I normally love a political thriller and this one grabbed me right from the beginning when a sitting US Senator from Maine appears to take his own life off the cliffs in his home town. Then we move to Amity Jones in Ohio. Amity has moved back to Ohio to care for her mother who has cancer. She was a recent Supreme Court Clerk and an Army Jag lawyer, so she has a lot of knowledge and some contacts. We are then introduced to Palmer Knight. a CNN reporter who also has a lot of insider contacts and is currently reporting on the Senator's death. Palmer and Amity end up working together to figure out not only the death but a medical mystery where people are getting cured of cancer and no one seems aware of how.

There's a lot going on in this book and a lot of characters. It kept my attention but there were a few times when I was like "who"? Definitely a plot driven story and not a character driven story. I'm glad they solved the mystery of the Senator's death but I found the medical cancer finale a little less than satisfying.

3.5 This was a wild fast moving political thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I can’t say much the plot on this book as I feel it’s better going into this knowing little as possible. I will say there were points were I got a little lost in the plot as there was a lot going on in this book with lots of characters and POVs. I will say I liked this and didn’t at the same time as I said it got to be a little confusing but at the same time there was not a point I was bored in this book the pacing was great and the short chapters had me flying through this book. This felt similar to Blake Crouch novels where it was a ton of fun reading but I won’t remember any of it in a week. I felt this was caused by the lack of character development there were so many characters it made it hard to care for any specific characters. This book felt like a great beach read and hope to pick up more from this author in the future! I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

A SIMPLE CHOICE by David Pepper (The Voter File and others) is another political thriller from the past Chairman of the Democratic Party of Ohio. Pepper introduces Amity Jones, a former Supreme Court Clerk, and Palmer Knight, a TV reporter with deep family ties to Washington insiders. Initially, they are exploring different questions. Amity has moved to Ohio to be near her cancer-stricken mother and ends up trailing a suspicious van which appears regularly at the house of a neighbor whose young son has had a miraculous cure. Palmer becomes so curious about the unusual death (suicide? foul play by foreign interests?) of a United States Senator that he ends of a victim of a deep fake video campaign. It does take a while to set up all of those questions, but the middle of the book starts to interweave some answers amidst action-packed adventures (Amity is kidnapped; her brother is attacked; and Palmer makes his way to the White House). The ending felt quick and a bit contrived, but fans of political intrigue will certainly enjoy the diversion which A SIMPLE CHOICE offers.

I normally love a political thriller and this one grabbed me right from the beginning when a sitting US Senator from Maine appears to take his own life off the cliffs in his home town. The we move to Amity Jones in Ohio. Amity has moved back to Ohio to care for her mother who has cancer. She was a recent Supreme Court Clerk and an Army Jag lawyer, so she has a lot of knowledge and some contacts.

Palmer Knight is a CNN reporter who also has a lot of insider contacts and is currently reporting on the Senator's death. Did he commit suicide or was he killed because of all the secrets he holds. Palmer and Amity end up working together to figure out not only the death but a medical mystery where people are getting cured of cancer and no one seems aware of how.

There's a lot going on in this book and a lot of characters. It kept my attention but there were a few times when I was like "who"? Definitely a plot driven story and not a character driven story. I'm glad they solved the mystery of the Senator's death but I found the medical cancer finale a little less than satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley for the book.

Duke Garbar, octogenarian and long-time senator from Maine, jumps off a cliff near his home. CNN news correspondent Palmer Knight is assigned the story and his investigation leads him towards a complicated situation that involves the highest levels of government. At the same time, Amity Jones, Army (JAG) veteran and former clerk to a Supreme Court Justice, returns to Mansfield, Ohio to care for her mother who is in the end stages of cancer. When she notices some unusual activity next door where a young boy has miraculously recovered from a terminal illness, she begins her own investigation to find out what has gone on. This leads her on.a criss crossing of the northeast, eventually connecting with Knight in discovering a major league political conspiracy that reaches the highest portals of government and endangers their lives. I found this story captivating as the underlying story kept me captivated throughout. The “good guys” were characters that you could like and the action was very realistic throughout. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I hope it won’t be the last! My thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam”s Sons for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my review.

