New Jersey, and even Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Washington, D.C. It is an intense journey. People are rigging the outcomes of elections, and Justice and Sharpe fight to protect both themselves and their story.

“The Voter File” is democracy at its best and worse, the “free press” strives against all odds to uncover corruption, and the political machine squashes everyone and everything in its path to achieve its goal. I received a review copy of “The Voter File” from David Pepper, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Penguin Publishing Group It will validate everything you love about politics, and expose everything you hate about politics.

The book has no hidden political agenda other than to compel readers to VOTE in every election, both local and national, no matter for whom, just vote.

P.S. Look for the best secret password “Cedar Point,” one of my favorite amusement parks, located on the shores of Lake Erie.

[Simona Moroni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is less than 100 days until the US election, and things are getting tense out there. If you want to add to your worries, and why not, what is one more, dig in into The Voter File. What I liked the most about this fastpaced thriller is that although it involves Russian meddling, it came up with a completely new concern, a problem most people aren't even aware of. Terrifying. I appreciate it when a thriller is so currant and still ahead of the curve, a hard thing to do these days when the news circle moves at breakneck speed.
I was not aware that campaigns assign numbers to their registered voters, to distinguish between the people they still have to convince and those who have to turn up. Now, if somebody would mess with that system, a lot of things would go wrong.
Investigative reporter Jack Sharpe is fired from his high-profile gig with a national news channel. He is approached by grad student Tori Justice, involving a story about voter fraud in a local election. What follows is a sharp and exhilarating cat and mouse chase that will determine the future of the USA and cost people's lives. The Voter file reads like a dream, and if the coming election keeps you up at night, what better way to spend it, than reading a book that will confirm all your fears.

[Kaitlin Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kicking myself that I didn't read this series in order! Picked this up at the library on a whim and tore through it. Really interesting and it wasn't hard to follow along even though there are a lot of characters. Sometimes political thrillers move so quickly that you can't keep anything straight, but that wasn't the case here.

[Roberta Havel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t understand why The Voter File hasn’t been proclaimed an important book for all political junkies to read. It reads like a novel but in actuality IT could be true in the age of artificial intelligence. While the thriller plot seems a little outrageous, the author David Pepper, who was chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, has an insider’s and accurate knowledge of what’s in the voter file and how it could affect the outcome of an election.

This book has frightened me enough that I can’t help but being scared about the outcome of the 2024 election. Wake up and read it.

[Danae Misegades · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost a 5 star read. Great story, fast paced, and bonus points for short, readable chapters. Definitely looking forward to reading another one by this author.

[Daniella · Rating 2 out of 5]

"political thriller"

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Sharpe, a news anchor recently fired by the Republic network, is trying to reignite his career. The promise of a story has brought him to Wisconsin and Tori Justice, a low level campaign worker who has uncovered voter fraud in a local election. The problems in that local election will take Jack and Tori on a wild ride across the country trying to stay a step ahead of enemies while they figure out exactly who those enemies are and why they are manipulating election results.

At Republic, Jack’s former co-anchor Cassie Knowles has noticed that her network is promoting some agendas and limiting on air comments about others. How does this link to a local election is the Midwest? Why are small farms and independent banks being bought across the country? Exactly who is the mysterious Katrina and what is her interest in elections? All these questions will be answered but not until this political thriller roars through explanations of how to commit voter fraud, the role of monopolies, a description of a broken two party system and several murders.

I so want The Voter File to be fiction! But in the back of my mind, I realize that it could happen if it hasn’t already. If you are only going to read one book this summer, make it The Voter File. You won’t be disappointed. 5 stars.

[Matt Persson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. And scary how much research and real life was put into it. Describes what happens today all over the country.

[William de_Rham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a good political thriller. For me, this just didn’t do it.

Two reporters and a local campaign worker oh-so-slowly uncover a plot to manipulate the make-up of the U.S. Congress by gaining control of state legislatures (responsible for re-drawing congressional districts every ten years) by means of computer hacking into voter data files.

