The First Counsel
Aficionados of the hit TV showThe West Wingwho are suffering  through holiday reruns will jump right into Brad Meltzer's third novel (afterThe Tenth JusticeandDead Even), which takes readers into the  White House office of the president's own law firm and introduces a first  daughter whose complex psychological problems jump-start this fast-paced  thriller. Michael Garrick loves his job as deputy counsel, but when he falls for  Nora Hartson, the president's daughter, the conflict between his professional  ethics and his growing love for her puts him right in the middle of a murder  plot that may reach all the way to the Oval Office.Meltzer excels at plotting, and he knows the back corridors, family quarters,  and secret tunnels of the executive branch as well as those of the Supreme  Court, which he revealed in his first two blockbusters. He's not as skillful at  characterization. It's hard to believe that the sociopathic tendencies of people  in a president's inner circle--or even his family--would have managed to escape  the scrutiny of an FBI investigation during his rise to power. And Nora, in  particular, doesn't quite come off as the misguided victim she must be in order  to make the rest of the story credible. But that's not a huge quibble; Meltzer  manages to make Edgar Simon, Michael's boss, the most interesting White House  counsel since John Dean.The First Counselis a cleverly commercial mix  of legal thriller and political chicanery guaranteed to keep you turning pages  until Meltzer puts the third branch of government in his sights, too.--Jane  Adams