As the back story is built, readers meet two distinct characters in two different story lines. A newscaster following a Senator's suicide in Maine and a law clerk who has returned to Ohio to care for her cancer stricken mother, what could the two have in common? As the two characters take steps in their everyday lives, they cannot know how their paths will soon cross and leave them working together to save their lives and expose the corruption as only political enemies can cause.

The story is well written. David Pepper could be a co-author for James Patterson if he keeps this up. The suspense builds to a point where it is hard to tell who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. The pace is quick, you'll want to skip ahead but don't, you'll miss clues. This definitely adds David Pepper to my list of authors to follow.

A Simple Choice is a wildly entertaining and intriguing novel, especially with the political climate in the US. What would you do to save someone you love? As it turns out just about anything. U.S. Army veteran and former Supreme Court clerk, Amity Jones, is searching for a way to save her mom who is dying. Her mom's neighbor has cancer and they've been having visitors that come the same time, leave the same time but seems fishy. Well, something did happen; the cancer is gone and Amity needs to know how. About the same time, a well-respected Senator commits suicide by walking off a cliff into the ocean. When the reporter investigating the Senator's suicider, Palmer Knight, and Amity begin their respective fact-finding missions, a conspiracy at the highest levels of government emerges. Amity and Palmer team up when they discover a link between the Senator's suicide and the cases of cancer being cured. As they make progress, the "leaders" of the conspiracy begin to employ increasing measures to keep Amity and Palmer from learning the truth or anyone who poses a threat. No one is off limits.

A Simple Choice raises moral and ethical questions and shows the reader how even a world changing medical discovery can be perverted by greed, power and ego. David Pepper does an excellent job of making the reader think and emphasis the need to elect high-character people who put country over party. Not the bozos we have today.

Interesting and timely with fantastic characters, A Simple Choice is a great addition to the political thriller genre. And you might even learn something new.

My sincere thanks to David Pepper, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading and advanced copy of A Simple Choice.

This was a political thriller with a medical conspiracy that gave me Upgrade vibes. The first half was really confusing and didn’t hold my interest well, but the last half picked up a lot and was more engaging as the story started to make sense. I really liked the two main characters of Amity and Palmer and could see this becoming a series with them teaming up again to solve mysteries and take down politicians.

This was an intriguing political thriller That will take you on is an amazing thrill and roller coaster rides that is non stop suspense that holds you in its grasp until the exciting conclusion. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the complimentary copy

When the venerable senior Senator from Maine, Duke Garber, commits suicide, the political impact reverberates through the nation. No one knows why he decided to end his life, or even exactly how, but star reporter Palmer Knight is determined to sniff out the full story. The good-looking grandson of a former senator himself, Palmer is often dismissed as a rich kid who relies more on his family connections than on his skills as a journalist to get ahead. He’s determined to prove his critics wrong, until following leads to the embassy of Saudi Arabia suddenly puts him in the crosshairs of a sophisticated deepfake operation designed to discredit him entirely.

Palmer’s initial instinct to vigorously protest his innocence to anyone who’ll listen is curbed by a summons to the White House, where the president’s staff – including some of his best sources – ask him to roll with the punches. The opportunity to study the deepfake operation is invaluable, and well worth the temporary blemish on one man’s reputation. As a military general tells Palmer:

QUOTE
“Our engineers can detect distinct traces from these videos. Not only how they’re produced, but the precise appearance and movement of Nadel and his colleagues, who we suspect are AI creations. We can match these traces up with other recent videos to affirm that they, too, are fake.”

“And you couldn’t do this without letting my reputation go up in flames?”

Lips pursed, the general shook his head.

