Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
HOPE NEVER DIES by Andrew Shaffer reunites former-Vice President Joe Biden with his best friend and partner in crime, former-President Barack Obama, in a hilarious and somewhat-suspenseful mystery. The novel is due out on July 10th 2018 by Quirk Books.
Ever since their term in the White House ended, Joe Biden has been hanging around at his home in Delaware and getting increasingly more upset with Barack Obama for going off and having the time of his life while ignoring his best friend. Needless to say, but the bromance is definitely suffering. And it’s unfortunate circumstances that bring the dynamic duo back together. When Barack learns that one of Joe’s old friends – a railroad conductor that Joe has known since he first started traveling on Amtrak to Washington DC during his early days as a Senator – has died under mysterious circumstances, he travels to Delaware to give Joe a heads up. The two then team up together to uncover the truth of what happened to Joe’s friend, and help bust a crime ring in Delaware.
While HOPE NEVER DIES is definitely campy fanfiction, it is also an interesting mystery novel staring Joe Biden and Barack Obama. When I first saw the novel, I almost couldn’t believe it was real. But it is real, and it is a must read regardless of your political affiliation. I mean, how could you not read a book starring Joe Biden as a straight-forward, sarcastic, corny, and slightly bitter protagonist? The man is bumbling around and going up against biker gangs and hardened criminals. And his wife, Jill, has no idea what he’s gotten himself in to. Joe Biden doesn’t even know what he’s gotten himself in to! What makes it even better is that his best friend is reluctantly along for the ride. Barack Obama is Joe’s shotgun wielding, unicorn riding, Secret Service dodging, ninja-like side-kick. Yes, the tables have turned and now Joe is the one calling the shots.
I’ll admit that I couldn’t take this book all that seriously. The whole concept is absurd – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a wonderfully, insanely, absurd idea. After reading HOPE NEVER DIES, I want to believe that somewhere – perhaps in a parallel universe – Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s bromance is alive and well, and that they are fighting crime while ducking the Secret Service and accidently breaking the law themselves.