Decades ago, the mob launched a scheme to curtail and control the Justice Department by installing their own candidate into our nation’s highest office, the presidency. With secret ownership of a major television network and the availability of unlimited cash with which to fund their puppet’s campaign, the plot seems unstoppable. They aren’t prepared, however, for the fortitude and perseverance of a band of supposed burnouts intent on foiling them. The mob’s nemeses in their endeavor include a TV producer they hired to develop a promotion film and his lover, the sister of a Mafia don.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Stephen J. Cannell, the creator of such television hits as The Rockford Files and The A-Team, is a masterful storyteller. One of the things that make this book, his first novel, so hard to put down is the believability of its plot. The characters are exceptionally well drawn. The excitement starts with the murder of a U.S. Senator and never lets up.

This novel might have been even more intense if the author hadn’t relied so heavily on the passive voice in his narrative, but the dialogue is impeccable and the pacing edge-of-the-seat. If you’re looking for a thriller that holds your attention from the first page, you’ll love The Plan.