“I’m afraid not. We need videos that we are one hundred percent sure are deepfake. The fact that they included both men is a gift. Sounds too. They’re clearly threatened by your story.[”]
END QUOTE

While Palmer stews over the sacrifice he’s being asked to make, a young woman several states away is contemplating her own sacrifices, the result of a promise made to her dying father when she was just a child. Amity Jones has a stellar resume as a former Army JAG Corps lawyer who then went on to clerk for a Supreme Court Justice. But her first priority is and always has been looking after her mother, despite her younger brother Simon’s belief that Amity is just babying their remaining parent:

QUOTE
Even as her studies and service took her all over the world, she returned home often. Mom grumbled about both kids leaving her in Mansfield by herself, but Amity’s own guilt–that her helpless Mom needed her–was the stronger voice calling her home.

When Mom got sick, the pledge meant Amity had to move home permanently as soon as her clerkship ended. Yes, that foreclosed other rare paths of opportunity laying right before her. But the promise at Dad’s bedside echoed louder than ever.
END QUOTE

Now Amity is back in Mansfield, Ohio, working in a boutique appellate firm while taking care of her cancer-ridden mother. When she hears that Mom’s young neighbor Colin Gentry has recently had a miraculous recovery from his own serious bout of cancer, she tries to ask his parents about his treatment, in hopes she can procure the same or similar for her mother. Unfortunately, all she gets is the cold shoulder from everyone involved. Desperate to discover the truth, she breaks out the investigative and surveillance skills she acquired in the Army and applies them to finding out Colin’s secret.

As Amity and Palmer’s seemingly unrelated paths begin to intersect, they realize that they’re gradually uncovering a conspiracy that could jeopardize entire governments and, worse, the lives of those they love. Can this unlikely duo escape a web of corruption with their ethics intact, and more importantly with their lives?

David Pepper certainly knows how to write a political page-turner! He expertly weaves a compelling tale from seemingly disparate and far-flung threads, showing how two plucky and determined protagonists can bring the truth to light, and the terrible bargains they’re forced to strike in order to protect what they deem most important. While Amity and Palmer are our main protagonists, I also really enjoyed Simon’s chapters as he attempted to support his older sister despite their differences.

Most of all, I found the discussions on ethics and civil disobedience to be both gripping and thought-provoking. While the political conspiracy bits were familiar ground for those of us already acquainted with Mr Pepper’s work, the discussion of medical ethics felt fresh and nuanced as characters argued for and against what was happening in this deftly written book. In all honesty, I don’t know what I would do if given the so-called simple choice of the book’s title. This ability to make the reader truly consider important ethical dilemmas is no small part of Mr Pepper’s talent as a storyteller.

A Simple Choice is an amazing thrill a minute roller coaster ride that is non stop suspense that holds you in its grasp until the exciting conclusion. There are multiple plots going on here that keep the excitement high while reading. When faced with a sick loved one and doing the right thing, is it really a simple choice.

The story begins with a legendary senator, Duke Garber, climbing a rocky hill, where he then jumps to his death. The media swarm to find out what happened and why. It will take a while to uncover the truth. Palmer Knight, a TV news correspondent, is sent to cover the mysterious death, and finds himself embroiled in a plot to destroy his reputation that goes beyond the Senate as rumors leak that Saudi Arabia may be to blame.

Amity Jones, army veteran and former Supreme Court clerk, moved to Ohio to care for her cancer-stricken mother. But while taking care of her mother, she is told of the next door neighbor boy who was close to death from cancer has now fully recovered. Curious and desperate for her mother, she begins to watch, take pictures to document the strange goings on one day while at her mother's house.

Amity is now following this mystery that places her in danger and puts her in the political world where no one or nothing is as it appears. Palmer and Amity, are brought together by events that neither one knows intersect, find themselves in a political conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of power.

A Simple Choice is well written with very believable political and medical issues. I thought the characters were multi-dimensional and fully developed. I am hoping that David Pepper continues to write many more books just like this one or even a series with these characters.

A Simple Choice by David Pepper is a political thriller that is very believable. It has plenty of suspense, some action, lots of investigation, and an intensity that kept me fully engaged throughout the novel. The setting moves frequently and includes stops in Maine, Ohio, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia.

