Oppo

Peter Rena #3

by Tom Rosenstiel

A breathless and highly charged political the story of a senator who is offered the vice presidential slot by both parties’ presidential nominees and then gets ominous threatsIt’s presidential primary season in Washington, DC, and both parties are on edge. At campaign rallies for all the candidates around the country, there are disturbing incidents of violence and protest and shocking acts of civil disobedience. Rena and Brooks are happy to sit it out.

Against this backdrop, Wendy Upton, the highly respected centrist senator, must make a she’s been offered the VP slot by both parties’ leading candidates. When she receives an anonymous, unnerving threat that could destroy her promising career, she hires Peter Rena to investigate her past and figure out which side is threatening her and what they are threatening her with.

As Rena digs through the senator’s seemingly squeaky-clean past, he must walk the tightrope between two parties at war with each other and with themselves, an electorate that is as restive as it has ever been, and a political culture that is as much driven by money as it is by ideology.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Politics, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2019

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who is trying to blackmail Senator Wendy Upton and what do they have on her? She doesn't know so she hires Peter Rena to find out.

And...Upton is a hot political property- so hot that both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates want her as their Vice President.

Now...OPPO professes to be a political thriller...

However...There just isn't enough here to feel like we are in a political thriller.

Especially...When the author decides to instruct his readers to think that what he is writing is compelling...

And...The story creates characters who look like people who already feel familiar to us.

So...Is this book worth your time? I leave the answer to you.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Rosenstiel continues with another powerful political novel with D.C. as the obvious backdrop. These novels have been just what I need to keep my attention, as there is a constant mix of politics and mystery woven into a single story. With strong characters and a stellar plot, Rosenstiel provides readers with a series into which they can sink their teeth and stay up late, trying to decipher all that is taking place.

As the current US president is counting down his months in office, it’s time to select candidates to battle it out in November. Primary season is intense and both major political parties are pulling out all the stops to lure voters into their camp. Campaign stops around the country are filled not only with chats for change, but violence and unrest, which appears to be out of the norm. Still, leaders on both sides blame one another for fanning the flames. Political investigators Peter Rena and Randi Brooks can only hope the violence dissipates, as they sit on the sidelines and watch the heated battles.

While all this takes place, centrist senator Wendy Upton has a major decision to make. She has been approached by the leading candidates in both parties to serve as their vice-president, ensuring victory on Election Day. After an anonymous tip is called in, promising to destroy her should she accept the post, Upton is unsure what is hiding in the shadows, but remains concerned nonetheless. She approaches Peter Rena to help sift through her past and determine what this mystery person might have that could harm her.

While Rena begins his explorations, he is unsure which side is trying to bully Upton and what they might hold over her, though there are so many possibilities. Walking the line between both parties, Rena and his partner, Randi Brooks, try to eke out what could be happening and how the country appears to be tearing itself apart at the seams.

As the investigation heats up, Rena and Brooks discover some skeletons in Upton’s closet, though some do not directly relate to her. Whatever they find, it could derail things for Upton on many levels, forcing Rena and Brooks to work diligently to reveal it all before the political mudslinging gets too intense. With the primaries heating up and the election sure to be one of the most divisive in recent history, all eyes are on both parties, with Wendy Upton somewhere in the middle. Tom Rosenstiel pens another stellar piece and knows just what will appeal to readers.

Having recently rediscovered Tom Rosenstiel’s work, I have been enthralled with the first three novels in his series. A solid political foundation prepares the reader for a book that pulls on realistic events during the Trump era. Rosenstiel’s use of realistic characters helps explain some of the tense moments and keeps the reader guessing where things are headed. Rena and Brooks continue to establish themselves throughout the series, developing in numerous ways. While the characters are strong, nothing compares to the plot lines, which pull on political headlines and extrapolate some of the more recent dramatic events, fictionalising things and keeping the reader highly entertained. I can only wonder what’s to come in the next novel, which is sure to be just as impactful as the previous three.

Kudos, Mr. Rosenstiel, for another strong political thriller that has me reaching for the next book as swiftly as I can.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

OPPO is a political thriller with not enough thrills and too much exposition. Author Tom Rosenstiel errs by deciding to instruct his readers too often rather than accept that many facets of political life are well understood in today’s 24/7 news cycle. To add to the TMI- feel, the story has very thinly veiled characters drawn from today’s headlines, we can pretty much describe them ourselves, without the author’s assistance. When a foreign nation is suddenly involved in the upcoming election, well, there is no surprise involved. The real world has stolen all the plot points. I received my copy from the publisher through edelweiss.

