NEW RELEASE
The First Affair - Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin (2013)
Jamie has scored herself an internship at the White House. When the interns are called into action during a government crisis, Jamie seizes the opportunity to make her mark. And she also gets the opportunity to get up close and personal with the charismatic President Greg Rutland. And when we're talking up close and personal, we mean Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky up close and personal. When I first heard about this book, I presumed the authors would take inspiration from the late 1990s scandal and spin off into an entirely different story. But no. The story pretty much mirrors the ripped-from-the-headlines saga - from the stain on the blue dress, to the gifted tie, to the intern's past with another man. All that was left up in the air was wondering which of Jamie's confidantes would emerge as Linda Tripp. The pace picks up when Jamie finds herself hunted by the media and officials trying to bring down the president. It's an interesting enough read but no points for originality.
Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus' latest novel, The First Affair, has shades of the Monica Lewinsky affair as a woman looks back at her summer internship at the White House when she was seduced by the President of the United States. The summary says: "Following college, Jamie McAllister wins a prestigious internship at the White House that she has no idea will irrevocably alter her life. An unexpected flirtation with the handsome and charismatic Gregory Rutland quickly leads to an emotional relationship she is ill equipped to handle at twenty-two. Each time she tries to extricate herself Greg is unable to find the strength to let her go. Meanwhile, the opposing party mobilizes to annihilate his presidency by any means necessary. As Greg's conflicting desires drive her to the breaking point, Jamie can't help but reveal intimate details to those closest to her. But she must have unburdened herself to the wrong person - because within a matter of weeks Jamie finds herself, and everyone she loves, facing highly calculated destruction at the hands of Greg's political enemies. With her every mistake dragged out for the world to judge, Jamie has to endure an unprecedented trial in the court of public opinion - with the fate of the President, his party, and the country at stake. Now, years later, can the woman infamously known as the "girl in the blue dress" make sense of this affair, and the trauma it wrought, for the world - and for herself?" The First Affair is out in August 2013.