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The Means
Part Primary Colors, part House of Cards, The Means is a “compelling psychic drama” (Forbes.com) and a “tale of political intrigue” (The Free Lance-Star) that takes you deep into high-stakes politics where everyone has something to hide.Tom Pauley is a conservative trial attorney in Durham, NC, who is tapped by GOP leaders to campaign for the Governor’s mansion. His bold style makes him a favorite for a run at the White House. Mitchell Mason is the president-elect of the United States, pushed into politics by a father determined to create a political dynasty. Mason manages the White House with a personal touch that makes as many friends as enemies. Samantha Davis is a child actor-turned-lawyer-turned-journalist, working her way up from the bottom in a competitive industry. She is determined and brilliant, and her dogged pursuit of a decade-old story could trigger a scandal that would upend the political landscape. New York Times bestselling author Douglas Brunt’s “fast-paced, noirish novel” (Library Journal) creates an incisive portrait of ambition, power, and what it takes to win in the ruthless world of politics today.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 16, 2014
93 people are currently reading
786 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Brunt
6 books233 followersDouglas Brunt is an American novelist, historian, podcast host for SiriusXM, and entrepreneur. He was the CEO of Authentium, Inc., an Internet security company, which he sold in 2011.
Brunt is The New York Times bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction. His narrative history titles include THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL and THE LOST EMPIRE OF EMANUEL NOBEL.
More information at www.douglasbrunt.com
Brunt is The New York Times bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction. His narrative history titles include THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL and THE LOST EMPIRE OF EMANUEL NOBEL.
More information at www.douglasbrunt.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
August 9, 2014
Politicians are sleazy and shady. Who knew???
The couple of advanced reviews I’ve read for this book all said it was oh so great and a fantastic peek behind the metaphorical curtain to show what really happens in politics and during political campaigns. It was fresh and powerful and compelling, they said. It was a great read, they said.
There’s a good chance I read a different book than they did.
There’s really no plot to this one other than the not-so-mysterious outcome of a presidential election and a decades of old “did he do it?” about a hit-and-run that may or may not have involved the sitting President. It could have been a good mystery, a real page turner, a political scandal that pulled the reader in. Could have been. It wasn’t.
Instead we get to loosely follow the president, his opponent, and a naive reporter trying to make a name for herself through a drawn out and bland campaign. Any sort of twist attempted is pretty obvious. If we were given a reason to care about the characters, this might have been ok. But, of course, we weren’t. There’s no reason to pull for any of these people and they’re not dirty enough to dislike. They’re pretty one-dimensional. I’ve read books in which I’ve disliked all the key players, but they were written in such a way that I disliked them so much (as was intended) that I wanted to see how badly things turned out for them. Again, this didn’t happen in The Means. I simply didn’t care what happened one way or another.
The big trick/twist/reveal at the very end was pretty obvious and could be seen coming about a third of the way into the book. I would guess the intention was to make this moment all the more “Wait! Whaaaa?” by sliding it in casually. It didn’t really work. It was supposed to reveal that a certain character or two were pulling the strings all along, making everyone around them do their bidding, a trick no one saw coming.
It didn’t work. Pass on this one, even if you love politics, political theater and DC thrillers. It misses the mark by miles.
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy from the publisher for review.
The couple of advanced reviews I’ve read for this book all said it was oh so great and a fantastic peek behind the metaphorical curtain to show what really happens in politics and during political campaigns. It was fresh and powerful and compelling, they said. It was a great read, they said.
There’s a good chance I read a different book than they did.
There’s really no plot to this one other than the not-so-mysterious outcome of a presidential election and a decades of old “did he do it?” about a hit-and-run that may or may not have involved the sitting President. It could have been a good mystery, a real page turner, a political scandal that pulled the reader in. Could have been. It wasn’t.
Instead we get to loosely follow the president, his opponent, and a naive reporter trying to make a name for herself through a drawn out and bland campaign. Any sort of twist attempted is pretty obvious. If we were given a reason to care about the characters, this might have been ok. But, of course, we weren’t. There’s no reason to pull for any of these people and they’re not dirty enough to dislike. They’re pretty one-dimensional. I’ve read books in which I’ve disliked all the key players, but they were written in such a way that I disliked them so much (as was intended) that I wanted to see how badly things turned out for them. Again, this didn’t happen in The Means. I simply didn’t care what happened one way or another.