[Caroline David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I work in politics, I felt like this book was very easy for me to understand whereas I don't feel like people who don't understand politics would enjoy. That being said, I don't think anyone who dislikes politics would be picking up this book. I didn't feel too connected to any character and did' felt like I knew them enough, plus we were constantly being introduced to new characters; but on the other end of that, I enjoyed not having to hear a character's life story for the first 40 pages. I enjoyed that the book jumped right into the action. I would definitely recommend to my friends who enjoy politics!

[Liz Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this one!

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Washington thriller that seems ripped from the headlines, OPPO is about the world of political opposition research and dark money.

Wendy Upton is a highly respected Republican senator who has overcome major life obstacles, including the death of her parents when she was a teenager. Nevertheless, having raised her sister and served in the army, she finished college and law school, and embarked on a successful political career.

The novel opens at the beginning of an election year, with a dozen Republican and Democratic candidates running for president.

As Upton and her chief of staff, Gil Sedaka, are discussing the day’s upcoming events, Sedaka receives a phone call from the campaign strategist for David Traynor, a Democratic presidential hopeful: Would Upton consider crossing party lines to run as his Vice President? While the two are marveling at the offer, they receive a similar call from the office of Richard Bakke, the far-right Republican who is another presidential candidate. As they begin weighing the proposals, Upton receives an anonymous threat that has the potential to end her career.

The senator hires Peter Rena and Randi Brooks, Washington “fixers,” to conduct oppo research into her background, hoping they’ll locate the source of the threat. They have less than a week to find and quash whatever the negative story is, before it circulates.

Meanwhile, a veteran journalist notices that every political rally is being sabotaged by one of the candidate’s opponents. Is it coincidence, or is someone trying to smear the candidates by showing how rabid their supporters are?

As Rena, Brooks and their team home in on the blackmailer, they are themselves hacked, followed and threatened. Who is trying to bring down their client, and to what end?

Tom Rosenstiel, a one-time Washington reporter and author of two previous thrillers, is not afraid to expose the underbelly of contemporary partisan politics and the wealthy donors who control the players. The picture he paints is alarming, as Super PACs, social media, surveillance teams and dark data threaten to overwhelm our democratic processes. One can only hope that the white hats in OPPO also exist in the real world to combat these gathering forces.

Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley

[Makenzie Leonard · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author of this book was so caught up in writing his perfect mary sue politician that he forgot to include an interesting plotline. The protagonist Wendy is wholly unlikeable despite the author describing her as the perfect beautiful all-around perfect, did I mention perfect? Politician and just perfect woman in general. The only potential thing wrong with her is that she likes women, which the author writes as this big scandal and is clearly from the lack of perspective of someone who is neither queer nor a woman. This book is not worth the paper it was written on. Do not read.

[Sarmat Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oppo is the third “political thriller” written by Rosenstiel, starring former Army interrogator and current political fixer, Peter Rena. In this third installment, we find Peter, his partner Randi, and their team of “white hats” (fans of Scandal will be familiar with the term and the work that the team does” helping the fictional senator Wendy Upton from Arizona as she is being vetted to serve as the VP on both Democratic and Republican tickets.

While I use the words political thriller loosely, one positive of the book is that it is the more accurate of thrillers, with the workings of Super PACs, the Hill, staffers, and technology far more accurate then your run of the mill political thrillers. The characters developed are combination of caricatures that are found in American politics today, from those in the rich brackets, media, and in politics.

However, that is where the positive aspects end. Like his other book I read, The Good Lie, Rosenstiel spends much of his time preaching to the reader, even amidst a third person thoughts from the characters. As someone who is a Washingtonian and having worked in politics for a couple of years, I can tell you that we don’t think in the terms that Peter apparently thinks in. We also don’t harp on bipartisanship every five minutes. Perhaps this might have worked in pre Obama America, or even more akin to a time before Gingrich served as the Speaker of the House - but while bipartisanship does have this golden allure in Washington and American politics, it is rarely sought and enforced - partially because of the winner take all nature in America. The differences in the positions of the political parties might seem minuscule to some, while monumental to others.

While I appreciate the attention to detail and the Moe believable plot points, the obsession to remind the reader of bipartisanship as the true calling of American politics, and that politicians are worthy to be placed in a pedestal because of their convictions and ideals, seems laughable, especially in our current political climate, and also having worked on both campaigns and in the Senate.

