It is less than 100 days until the US election, and things are getting tense out there. If you want to add to your worries, and why not, what is one more, dig in into The Voter File. What I liked the most about this fastpaced thriller is that although it involves Russian meddling, it came up with a completely new concern, a problem most people aren't even aware of. Terrifying. I appreciate it when a thriller is so currant and still ahead of the curve, a hard thing to do these days when the news circle moves at breakneck speed.
I was not aware that campaigns assign numbers to their registered voters, to distinguish between the people they still have to convince and those who have to turn up. Now, if somebody would mess with that system, a lot of things would go wrong.
Investigative reporter Jack Sharpe is fired from his high-profile gig with a national news channel. He is approached by grad student Tori Justice, involving a story about voter fraud in a local election. What follows is a sharp and exhilarating cat and mouse chase that will determine the future of the USA and cost people's lives. The Voter file reads like a dream, and if the coming election keeps you up at night, what better way to spend it, than reading a book that will confirm all your fears.

This was good, but possibly a hair too close to current events for me. A whip smart grad student and an investigative journalist with a penchant for exposing political scandals come together to investigate a fraudulent election. This had a lot going for it- murder, subterfuge, scandal, and blackmail, but my favorite parts were when the reader got to learn about the behind the scenes of an election. You could tell a lot of research was put into those parts. , I didn't read the first two books in the series, and while I wasn't lost and still enjoyed the narrative, That said, I think I would have liked this more if I had read the first two! Overall, I would read a book by this author again.

Haven’t had enough pre-election nonsense? This one should scratch that itch. And it should send chills right down your spine. And don’t think this is about Russian meddling in our elections. This one is entirely homegrown and won’t reinforce any belief that our elections are free of any untoward mischief.

Jack Sharpe blew it. He was a top tier investigative reporter who made his bones by blowing open a number of political scandals . . . until his national news network and his sense of right and wrong collided. Now he’s scraping by doing the odd freelance assignment. With his reputation, not many assignments beckon.

Until Tori Justice, a lowly staffer working on the campaign of a judge in Wisconsin makes contact. The judge she is working for won the primary, but based on district demographics and basic campaign polls, there is no way he should have won by as much as he did. She has tried unsuccessfully to pitch what she knows to various reporters without luck. Jack needs a story to get back in the game but is not so sure about what this girl is telling him.

Reluctantly, he meets with Tori and she lays out just how votes and voters can be manipulated to dang near guarantee most any outcome. The Voter File. A piece of election preparation that every candidate has. Starting with the primary that launched the judge into the general election, she details the ubiquitous practice of manipulation and deception that will curl your eyelashes, grow hair on your teeth, and plainly piss you off because you know that every damn thing she says went on in that local election . . . is actually going on. Right now. For this November. And it’s not a result of ambitious staffers. The deception begins at the top of both parties. The winner is generally who is best at a dirty game.

This one is for those who naively trust the election system to be a truthful representation of voter wishes. Even folks who know our elections aren’t as pure as advertised will be stunned at the depth of deception that has become ‘the campaign.’ A well written (the 3rd Jack Sharpe book) and frightening story that will make you both squeamish and seriously pissed off. Look closely at what you see and read in this election season. You'll see most every thing Pepper describes.

Perfect preparation for the coming election. It might even get you to draft letters to every elected official on your upcoming ballot to tell them that you know.

DNF 26% , I could not get into this book after the 1st 2 chapters. It went down hill after that, I had no idea where it was going, I was lost. I hope that I am not the only one that felt that way? Its not a bad story, I am sure someone will find it appealing, It just wasnt for me.

THE VOTER FILE by David Pepper is book three in his Jack Sharpe series, but I enjoyed it so much, I wish I had started with the other two. In this latest installment, Sharpe is contacted by a young campaign staffer, Tori Justice, who is trying to get a story published about voting patterns and irregularities. He's dismissive at first, but gradually they come to trust each other. Much of the action takes place in battleground states in the Midwest and action it is – kidnapping, car chases, cyber-espionage, with foreign agents and organized crime involvement. Clearly, Pepper has produced an involved plot and there are plenty of twists for Tori, Jack, and Olivia (another reporter and former colleague) to unravel. THE VOTER FILE is an exciting and fun read filled with political allusions and economic implications. Pepper's varied and relevant experience (elected Chairman of the Democratic Party of Ohio in 2015) means readers will be working to solve the mystery while also wondering just how much do political parties manipulate us based on what they know about our personal lives and opinions.