The big trick/twist/reveal at the very end was pretty obvious and could be seen coming about a third of the way into the book. I would guess the intention was to make this moment all the more “Wait! Whaaaa?” by sliding it in casually. It didn’t really work. It was supposed to reveal that a certain character or two were pulling the strings all along, making everyone around them do their bidding, a trick no one saw coming.
It didn’t work. Pass on this one, even if you love politics, political theater and DC thrillers. It misses the mark by miles.
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy from the publisher for review.
February 12, 2015
A compelling book about politics and the secrets that lines behind it.
Douglas Burnt's The Means is a surprise for me. The characters, much like their decisions are realistic. I believe that this work not only portrays politics as we not know it but it reflected our daily lives.
Samantha, Mitchell and Tom represents each and everyone of us.
ARC via Netgalley
Douglas Burnt's The Means is a surprise for me. The characters, much like their decisions are realistic. I believe that this work not only portrays politics as we not know it but it reflected our daily lives.
Samantha, Mitchell and Tom represents each and everyone of us.
ARC via Netgalley
August 19, 2017
What with the daily chaos and confusion in the Trump White House this book couldn't hold a candle to reality!! It was a very fast read with a strange abrupt ending that left me wondering why? This is my second book by this author and until I read the other reviews I had no idea he was married to Megan Kelly! This book was written in 2014, would love to see how he might have written the story in 2016????
December 27, 2024
dnf at page 140 i literally just can’t take it anymore
December 31, 2025
A fun read until the last 50 pages or so...
August 1, 2014
I'd rate this 4.5 stars.
Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Having lived in the Washington, DC area for more than 25 years, I'm still simultaneously fascinated and reviled by politics. While I've had more than my share of politicians and their rhetoric and mudslinging, I have always been a sucker for the drama of presidential campaigns, watching a herd of candidates enter and only the luckiest one survives. That certainly explains part of the appeal of Douglas Brunt's tremendously compelling new novel, The Means.
The Means follows three characters over a four-year period. Mitchell Mason, former governor of New York, was raised as the scion of a political dynasty, and has been training to be president since he was young. He has finally ascended to the highest office in the land, and although his know-it-all, sometimes-condescending style is difficult for some of his staff to handle, his ideas for governing the country often demonstrate that he is worthy of the job.
Tom Pauley is a defense attorney in North Carolina, whose pro bono work on a controversial trial thrusts him into the spotlight. His folksy, congenial style, coupled with his good looks, catches the attention of state GOP leaders, who quickly tap him to run for governor, and then set their sights even higher.
Samantha Davis is a beautiful, intelligent, driven child actress-turned-lawyer, who leaves the law to pursue a journalism career. Her beauty and smarts, as well as her on-camera skills, quickly set her star on the rise. She gets her hands on an old, unreported story that has the potential to be a gigantic bombshell in the political world, and does everything she can to pursue it, regardless of the consequences.
I found this book utterly fascinating. While those quite familiar with the political process and life on the campaign trail may find that some of the plot isn't 100 percent accurate, for someone who watches these things from a far, I felt as if I had a behind-the-scenes look at campaigning, governing, the life of an incumbent president fighting to be re-elected, the art of damage control, and the toll campaigning takes on a candidate's family. It's also a commentary on just how pervasive the media can be, and its power to shake up the political landscape.
Brunt is an excellent storyteller, and I was hooked on this book from start to finish. His three main characters were tremendously complex—your impressions of them change throughout the book, and I thought it was interesting that he demonstrated that no one person is completely good or bad. There are even a few twists that surprised me, and that doesn't happen.
If you're as fascinated by the political process, the media, and political campaigns as much as I am, definitely read The Means. And even if you're utterly disinterested in the political system, you may still find this tremendously interesting. It's a great book and I think it could make an even better movie—perhaps a less somber Ides of March.
Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Having lived in the Washington, DC area for more than 25 years, I'm still simultaneously fascinated and reviled by politics. While I've had more than my share of politicians and their rhetoric and mudslinging, I have always been a sucker for the drama of presidential campaigns, watching a herd of candidates enter and only the luckiest one survives. That certainly explains part of the appeal of Douglas Brunt's tremendously compelling new novel, The Means.