While a good read if you can ignore the aforementioned points, I would recommend that you brush up on American politics and the culture of the Hill to have a firm grasp on the issues laid out in the book.

[kglibrarian (Karin Greenberg) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love taking about, listening to, and especially reading about politics. I often forget about the political thriller genre but Tom Rosenstiel's upcoming book, Oppo, has reminded me of how exciting a well-told novel about Washington can be.
Wendy Upton is a respected Republican senator who has overcome major life obstacles. Growing up in Arizona, she lived with her family above a small bar and goods store. When her parents were killed in a car accident, 17-year-old Wendy took charge of her 10-year-old sister, suing the state for custody after they tried to separate the girls. She went on to graduate high school early, join the military, earn a law degree, and rise in the ranks of American political life. One morning when Upton and her chief of staff, Gil Sedaka, are in her office discussing the day’s political events, Sedaka receives a phone call from the campaign strategist of David Traynor, a Democratic presidential hopeful, proposing the possibility of Upton running as his Vice Presidential nominee. While the two are reeling from the unusual offer, they receive a similar call from the office of Richard Bakke, the far-right Republican vying for the presidential nomination. As they’re processing the implications of the proposals, Upton receives an anonymous threat that has the potential to end her career.
The senator hires investigators Peter Rena and Randi Brooks to conduct opposition research into her background, hoping they’ll locate the source of the threat and prevent it from affecting her life. What follows is a wild goose chase that leads them across the country to scope out the details of Upton’s past. As political rallies turn violent, and prospective candidates struggle to remain on top of their games, Rena and Brooks engage in a war for the truth, one that will ultimately uncover shocking and egregious attacks on the foundations of American politics.
Oppo is the most enjoyable kind of political book: one that is pure fiction. Despite subtle allusions to the current political climate, Rosenstiel reveals an intriguing inside world of Washington politics.

[JustSomeGuy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Within this charged political climate, no surprise there would be an audience for a book like this. I wasn't aware this was a third book in the Rena and Brooks series, but I didn't have any issue picking up on the characters or setting. Arizona Senator Wendy Upton, a moderate Republican being courted by both parties to accept the VP spot on the ticket, is being threatened if she accepts. Total boredom ensues. This book does not follow the House of Cards playbook by playing up the political intrigue, instead, goes the route of countless phone calls and meetings. The book is more political theater than thriller, with much-deserved criticism lodged at the entire political process. A ton of characters are thrown at us, and none add much of anything. This book is a slog of a case study to prove money is the root of everything wrong with today's politics. The not so veiled references to Trump's own impact might cause readers wearing MAGA hats to balk, but for the most part, the author lobs bipartisan shots at Washington DC. Unfortunately, the book's plot is less interesting than what is covered on the cable news networks any given day, and I struggled to finish the book because I often chose to watch the nightly news rather than pick this book up. By the time I found out who is behind the threats, I was struggling to care, and the lack of any twists made it anti-climactic and overall, a lackluster story. I'm all for shining light on what is wrong with our political system, but this book won't do so much as raise an eyebrow from anyone who has actually been paying attention.

[Carole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a terrific idea for a book, but it was not well written. The characters were kind of one-dimensional -- but my goodness, as I read the story, it was during the exact dates given for the novel during primary campaigns -- about all the underlying dirt and oppo research, political bull, etc., subjects which endlessly fascinate me --yet the characters failed to come to life in anything other than a way to get through the plot and find out who was behind it all. It was a book that I kept not wanting to pick up and finish... but finish I did.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved yet another Rosenstiel thriller!

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lies, conspiracy theories, dirty tricks, and attack ads represent the ugly side of politics to the public at large. But the down-and-dirtiest aspects of election campaigns today emerge from political opposition research, or “oppo” in the jargon of the trade. In hopes of uncovering some hidden scandal in the life of an opposing candidate, a campaign enlists the aid of a law firm or specialized consulting company. Lawyers, private eyes, former spies, hackers, or other practiced investigators then go to work, digging deeply into the candidate’s history. And to protect themselves, candidates often order up their own, internal opposition research to learn what an opponent might discover. The process is brought vividly to the foreground in Tom Rosenstiel’s troubling 2019 political thriller, Oppo.

