Goldman's Bookshelf
The Cinquefoil Connection
Recy Dunn
Authorhouse
1661 Liberty Drive, suite 200, Bloomington, IN, 47403
ISBN: 1414074808 $16.95 291 pages

Recy Dunn's debut novel, The Cinquefoil Connection's, principal protagonist, Jonathan McClendon, is caught in a deep web of deception and manipulation, when he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for his eventual rise to the Presidency of the United States.

The Cinquefoil Connection is an exciting tangled tale that is supported by ruthless five secondary characters that will not stop at anything-even murder in order to have their own hand picked candidate occupy the highest office in the land.

These characters make up a secret organization, whose name-"cinquefoil" is derived from the old French term that signifies a flower structure comprising five (cinq) leaves (foil).

The opening chapters of the narrative brim with intrigue as we find our principal protagonist running for city councilman in a small Texas town, Clemens. His chances of initially winning the election seem very slim, until he is approached and eventually seduced into swallowing campaign aid from Samuel Lewis, a member of the Cinquefoil group. Something akin to a small fish grabbing hold of huge bait, which ultimately proves to be the lesson of our novel.

Firing his campaign manager Christopher Alvin and replacing him with Lewis is the first of McLendon's betrayals, as his political fortunes rise with the help and tutelage of these five remorseless individuals. Along the way there is a series of murders, adultery on the part of McLendon's wife, election fraud and a series of other irregular treacheries, most of which are unbeknown to a naive McLendon.

After fifteen years of learning his skills as a political animal, our principal protagonist runs for the presidency of the United States. He succeeds in becoming the second youngest President of the United States, however, he is obliged to nominate as members of his cabinet all of the cinqefoil's choices, with the exception of the Vice President.

The Cinquefoil Connection is not without flaws, particularly in the editing and proofreading, where I picked up several errors. There was also, from time to time, a lack of effective dynamism that keeps the episodes moving forward, holding us captivated in the suspense of the scene. Furthermore, if the character of the principal protagonist had been pushed further, the dramatic structure of the book would have been more effective.

All in all and despite these flaws, this book has a great deal of potential and definitely is an impressive beginning for a debut novelist, who has demonstrated a zealous imagination and narrative acumen.