The Means follows three characters over a four-year period. Mitchell Mason, former governor of New York, was raised as the scion of a political dynasty, and has been training to be president since he was young. He has finally ascended to the highest office in the land, and although his know-it-all, sometimes-condescending style is difficult for some of his staff to handle, his ideas for governing the country often demonstrate that he is worthy of the job.
Tom Pauley is a defense attorney in North Carolina, whose pro bono work on a controversial trial thrusts him into the spotlight. His folksy, congenial style, coupled with his good looks, catches the attention of state GOP leaders, who quickly tap him to run for governor, and then set their sights even higher.
Samantha Davis is a beautiful, intelligent, driven child actress-turned-lawyer, who leaves the law to pursue a journalism career. Her beauty and smarts, as well as her on-camera skills, quickly set her star on the rise. She gets her hands on an old, unreported story that has the potential to be a gigantic bombshell in the political world, and does everything she can to pursue it, regardless of the consequences.
I found this book utterly fascinating. While those quite familiar with the political process and life on the campaign trail may find that some of the plot isn't 100 percent accurate, for someone who watches these things from a far, I felt as if I had a behind-the-scenes look at campaigning, governing, the life of an incumbent president fighting to be re-elected, the art of damage control, and the toll campaigning takes on a candidate's family. It's also a commentary on just how pervasive the media can be, and its power to shake up the political landscape.
Brunt is an excellent storyteller, and I was hooked on this book from start to finish. His three main characters were tremendously complex—your impressions of them change throughout the book, and I thought it was interesting that he demonstrated that no one person is completely good or bad. There are even a few twists that surprised me, and that doesn't happen.
If you're as fascinated by the political process, the media, and political campaigns as much as I am, definitely read The Means. And even if you're utterly disinterested in the political system, you may still find this tremendously interesting. It's a great book and I think it could make an even better movie—perhaps a less somber Ides of March.
July 18, 2014
“The Means” by Douglas Brunt, published by Touchstone Books.
Category – Fiction/Literature Publication Date – September 16, 2014.
The dirty business of politics is the subject of this novel. A successful attorney, Tom Pauley, is convinced by the GOP campaign people to run for the governor of his state. Although a little reluctant he is fascinated by the challenge and he and wife agree that he should throw his hat in the ring. The best part of this is that he has led a stellar life and has nothing to hide. He is successful and wins the governor’s seat; in fact he is so successful that he is asked to run for the Presidency of the United States.
Another successful attorney, Samantha Davis, finds that her real interest in life is journalism. She becomes highly successful in her endeavors and finds herself following the presidential campaign. She is so determined that she will go to any lengths to break a good story.
Mitchell Mason, the President of the United States, feels that he has a solid chance of being reelected, that is, unless something scandalous comes up to derail his bid for a second term in the White House. Davis has come across some damaging information that could hurt the Mason campaign. It seems he may have been involved in an unsolved crime several years ago.
Douglas Brunt brings the dirt tactics of politics that not only include those running for office but those people behind the scenes that forge the strategy for those trying to attain political office.
A very good story that will keep the reader interested throughout the book due to the content and a clever ending.
Category – Fiction/Literature Publication Date – September 16, 2014.
The dirty business of politics is the subject of this novel. A successful attorney, Tom Pauley, is convinced by the GOP campaign people to run for the governor of his state. Although a little reluctant he is fascinated by the challenge and he and wife agree that he should throw his hat in the ring. The best part of this is that he has led a stellar life and has nothing to hide. He is successful and wins the governor’s seat; in fact he is so successful that he is asked to run for the Presidency of the United States.
Another successful attorney, Samantha Davis, finds that her real interest in life is journalism. She becomes highly successful in her endeavors and finds herself following the presidential campaign. She is so determined that she will go to any lengths to break a good story.
Mitchell Mason, the President of the United States, feels that he has a solid chance of being reelected, that is, unless something scandalous comes up to derail his bid for a second term in the White House. Davis has come across some damaging information that could hurt the Mason campaign. It seems he may have been involved in an unsolved crime several years ago.
Douglas Brunt brings the dirt tactics of politics that not only include those running for office but those people behind the scenes that forge the strategy for those trying to attain political office.
A very good story that will keep the reader interested throughout the book due to the content and a clever ending.