A moderate U.S. Senator is blackmailed

It’s February in a presidential election year. “The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary had finally happened, followed by Nevada and South Carolina.” Super Tuesday is three weeks off. And the suspense in Oppo kicks off when a highly regarded moderate Republican Senator receives word of a blackmail attempt. A donor in her home state of Arizona explains to her chief of staff that someone is threatening to drive her out of office by revealing a terrible secret if she agrees to run for vice president. Senator Wendy Upton has, in fact, been offered the number two slot by two candidates.

A familiar political mood

One of the candidates is a disagreeable Right-Wing Republican Upton has long tangled with in the Senate. The other is a middle-of-the-road billionaire who invites her to make history with a bipartisan campaign. He is a Democrat. Both men are front-runners, although the Republican is losing his lead to another “conservative” who is even more rabidly Right-Wing than he is. In other words, the picture he paints looks very familiar even though few of the individual characters closely resemble real-world figures. (The sole exceptions are that Right-Wing Senator, who could be Ted Cruz, and his closest rival, who smells a lot like Donald Trump.)

The personalities and issues and events are scrambled in this novel, but the portrayal of America’s mood in 2020 is picture-perfect. As Rosenstiel writes, “The public was dissatisfied with the country—not just politics. They were beginning to doubt whether America worked as an experiment. They were angry about their lives. They were angry about the people who disagreed with them. The whole notion of governing by letting everyone vote seemed broken.” And, later, one of Rosenstiel’s characters muses, “In the era of networked connectivity, foreign manipulation of social media, corporations without borders, and a global economy, maybe eighteenth-century notions of democracy had run their course.”

A political opposition research firm is at the center of the action

Although the story revolves around Senator Upton, the protagonists of this novel, like its two prequels, are Peter Rena and Randi Brooks. They’re the partners in a Washington-based consulting firm that offers security, research, and related services, mostly to corporate clients. Brooks is a Democrat and passionate about politics, Rena a Republican former Special Forces soldier who steers the firm away from political campaigns. But he has little choice when his long-time mentor, a senior United States Senator, summons him and Brooks to a meeting with Wendy Upton. And soon the two are off in a breakneck effort to learn who is blackmailing the Senator and why. They have less than a week to uncover the answers.

Rosenstiel steadily builds suspense throughout. Along the way he surveys the contemporary political scene with a practiced eye. Billionaire-funded SuperPACS. Rigidly ideological Republican candidates. The ever-present threat of violence on the campaign trail. And political opposition research. Campaigns & Elections‘ website lists seventeen opposition research firms that have paid for placement, but Rosenstiel reports there are hundreds of such firms today, “probably 150 in D.C. alone.”

About the author

Tom Rosenstiel is the author of several nonfiction books on journalism as well as three novels about “political fixers” Peter Rena and Randi Brooks. Rosenstiel has been a journalist for more than thirty years. He is also a press critic, executive director of the American Press Institute, and a non-resident senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution.

[Asher Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is really engaging. Unfortunately it's often swamped by explanations of how politics works and/or preaching about how politics is broken. This makes the narrative really choppy and the writing poor. (One noteworthy howler of an attempt to integrate exposition into the narrative: "In the 1970s, Rena had just learned, only 5 percent of former senators and Congress members became lobbyists." At least he tried here. Normally he just dropped explanatory paragraphs and facts independent of the narrative. A bad habit acquired from his journalism, where it is a good habit). The writing is also sometimes just poor for no reason. The whole thing needed another go-around editorially, for both overall content and style.

The background chronology is amusing to sort out. After the Clinton Administration everything becomes fictionalized, but only lightly: there's a clear Bush family stand-in (though H.W. seems not to have started a dynasty in his own family), a clear John McCain/Sarah Palin stand-in (so obvious, and so hardly relevant, that I don't know why it needed fictionalizing), characters who seem to be modeled after Marco Rubio and Peter Thiel. There's a replica of the Benghazi attack and subsequent hearings, by a different name. Citizens United, however, maintains its actual name (sidenote: Citizens United is not as bad or, frankly, as important as it is portrayed in this book and just about everywhere else on earth). All this was a little distracting; I wish he had drawn a little less directly from real life.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Tom Rosenstiel novel I've read and I will now read his other novels. I wasn't sure what to expect -- so many political thrillers "get political" in their stories (too much so) -- and I was hoping this novel would not "go there". It did, but not to the extent that I found it annoying. It definitely mirrors portions of today's political climate and makes statements (from my point of view, Rosenstiel did a good job in providing context that mirrors today's politics and offered a reasonable 'theme' based on the beliefs of the main characters). That said, by the end of the book I wanted to know more about the main characters and am hoping there is more to come in the "lives" of Rena and Brooks.
If you are looking for a quick and interesting read, I recommend this one. With only 316 or so pages, along with the fact that it is well-written and the story flows well (if you lose track of the characters, there is a list of characters in the beginning of the book), this story can be finished in a short period of time.

