Gathering String

by Mimi Johnson

A long-ago fire that killed two boys in a small Iowa town emerges as a threat to the front-runner in a presidential campaign. The two journalists pursuing the mystery could hardly be more different. Though he works for the website Politifix, surly Sam Waterman disdains the digital tools that are taking over journalism. All he wants is a political scalp. Congenial Jack Westphal, a basketball star turned editor, is leading and tweeting his small-town newspaper into the digital age. When they start pursuing the mystery, the men have only one thing in They both love Tess Benedict. Tess left Washington after a volatile office romance with Sam, finding refuge in Iowa and marrying Jack. Sam and Jack begin their collision course when Swede Erickson, Iowa’s popular governor, decides to run for president. Swede became a surrogate brother to Jack after an automobile accident killed his family during his freshman year of college. Jack starts his campaign coverage as an enthusiastic cheerleader of his personal mentor and the hometown favorite son. It’s the surprising information in Sam’s investigative profile on Erickson that forces Jack to look at his friend through objective eyes. As both men dig deeper, suspicion grows. From different directions the journalists follow separate threads that lead back to the fire. Along the way, they come to realize that the story will carry personal costs, not only to themselves but to the woman they both love. As the men draw closer to the truth, events thrust them together in a contentious alliance. The personal and national stakes escalate as they put together the final pieces and decide whether and how to tell the story. Pushed to the limit, Jack and Sam face together the costs of running a story that could destroy them all.

Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Romance, Mystery

456 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2012

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I'm always going to love a novel with journalists as the main characters. Throw in a setting in the neighboring state of Iowa during the lead-up to the caucuses, and it's all familiar, interesting territory to me. In this case, the characters avoid being stereotypical while exploring some age-old conflicts -- big city-small town, older-younger, new and past love interests loyalty vs. doing the right thing, etc. The ending seems to provide an opportunity for a sequel, so I'll be watching for that. I particularly like the snapshot Johnson provides of the state of journalism in 2012. Disclosure: I have worked with Johnson's husband in the past. That connection made me aware of the book but it was the book itself that kept me reading and earned the four stars.

[Chris Hubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is a great yarn. Gathering String follows the intertwined lives of three journalists and an ambitious politician on a stage that grows from small town to national. Johnson has an ear for dialogue and an eye for authentic detail. She writes characters that you feel like you know, and puts them in a story that will keep you turning pages until you reach the end. I only wish it would've lasted longer. A great read.

[Sheila Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book really good and interesting.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don’t have to care about the future of news or the machinations of election-year politics to enjoy “Gathering String’ by Mimi Johnson. But if you happen to be a news or politics junkie, you’ll take special delight in this gripping tale of love, adventure and one big secret that, if uncovered, could change the fate of the Presidential election. It’s Republican primary season and popular Iowa Governor “Swede” Erickson is a last-minute entrant into the race. Ace newspaper reporter Sam Waterman—now at the Politifix website—is assigned to cover Erickson and he’s itching to see behind the too-perfect façade: “Nothing’s better than finding the… skeleton… in a candidate’s closet,” he says early on, adding: “News is telling people what they need to know, but don’t.” But heading to Iowa means running into Sam’s ex-love Tess Benedict. Tess is a former news photographer whose earlier passionate relationship with Sam is recounted in an engaging and at times highly dramatic flashback. She’s now married to local newspaper editor and publisher Jack Westphal—a man with a close personal connection to Swede Erickson. Johnson has a lot of fun with the political backdrop—the “Minutemen” Party is a big influence in this fictional election season, as is a Sarah Palin-esque potential VP candidate—and Johnson also weaves in great details about the challenges facing the news business at companies large and small, online and off. But ultimately this is the story of Sam, Tess and Jack—and Swede—and as the stakes are raised and loyalties are challenged, this exciting tale builds to a powerful and satisfying conclusion.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working for a small-town weekly newspaper, I found the storyline in "Gathering String" quite relatable. It can be difficult in this environment to always be objective and always tell 'the whole story,' when your sources are very often neighbors and close friends. And when they may be pillars of a tight-knit, rural community, who could damage the newspaper financially (and in other ways) if you cross them.

That's the dilemma facing Jack Westphal, publisher and editor of The Lindsborg Journal, when "Swede" Erickson, governor of Iowa and a Lindsborg native, closes in on the Republican nomination for president. Gov. Erickson has treated Jack like one of the family for years. Turns out, he has been keeping a dark secret for about as long. A secret that could end Erickson's run for the White House, just when GOP convention delegates are meeting to bestow the formal nomination.

Jack finds an unlikely ally in Sam Waterman, a hard-bitten former print journalist currently employed by a political news website. Sam had once been romantically involved with Tess Benedict, a photographer and colleague from his print days, who is now Jack's wife. The pair share a love for Tess and a commitment to quality reporting. They'll get to the truth, even if it brings down Lindsborg's favorite son.

This is a book with memorable characters and an engaging story, timely and well told. Finishing "Gathering String" made me want to read another chapter; made me want to know what happens next. That's about the best compliment I can pay to a work of fiction.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. Most of it, anyway. Pretty good character development, and I liked the key characters (and disliked the bad guys). Figured out a lot of it, but the author never really answered a couple of questions that were brought up in the course of the story. Like, "Where was Carl?" and "Who is Swede's fixer?"

This book went into copious back-story detail -- read at times like a Harlequin Romance. Page after page after page of history. Entire articles reprinted. Minute detail about the house and fooling around. A road trip by a speed demon that lasted page after page ... all the details of the investigations and the machinations to get the story out. Definitely needs some trimming with a heavier hand.

Then, finally, the climax. And it just ends. Did Mimi get bored with her story? I mean, I hung in there through page after page of stuff not really essential for the story, eyes glazing over in parts of it just to get through it all, get through to the point of the entire book, but I never did get to find out the consequences -- the ending just blows. No satisfaction after sticking through all 360+ pages of it -- left with, "then what happened?" That last paragraph was like a slap in the face. You go through all the work and don't get any of the payoff.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Every page was worth it. I miss the characters and hope I get to see them again in a future sequal. Johnson creates a wonderful story around politics, journalism, love and family. Highly recommend it!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book - if you like politics and/or journalism at all, put it on your 'to read' list!

[Laura Ballard · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read - good plot - fun to read something with a n "Iowa" base

[Amy Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Exciting Reading!

[Lindsay]

Amazon Freebie 10/28/2012

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great first book from an author who really told a story that intrigued all the way to the end. Looking forward to the next offering from this writer.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading for the second time. Love it!