September 2, 2015
Some people should accept that they are not meant to be writers. Based on this one book, I would argue that Douglas Brunt is one of them. He writes strictly in declaratory sentences and much of the text gets bogged down in exposition. The ending managed to be both unpredictable and uninteresting. In fact, the book unfolds in a matter that is so entirely implausible that it makes me wonder who Brunt's audience was. I do not have the creativity to be a novelist and I can only imagine the powers of creativity and empathy it takes for male authors to write plausible female characters and dialogue. Brunt does not have such ability or power. Fortunately I was able to knock this novel off in less than a day so I did not waste entirely too much time on it. If anything, this novel has proven to me that I may need to let go of my compulsive need to finish reading whatever I started.
January 14, 2015
This is just a bad book.
The writing style is absolutely horrid. Brunt switches from POV to POV of various characters, telling us the complete life story of each of them even when they're completely irrelevant. Half of this book is completely irrelevant details.
Brunt doesn't know a damn thing about journalism, which is surprising since I've learned he's married to a TV anchor.
Several of these characters put themselves in dangerous situations or very illegal situations and some of them -- particularly Melissa's character -- their motivation for putting themselves in the situation's are utterly ridiculous and unbelievable.
The moral of this book seems to be that everyone's a shitty person in politics. SHOCKING.
Don't read this book.
The writing style is absolutely horrid. Brunt switches from POV to POV of various characters, telling us the complete life story of each of them even when they're completely irrelevant. Half of this book is completely irrelevant details.
Brunt doesn't know a damn thing about journalism, which is surprising since I've learned he's married to a TV anchor.
Several of these characters put themselves in dangerous situations or very illegal situations and some of them -- particularly Melissa's character -- their motivation for putting themselves in the situation's are utterly ridiculous and unbelievable.
The moral of this book seems to be that everyone's a shitty person in politics. SHOCKING.
Don't read this book.
October 2, 2014
This was a horrible piece of fluff. I was really disappointed as the author is the husband of Megyn Kelly. I saw her interview him on her show and I was looking forward to reading the book. It was a total disappointment.
October 4, 2014
Overall rating 4 stars. Did seem to go down a lot of paths without fulling developing the plot as to what the author was setting us up for. I did enjoy the 3 main characters and believe their is a sequel coming!
October 24, 2014
Good political drama.....
November 6, 2014
Fast read but with a nice twist and turn at the end. I hope elections don't work like this.
January 15, 2015
the blurbs on the back include quotes from huckabee and the founder of home depot. that means this is a bad book. and it was.
July 15, 2017
Reading The Means was somewhat enjoyable, but it was like reading a shell of a book. The book covers probably around 5 years in time and is way too short to give five years justice. The characters are All-American with a little nuance, All-American with a different little nuance All-American... and so on. It was easy to read which was nice, but it certainly wasn't fulfilling. I've never read a book and thought "The pacing is all off" until I read this one. The drama starts to unfold about 85% into the book and that is no exaggeration. Everything before that is setting the stage and letting the reader into the mind of the characters. But even that has it's issues because it comes off as an obvious attempt by the author to pontificate. Any intrigue in that first 85% is neatly tied with a bow and then another slightly intriguing bit comes up and is neatly dealt with. So, I don't quite regret reading it. The fact it was so easy to read was a nice change of pace considering I've stalled out on a few books so far. I'd almost give it three stars but I can't because I don't want anyone having the impression that they should give it a whirl.
April 20, 2023
I really loved The Means political thrillers are not normally my go to but, I really enjoyed this one. Even as fiction the players in the political game are all scum bags. That is a true fact Mitchell Mason as the president is the epitome of that. Arrogant, self-assured and believes himself to be a genius. That could be true of any of the modern politicians today. I hated the guy from the get go. Cheating on his wife left and right. Although Mitchell’s closeted wife doesn’t seem to care about his activities.
His counter-part republican Tom Pauley is everything Mitchell is not. He is loyal to his family and values or so that is what he wants everyone to think. Underneath it though are of these politicians any different? Regardless of party, This book while fiction definitely dispels that myth. Especially in today’s political climate I can 100% believe that. Politicians are only in it for themselves. Both the major players Mason and Pauley prove that. The scandal involving the conservative journalist was just the icing on the cake for me.