While the novel is timely, I suppose, it is also a lot about computers, and voter files and hacking into them, and data manipulation, and how turning an R district to a D, and vice versa, might be accomplished—all of which is pretty dry stuff. And I’m not sure how true to life the novel is, and thus, how real the danger is that it portrays. Also, I found the repeated explanations of how data files are/might be manipulated confusing-to the point that I had trouble getting invested in the novel's stakes..

Politically, the novel is somewhat left of center, focusing on the dangers of corporate monopolies and wealth concentration. Also, pretty dry stuff.

Author David Pepper does try to liven things up by injecting foreign plots and vicious assassins in pursuit of "our heroes." The problem is that, with the possible exception of a women’s rugby playing, local campaign worker, none of "our heroes" are particularly interesting. About the most that we get to know about the two reporters is that…well…they’re reporters. (However, this novel is the third in a series and I haven’t read the first two, so I may well be missing something.)

And while Pepper knows how to put words on a page (so you never feel like you’re in the hands of an amateur--often a problem these days), he’s structured this novel using a series of short, staccato chapters that leap from setting to setting and character to character. That, added with lots of didactic passages explaining how to hack voter files and the dangers of monopoly, made my head start to a hurt.

Bottom line, I got about 65% of the way through this before just giving up.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Sharpe is down on his luck after being sacked from his network reporting gig. He told the truth about a story on air but his network didn't want that matter discussed on air, so he's out. He has a tip from a grad student in Wisconsin about irregularities in their voter files. When Jack meets up with Tori, she is quickly about to spell out the issue and how what happened, shouldn't have.

Turns out there is a lot more at stake than turning elections, that is just the starting point for changing our entire political system. There are Russian Oligarchs, along with Chinese, & Eastern European businessmen. Jack needs to find out what are they up to and expose their plan before the next election. This is complicated by the monopolies in US newspapers, Jack's only outsource for his story since he can't go on TV without paying HUGE fines to his old boss.

Good journalists put the story first and have always taken their responsibilities with the utmost professionalism. This book shows how important true journalism is.

On a personal note...I really enjoyed the locations in the book. I grew up in Wisconsin and have lived the last few decades in Indiana so when they talk about Waterloo and Madison, it brings me home. When Jack ventures to Ohio and takes about lake Erie and Cedar Point, it reminds me of many trips to the area. I always enjoy reading books where the location is a character in the book, and this was one of them.

Definitely left this book with the set up for a fourth book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Investigative reporter, Jack Sharpe, has lost his job with a national news channel. With no other options, he follows a lead that has been provided by a graduate student named Tori Justice. She is positive she has observed what has to be impossible results in a local election. Jack is skeptical that anything is amiss, but he’s willing to listen and maybe even investigate the allegations. He soon learns that in any election the database that each party uses to keep track of the voters in a district is the key component. That voter file is absolutely vital for campaign planning and the path to victory.

The Voter File is the story of a rouge reporter who finds himself locked in a battle to prove that the future of the country is at stake and it may very well cost him his life. This book by David Pepper is timely, interesting and suspenseful. The characters are well-drawn, the plot well-planned, and the story is very believable, especially given today’s political climate.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Voter File. Well-done Mr Pepper!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an exciting book to reading during an election year. Some people would ask is this book about Trump? The answer is no. This is a fiction political thriller about the voter file being hacked by the Russians. The voter file was altered by taking undecided individuals and making their votes count as the person who they wanted to win. While that was going on, small farms in America were being sold to Russian owners. Main characters Jack a media reporter and Tori a media campaign manager get to the bottom of the plot to ruin Americans democracy in attempt to monopolize the economy.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

finished 26th april 2023 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner and i think the first from pepper david although i do have a pepper shelf listed so maybe i've read him before. story is about the lengths people will go to control wealth and power and leaves one with a feeling of helplessness. if you're game knock your self out. very believable...and spooky...knowing that any and all info out there is collected and processed and used by the powers that be. what do you do? make sure you have a can of worms handy and pray for a rain day. onward and upward.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. Have read all three and can't wait till for fourth arrives in 2021!! So sad to see this black money corruption playing out in Ohio. How does David do it??!! Writes a book and darn if the news breaks that there has been a real life example of the flaws in our election system that he points out in his books. Highly recommend the whole series. The editing of news interviews to fit the parent companies political agenda is so true....and so sad!!!