One of the nation’s oldest and most respected senators jumps from a cliff in his hometown in Maine. Politicians and the media inundate the town, determined to find out if foul play played a role. Palmer Knight, a television news correspondent covers the death and eventually uncovers a plot that goes beyond the Senate. Meanwhile, Army veteran and former Supreme Court clerk Amity Jones moved to Ohio to care for her cancer-afflicted mother. Her investigation into a local medical mystery brings her back into the political world. Eventually, she and Palmer connect and, working together, find a political conspiracy that places their lives and others in danger.

Palmer comes from a family with political connections. This has helped him get scoops in the past, but it also causes others to underestimate his investigative skills. Amity has been the caregiver in her family for much of her life. It started when her father died when she was eleven and her mother did not cope well for years. Now that her mother has cancer, she is once again taking on the role of caregiver and works for a boutique appellate law firm in Columbus, Ohio. Readers slowly get a feeling for both of their personalities, and both are likeable. Both show character growth as the story unfolds.

A gripping storyline will grab readers’ attention in the first chapter and continues throughout the book. Plenty of suspense interspersed with exciting scenes pulled this reader into the conflicts in the novel. The author captures the characters, as well as the political situation, and brings them to life. Fluid writing and an excellent, fast-paced plot will keep readers engaged. The well-plotted story stays at a high level of intensity throughout most of the novel. Despite frequent changes in points of view and settings, this story flowed well. Danger, assaults, deaths, teamwork, politics, grief, family, medical conditions, and much more are woven into the story line.

Overall, this was an intense novel with suspense and intrigue. This story felt very realistic and like it could occur at any time in several countries. If you enjoy political thrillers, then I recommend that you check out this one. Will this be the start of a series featuring Amity and/or Palmer? Whatever it is, I am looking forward to reading this author’s next political thriller.

PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and David Pepper provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for August 02, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

A interesting mix of political/medical thriller. Kind of like if you mixed the shows Scandal or Designated Survivor with the book Upgrade. I found it to be very fast paced and and interesting read. The plot line was believable and the there were a few surprises I didn’t see coming at the end.

This book is much more plot based than character based, but the plot moved very quickly. At the beginning the chapters were only a few pages a piece so it was a little confusing to figure out who all the main characters were and how they fit into the main plot line. By the end, the longer chapters helped the story feel more streamlined and less broken up. Fast-paced thriller!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Main Characters:
-- Amity Jones – majored in journalism in college, Army vet, former JAG lawyer, interned with a Supreme Court Justice, now has returned home to Mansfield, Ohio, to look after her mother who has advanced-stage cancer
-- Palmer Knight – a relatively young reporter for CNN, comes from a wealthy family, not often taken seriously because it’s felt he takes advantage of his family connections
-- Senator Duke Garber – a respected Republican Senator from Maine, in his late 70s, commits suicide at the beginning of the story by stepping off a cliff
-- Dexter Mills – editor of the Mansfield News Journal and Amity’s first boss when she interned for the paper as a high school senior
-- Shepherd Logan – well-respected Tennessee Senator, his wife Mary is battling cancer
-- Senator Gigi Fox – wealthy, well-liked, and well-respected Senator from Florida, money was made independent from her job in the Senate
-- Byron Blue – Alabama Senator with a hard right worldview
-- Sam Ireland – moderate Democratic Senator from Colorado
-- President Janet Moore – first-term Democratic U.S. President, had been endorsed by Senator Garber, currently thinking about re-election
-- Simon Jones – Amity’s brother, works for a company that funds medical research
-- Colin Gentry – six-year-old boy who lives next to Amity and Simon’s mother, recently cured of cancer

There is A LOT going on in this story! When you think about political thrillers, it’s natural to expect a lot of characters, a lot of twists, and a ton of conspiracy theories. This book does not disappoint.

The author previously worked in politics in Ohio, so he understands the political arena. He also has some of the inside scoop, so the plots and sub-plots here ring very true.