Political campaigns live and die by The Voter File. The file contains massive amounts of data about each voter. The voters are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 based on how likely it is that they will vote for your candidate.

Tori Justice is the voting file manager in a small local special election. Even though her candidate wins, she sees anomalies in the data. After many attempts, Tori interests recently fired National journalist, Jack Sharpe, in investigating. What they find is evidence of election tampering by a foreign cartel.

But there is another force at work. Who is snapping up money-losing family farms and local banks? What is that group’s ultimate goal? Are the purchases related to the election tampering? Is the new US President involved?

The Voter File is a compelling political thriller. Its plot is literally ripped from the headlines of Russian election manipulation of our 2016 election. What I liked most about the book was that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats were demonized in the story. It was politics in general that was judged harshly.

If you like political thrillers, you will enjoy this riveting book. 4 stars!

Thanks to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jack Sharpe, a news anchor recently fired by the Republic network, is trying to reignite his career. The promise of a story has brought him to Wisconsin and Tori Justice, a low level campaign worker who has uncovered voter fraud in a local election. The problems in that local election will take Jack and Tori on a wild ride across the country trying to stay a step ahead of enemies while they figure out exactly who those enemies are and why they are manipulating election results.

At Republic, Jack’s former co-anchor Cassie Knowles has noticed that her network is promoting some agendas and limiting on air comments about others. How does this link to a local election is the Midwest? Why are small farms and independent banks being bought across the country? Exactly who is the mysterious Katrina and what is her interest in elections? All these questions will be answered but not until this political thriller roars through explanations of how to commit voter fraud, the role of monopolies, a description of a broken two party system and several murders.

I so want The Voter File to be fiction! But in the back of my mind, I realize that it could happen if it hasn’t already. If you are only going to read one book this summer, make it The Voter File. You won’t be disappointed. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and David Pepper for this ARC.

Once upon a time this was fiction. When the thought of foreign influence was just something you would read in a thriller novel. Over the past few years, we’ve heard many different accounts and facts regarding elections, rights of voters, voting infringement, election stealing… We’ve also heard about how elections are being influenced through social media. And even though we have heard this on the news for several years now, I wonder how much the typical individual actually knows about voter files and voter data. What The Voter Files brings is an entertaining thriller that helps shed some light on how voter data is collected and used along with other major issues and dilemma’s the U.S. is facing.

It all starts when something astounding and unexpected happens. Tori Justice’s candidate won. Except…he wasn’t supposed to. Tori was the voter file manager for a local campaign. She knew the voting files backwards and forwards and no matter how she looked at it – nothing added up. Her candidate was supposed to lose. Most of us would take the victory lap. Tori, instead, called newspapers and journalists. She called anyone who would listen and Jack Sharpe is the one that answered her call. While Tori and Jack begin their investigation, we see “investors” buying up millions of land from farmers of all types – dairy, wheat, soybeans. Farmers giving up due to conglomerates squeezing the market, allowing foreign investors to see a way in.

The Voter Files! My favorite chapter(s) and part of the story was when Tori and Jack meet for the first time and Tori explains to him all about how the voter files and voter data works. As voters, when we respond and say “I will never, ever, ever vote for “Candidate X”, you are then given a number between 1-5 that indicates your likeliness for voting a certain way. The number you are given will determine what type of ads or messages you then receive, it also prompts them to help send you reminders for voting. You see, it’s all about ensuring you remain engaged and excited to vote. It’s all about ensuring you vote. So, if you are a strong “Yes! I will vote for Candidate X”, then you could receive ads generated to ensure you remain emotionally engaged. An example would be an ad that others may see as over-the-top or emotionally charged. They aren’t there to change your mind, just ensure you still have the desire to vote the way you said you want to. Others that are in the middle – moderates, independents, and those still undecided might receive an ad or message more tailored to how the candidate will work across the aisle, or one that gives examples on their more moderate views. But the voting file is much, much more than that. State and national information mixed together with vendor information – all stored at the national level – always adding, never subtracting. The story goes into greater discussion and depth than I do here and it was fascinating.

