The plot revolves around a young presidential aide who finds himself involved in an assassination attempt early in his career. An incumbent President campaigning for a second term escapes physical injury, but the attempt on his life and the circumstances of the event obliterate any chance he has for re-election. Our hero, Wes Holloway, suffers right along with him as he carries the guilt for his involvement, as well as his own physical injuries, throughout the following eight years.

What Mr. Meltzer has packed into those ensuing eight years is enough to fill several novels, but somehow he manages to squeeze it all in and make it palatable, to boot. The various government agencies, the media, and the post-Presidential staff of the defeated former President are all involved in this riveting story of plots within plots, mistaken identities, psychotic episodes, betrayal of friends, and outright violence. The characters are all interesting, but not all likeable, and the author adeptly steers the reader through his complex, but enthralling, accumulation of events, damning documents, and weird puzzles. The basis for the plot, actually, is a weird crossword puzzle, and it takes more than 500 pages for them to solve it.

This is a very good book, and if you are looking for intelligent, absorbing, escapist fiction, you won't find a better choice than The Book of Fate.
Review by Litera Scripta