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Competently written with an original take on voter manipulation. The best part of this book is how it lays out some of the techniques used by political campaigns to generate voter turnout in elections. Otherwise, a lot of tropes - dying Russian oligarch, his beautiful and lethal niece, a brave reporter and sidekick, and so on. The protagonist never went beyond superficial. The story was quite typical and I never felt any real tension.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new series for me and I am really glad I stumbled across it. I love political thrillers and this is one of the best. It captures some of the hot issues off our current news and brings them to life. Great characters, lots of action and an ending that it just the beginning of another story. What more can you want?
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the current political climate as it is, this book does a great job of blurring the lines between fiction and what-ifs. It’s scary and thrilling and makes you wonder. David Pepper has a knack for developing characters you root for. His knowledge of politics is very evident without being wonk-ish. The story grabbed me and didn’t let go. I hope there’s more to come from Jack Sharpe—as long as it remains fiction!

[Jay Clement · Rating 3 out of 5]

70-2020. This book has an interesting and scary premise, about elections and data collection. But, it doesn’t advance that cool idea very much. I wanted to like this book more than I did, but a little too much discussion of spreadsheets and data tables left me a little blah. There were also some unconvincing flips of characters late in the story. Too bad.

[Rob Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There you go again...” a sequel to a sequel-excellent!

Excellent read and informative
David Pepper writes captivating and important descriptions of the inside baseball of electioneering in Voter File.
Timing a relevance couldn’t be more aligned with current events.
What’s next? :)

[Judith Leipold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a thriller, and chiller! Not my exact genre, but it kept me turning pages. It was chosen by my book club for the "time relevance" of the upcoming election. Unfortunately, I was medicated and slept through the discussion. SO sorry to have missed that! I think this has potential for a tv mini series. Hoping it isn't a "reality peep" into the aftermath of the 2020 election.

[Shona · Rating 3 out of 5]

So apparently this is the third in a series with the protagonist Jack Sharpe. I didn’t read the first two but it wasn’t really necessary. This seemed right up my alley, but it didn’t really live up to my expectations. It was a fun book to read around Election Day and was honestly a little scary reading about voter fraud. #RRItsHandled

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd in a series of political thrillers featuring Jack Sharpe. It may be my favorite. Each one ends with some unfinished business or unresolved problems. This one, involving covert tampering with voter files to influence election results, is action packed. Sharpe gets help from 2 smart and gutsy women. Tori Justice is a data geek super hero.

[John Bunyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pepper again does a great job of bringing timely issues out through a political thriller novel.
I have no real criticisms. If you liked the first two of the series, you will enjoy this one.
Once again there of an epilogue that teases the next book to come.

Warning: There are some gruesome torture scenes

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Not great. Why did it have to be sooo long? I didn’t buy some of the hired assassin stuff, it just didn’t seem real. I think it should have been more espionage and less physical chase. Also the voter file scheme seemed so complicated with many variables that it just didn’t seem plausible in the end. I haven’t read his other books and didn’t realize this was number three in the series.

[MB]

35% complete - DNF so I’m not rating it.

Couldn’t get into it, plus one of the characters was named Victoria Justice, and I just couldn’t get Victorious out of my head. Kinda ruined the world for me, and the plot didn’t move along fast enough to keep my attention.

Song: “Make It Shine” by Victorious Cast lol

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #3 in a great series and this was my favorite. All of these books deal with rigging of our elections by Russians and it’s frightening to think it could be possible. I highly recommend these books, but start with the first book - The People’s House.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This was intriguing.... I loved the short chapters and felt engaged throughout the book but I felt like I was missing out on a few key elements not having read his previous books. I liked the book, but I didn’t loooove the book.