I loved Tori. I loved her tenaciousness. It’s not just anyone would who question why their candidate won and then seek out someone to help look into her story. Even the losing candidate’s voting file manager was surprised by her when he found out what she was looking into. But beyond that, I found Jack’s and her partnership very enjoyable. Upon meeting her he immediately notices how their different generations respond/react differently, but even so they meshed very well together.

All in all, this thriller has exactly what you might expect: murder, subplots, certain individuals tracking and following other individuals, foreign actors, investigative work – just to name a few. It was a fun read that was very educational too. Although the title says The Voter Files it also covered other topics as well such as gerrymandering and monopolies.

Voting and elections are a very hot topic right now in the news, especially as the U.S. grows closer to November when the presidential elections will take place. This is the perfect time to read this book, especially if you are looking to become more educated on how some of the process works, but in an entertaining way.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Punnam for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

I enjoyed previous books in this series more than this one -- I would probably still read more because Jack Sharpe is an interesting character but this is not the strongest efforts. However, this book meandered a bit too much and some of the characters just felt unnecessary. If you like political thrillers, I would still recommend this series.

The Voter File comes out next week on June 2,2020 and you can purchase HERE.

"She has some enforcement powers, but what she needs--what America needs--is a far more stringent antitrust law that dismantles the monopolies. And because enforcement takes time, this requires a Congress in support for long enough to see it through."

"And what would happen if such a law passed?"

"If enforced?" He sat up in his chair, eyes sparkling at the thought. "You would see an explosion of economic activity across this country. Small business and entrepreneurs stifled for a generation would thrive. New entrants and investors would come from within and abroad, and technologies unimagined today would sprout and blossom . . ."

Remember when national politics used to be about issues, and good people of all ideologies could come together to triumphantly uphold the ethical principles America was founded upon? David Pepper’s page-turning latest thriller The Voter File hearkens back to those days, positing an alternate reality where a female Democratic president was elected after twelve years of Republican control but still faces pushback by vested interests against her anti-monopolistic economic agenda.

That’s the backdrop for the third installment of the Jack Sharpe series, with the veteran reporter coming to terms with his recent acrimonious parting of ways from the Republic News.channel. Now considered untouchable by most of the larger media outlets, Jack is on the hunt for the next big story to get his career back on track, as well as to pay the bills. Towards this end, he’s finally gotten in touch with a young woman named Tori Justice, whose claims could upend the entire political system as we know it.

Tori is a graduate student who served as a volunteer for a recent successful judicial election campaign. She was put in charge of entering data into their voter file: a database of local voters linking back to the national party’s resources that helps to establish the likelihood of any given voter choosing their candidate in the upcoming election. Campaign efforts could thus be spent on reminding and aiding likely voters to get to the polls, a practice enthusiastically embraced by Democrats and Republicans alike.

As such, she was uniquely positioned to notice that, by all indicators, her candidate should have lost. Her concerns were shrugged off by everyone she brought them to until Jack finally paid attention to her story. But hacking voter files seems like such a subtle piece of manipulation that would only really work in local elections, and to what end? Tori and Jack have some ideas:

QUOTE
[“]So it may be easier to steal statehouse seats than any other positions,” she said, sitting up straight. “But that again begs the question: What do you get out of statehouses that’s so important nationally?” Her question took me back to Columbus, Ohio, the state capital that I knew best, both as a reporter and as a son. Even when Dad had served there, the sausage making wasn’t pretty. But it was worse now than ever. Gerrymandering had long ago meant that few of the pols walking the halls of the statehouse had had to win a general election to get there; they’d simply emerged successfully from their primary. And all they had to do to stay in office was stave off any challenge in their next primary. Then came term limits. As popular as they were, they’d changed the place, and not for the better. With politicians cycling in and out of Columbus rapidly, lobbyists now ran the place.
END QUOTE

As Jack and Tori dig deeper, they discover that the conspiracy is further reaching than they thought, involving international cartels and a certain Russian oligarch Jack thought he’d never have to deal with again. With the help of Jack’s former colleague at Republic News, the resourceful Cassie Knowles, they’ll figure out the whos and whys… but at what cost? With hitmen leaving a trail of dead bodies behind them, Jack and Tori will have to go on the run in order to bring the truth to light.