Which proves the point all of these people are massive hypocrites. The scandal that led to the downfall of Mitchell Mason reminded me of Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo kopechne. The man literally left the woman to drown in a sinking car. It was horrific. Mitchell Mason did the same thing when he left a man die in a hit and run. I really wish this had a sequel I couldn’t put it down.
His counter-part republican Tom Pauley is everything Mitchell is not. He is loyal to his family and values or so that is what he wants everyone to think. Underneath it though are of these politicians any different? Regardless of party, This book while fiction definitely dispels that myth. Especially in today’s political climate I can 100% believe that. Politicians are only in it for themselves. Both the major players Mason and Pauley prove that. The scandal involving the conservative journalist was just the icing on the cake for me.
Which proves the point all of these people are massive hypocrites. The scandal that led to the downfall of Mitchell Mason reminded me of Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo kopechne. The man literally left the woman to drown in a sinking car. It was horrific. Mitchell Mason did the same thing when he left a man die in a hit and run. I really wish this had a sequel I couldn’t put it down.
October 29, 2021
novel that follows the POV of the POTUS, a news reporter for a major network, and a civil lawyer. The POTUS has an affair and prepared for an election year while the news reporter is a rookie and finds herself in the middle of some the biggest news stories a veteran dreams of; while the lawyer finds himself being propelled through the republican ranks to run for office. The story eventually moves to where all 3 stories collide and the reader is given a brief glimpse of how elections are probably won (fixed) in real life.
There a couple of "racy" scenes but nothing close to what is on TV today. If that bothers you, skip it. The story moves fast, at times, too fast as entire weeks/months are skipped in the story, and that bothered me.
Final Rating: Skip
There a couple of "racy" scenes but nothing close to what is on TV today. If that bothers you, skip it. The story moves fast, at times, too fast as entire weeks/months are skipped in the story, and that bothered me.
Final Rating: Skip
December 2, 2018
Overall, good story. A few awesome twists and turns, especially at the end. I enjoyed Samantha a lot would have like to see her take more of a lead... with Tom Pauley. In any event, cool insight into the inner workers of a presidential campaign. After the 2016 election cycle, parts of the campaign feel almost tame... but still, enjoyed the story.
Highly recommend.
Would enjoy reading a sequel for sure.
Highly recommend.
Would enjoy reading a sequel for sure.
February 5, 2019
Finally I’m surprised by an ending!
Lately it seems I predict the outcome of the books I’m reading and I’m always disappointed that I do. Not so with “The Means”! Not once was I able to foretell a character’s end game and the final sentence blew me away! Kiddos to an author that kept me entranced until the end!
Lately it seems I predict the outcome of the books I’m reading and I’m always disappointed that I do. Not so with “The Means”! Not once was I able to foretell a character’s end game and the final sentence blew me away! Kiddos to an author that kept me entranced until the end!
July 10, 2017
Kind of a nothingburger.
July 13, 2017
I liked it! Given that Douglas Brunt is Megyn Kelly's (formerly of Fox news) husband, the central character reminded me a lot of Kelly. Enjoyable read. I'd read another of his books.
September 10, 2017
It was OK. The writing was clean and pretty spare but good. The story line was ok but the twists were not too surprising. It was a pretty good book and a decent read but not outstanding.
February 8, 2018
Highly entertaining
February 24, 2019
It was pretty good writing but a tad unfocused. It did keep throwing stuff at you right until the end which kept it fairly interesting.
June 21, 2019
I kept waiting for this book to come together and it never did. I liked the characters, and the situations, but the book doesn't work. I will read another book by him.
March 27, 2020
I enjoyed reading this book and learned allot about Politics, wealth, reporters and the games they all play to gain status and prestige in the world we live in.
Read
February 9, 2021I really wasn't sure I would like this book and the more I read the better I liked the book.
February 11, 2021
Loved it! How oddly appropriate that I read post Trump era/Biden presidency! Easy read, like-able characters and relatable content!
January 8, 2025
Enjoyed Brunt’s Rudolph Diesel book & decided to read an earlier novel. Chose this one as I’m a political junkie. It was a great way to start 2025!
January 29, 2021
While reading this book I kept forgetting it was fiction and not non fiction. So much sleaziness that felt like real world politics. Well written, but plot was so close to reality that I felt like I was reading the news. Not really the escape from reality that I like in books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews