The Hellfire Club

I really looked forward to this book. It’s good and not horrible. I felt that it was constantly building to something but never got there. I was thinking about 3 stars but thought that was because it was Jake Tapper and I like him as a journalist... this is a 2 star novel. The descriptive prose got to be annoying and I almost made them into a drinking game. (Read the opening of Washington Posts review after you read a bit of this book and you get his joke.) If there is a sequel I will not be following Charlie’s journey.

This book was authentic to the era even when the authenticity was painful--no excuses, no "maybe this isn't a good idea." I am so glad Jake Trapper wrote this way. The intrigue was believable and scary as hell. I think Jake's book will become a must read if you want to explain to Millenials how researching was done before the internet. My only complaint was that Jake was narrating the book and he isn't a narrator. He only speaks in one "voice," which distracts from the excellent story.