Meanwhile, the woman at the center of the conspiracy, the mysterious Katrina, will be doing her level best to outwit our heroes. She has a pretty good head start, if a decidedly jaundiced view of our political processes, as she discusses with a subordinate what our heroes might have already seen when they pulled their original campaign’s suspect voter file:

QUOTE
To achieve the desired outcome in Wisconsin and elsewhere, [Katrina and her team] had to actively manipulate the losing campaign’s data. While accessing and understanding the winning campaign’s data was important, nothing needed to be altered.

“Yes. There should be no discrepancies from anything they’ve seen before.”

Katrina sat back down and eyed her screen. “You’re right: no exports. So all they will see is that their tactics and targeting proved highly effective, correct?”

“Exactly. We can only hope they don’t talk to their opponents.”

Katrina smirked while standing up again. “This is American politics. That won’t happen.”
END QUOTE

Unlike Katrina, Mr Pepper has a greater faith both in the American people and in its systems to do the right thing to make sure that justice, insofar as it can be dealt given the realities of the process, can be served. The Voter File is a wonderfully non-partisan look at the way things are supposed to work, regardless of criminal interference. Most of all, it’s an engaging page-turner that will both satisfy series fans as well as make new fans out of readers, like myself, who are just now discovering these terrific books.

DNF’ed 30%
I enjoy a good political thriller, and the summary of this book had me so excited to dive into it, but unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. I didn’t click with this one at all and I really just wasn’t interested enough to finish it. It is a very interesting plot and I’m sure there’s an audience that will LOVE this.

The Voter File is a fast-paced political thriller that instantly grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. I read the first 42% in one sitting, despite that keeping me up way too late. It was that hard to put down.

Some reviewers have complained about there being multiple points of view, but that didn’t bother me at all. Each of the characters were intriguing and well-formed, and I especially enjoyed the sections about Cassie and Katrina.

As a political junkie, fan of thrillers, and a statistics nerd, I thoroughly enjoyed The Voter File (even if I didn’t like some of the less than savory behavior that was attributed to a specific political party). This was the first book of the Jack Sharpe series that I’ve read, but I didn’t feel like I missed anything by not reading the first two. This story is wrapped up nicely, but it also leaves the door open to a continuation in book four.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This book just builds upon numerous conspiracy theories we as Americans have about our ever-changing political system. I loved how the book was written in different perspectives. It made the book flow really well, and you got to see the whole storyline unfold from multiple vantage points. One thing that did slow me down while reading it was all of the background information into the voter file and different election information. I think this comes as par for the course with this type of book, but it didn't give as much of a thriller vibe that I was hoping for. All in all, I think it was a very well written book, and it makes you question what is truly going on behind our political scene.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

In a time when Americans have little confidence in the election process comes a novel sure to add to the conspiracy theories. The voter file is the key player in this novel, and the discovery of its importance and vulnerability to manipulation create an interesting novel.

This book started out really promising, the first chapter sucked me in. But then it seemed like the tone and flow changed. Add to that the tons of different perspectives the book was written by and it was really hard to follow along. It would have been much better if it was only 2 or 3 people, and the writing voice stayed with the first chapter.

The author pairs a very sophisticated program to disrupt elections with a very primitive effort to shut their foes up. It doesn't quite work. I did read the entire David Pepper novel and generally liked it. But the details on the voter file were often mind numbing. Granted, Pepper took on a big task using this as his subject matter. But it just simply doesn't have the pizzazz of a thriller. Those details do slow the story down. No doubt geeks and accountants might like it better than I did. The characters were interesting.
The separation of the first letter of a word from the remaining letters at the start of each scenario was annoying, but not as much as the multitude of words given hyphens unnecessarily. I assume the latter will be fixed in the final copy.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.