[Amy]

What if a modern-day US presidential ticket had a moderate Republican as VP and either a Democrat or an extremist Republican as President? The author implies that this was seriously considered in 2004--pair up respected Vietnam War veterans McCain and Kerry, and take down W, whose military service record was not his strongest selling point. From 2022, it seems quaint, recalling a time when politicians could possibly be shamed.

I got distracted trying to figure out which real people the author was trying to work into the story. That's Mitt Romney! That's Liz Cheney! And yes, there's a lot of inside baseball exposition about how DC really works, and the writing doesn't exactly sparkle. Which is okay. Sometimes I don't want my brain taxed with literary technique or characters' complexities, and I just want to roll along with the plot.

Didn't get far, but willing to try again. It seems like a 3-star read, and right now I have too big a pileup of obviously 4- and 5-star reads.

[Edward Messinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Rosenstiel, writes a series of realistic stories of political intrigue featuring investigators and political fixers Peter Rena and Randi Brooks. The stories are as contemporary as you can write. The two are from different backgrounds and political affiliations, but they bring to their investigations the best each has to offer when hired by the rich, powerful, and connected. The typical stories take place in Washington D.C. and appear torn out of the Washington Post or the New York Times they are so right now.
A good deal of intrigue, mystery, dark politics, and sinister motives confront them. These two fixers must navigate this sordid culture to discover the facts and present their client with the unvarnished truth.
The stories are more than just entertaining. The author reveals his years as a journalist and his knowledge of politics, the justice system, and the behind-the-scenes of Congress. I always come away with some new insight into the workings of our government/country.

[Andrew Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is I think #3 in a series of pretty good political thrillers. Rosensteil's perspective as a DC insider and journalist inform both his content and style which are intelligent and propulsive in the way you want a thriller to be. His recurring characters create a DC universe parallel to our current one in Washington, and do a good job of reflecting it and drawing out trends and points about issues we are facing in the US at this time - the rise of populism and authoritarianism, the splits within both parties, and the cynicism that prevails everywhere. Start with The Good Lie if this sounds interesting - I'll be reading every installment.

[James Winchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow reading this book during this election is crazy. This is something that could happen. Tom did a spot on writing job. The suspense flowed through out the book. I feel he never let his foot off of the gas pedal. The development of the story and the characters were excellent. One the of the best books on 2019.

[Robert Currie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oppo is a political thriller, which I read before the primary season. As such, I found it entertaining. It offers a fascinating, if not disturbing, look at the kind of opposition research that goes on during campaigns in our country. Our politics are so 'personality' driven, that this is the sad reality of what we experience from the outside. Rosenstiel has given us an insider's look.

[Judith Sherrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

OPPO

I have to admit that I have differing views on this book. It is a good exciting book although a lot wordy. It almost seemed if there were too many characters thing to hide things and too much time for anything to finally come to a head. My opinion: a good book but way too wordy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

II wish we had actual politicians like Wendy Upton. That said, the description of politics and money in the US, which sadly rang completely true, made me wish I could move somewhere else.







SPOILER:




I think she was too smart to fall for the French woman honey pot and not connect the blackmail to that.

[Shylee Kauffeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to rate this higher because I was intrigued. It was a good mystery solving book. Politics made a great backdrop for the story. 

But there was far to much going on. To many story lines. To many characters. To many mysteries. I didn't feel I was able to focus enough on the main issue in the book because they kept dragging in more people and plots that weren't necessary. 

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insider suspense

A primer on big money influence, blackmail, dirty tricks and opposition research and their influence on political campaigns. One wonders how any good candidates ever get elected. For people who enjoy insider suspense.

[Mary Korey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this kind of a book and found this one interesting and even scary. It did tend to get preachy at times and the names of the characters could have been better, but is an interesting story of politics in the digital age.

[Mary Nee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A political thriller! A good read!

[Dave Moyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is timely, but also very well written. A solid political thriller. I enjoyed it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to give it a 3.75. Well-written and suspenseful.

[Howard K. Selzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story

Very appropriate story for 2020. The different twists make this hard to put down. I highly recommend this book as it’s a great story.

[David Riester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arizona and Washington, DC