I was a bit concerned because I saw that the book is divided into four parts with 121 chapters. That’s an average of 3.6 pages per chapter, and it felt a little choppy and scattered at times. Typically, short chapters make you want to keep reading to get back to each scenario, but this switched so fast at times that it was more frustrating than exciting. That was one of the reasons for the 4.5 stars.

The other reason I knocked the rating down was a situation very late in the book. As I mentioned above, I expect a lot of characters in a political thriller. It felt like this one had more than most. (The main characters list barely scratches the surface.) Where that complicates things is a chapter in which a passed-out vagrant is reported to police.

The responding officer is a brand new character, bothered by the fact the the call late in her shift will result in a late pickup fee at day care for the third time in a week. When she arrives on scene, she discovers the “vagrant” is actually a homicide victim. I believe I know who the victim is, but the person is never named, and we don’t hear about the officer or the victim again. It just added unnecessary information and possibly confusion.

I won’t go into a lot of detail here about the story because I don’t want to give away any of the very interesting and surprising reveals. What I really liked about this is that the characters who decided to investigate things on their own are actually qualified to investigate. When one of the characters inserts himself into the mystery, he ends up in the hospital and doesn’t miraculously have the strength to break himself out and continue the investigation to save the day. I have read too many books where the main characters feel they know more than the police or have superhuman capacity to overcome serious injuries and solve a crime.

In this case, it’s normal. Amity studied journalism, she worked with a judge, she’s a lawyer. Palmer is a news correspondent. Simon understands medical research. And the bumps in the road that they encounter are completely believable.

This book held my interest right from the start. I wanted to figure out who was behind everything, what the Senators were involved in individually and collectively, and why Duke Garber committed suicide. I really enjoyed this one and would definitely read more by David Pepper.

I am new to this author, and I’m a huge fan. This was a book that I couldn’t put down. The ending consumed my mind for days.

This is the first book from David Pepper that I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I went into it pretty blind, I didn't read much about the synopsis and I'm really glad because I was not expecting the plot at all. The characters are very well developed, the mystery is strung out just long enough, and I did not guess the ending. This was a great mystery/thriller/whodunnit and I will definitely be recommending it to my fellow book lovers and mystery junkies!

Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me to read and review honestly!

What a choice! The government isn't as clean as they would like you to believe! But they never have been, do you like when they help them self? Or do they take care of business for us?

This kind of book is usually something I enjoy, politics and medicine. The premise sounded so promising. However, the reading experience was different and not in a good way. Far too many characters that it was hard to follow the plot. I found myself getting annoyed when a new character, even minor would pop up in each chapter.

I did finish this, barely, but it was a struggle.

Cannot recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, David Pepper and Penguin Group Putnam's Sons for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/2/22

A Simple Choice reads like a straight-out-of-headlines account of a conspiracy poised with deep-rooted authenticity that David Pepper brings to the table with his insider knowledge of the heart of American politics.
Amity Jones, an army veteran, and Palmer Knight, a tv news correspondent, cross paths in the most unexpected ways when a respected senator jumps off a cliff for unknown reasons. Unsubstantiated rumors fly off with fingers pointing at nations with grudges against the United States of America. Both protagonists have stakes in investigating the senator’s death, especially when they’re caught in the crosshairs of a meticulously crafted and profound deep state that ensnarls powerful individuals in the government with a simple choice.
David Pepper keeps the reader engaged with crisp chapters that alternate frequently between different POVs to keep the momentum running on seemingly different subplots that wonderfully entangle down the line. While there is no traditional action in this thriller, the political conspiracy that may very well be playing out in the shadows this very moment works much better with a focus on investigative and deductive narrative. Pepper gives a genuine insight into the current socioeconomic climate while introducing an intriguing mystery with fascinating and timely bits of technological warfare for the WOW factor.
If you’re looking for a brainy thriller with a dangerously plausible plot and lifelike characters, A Simple Choice is a fantastic summer pick to lose yourself in.

Full review on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain

This is a political thriller, focusing on Palmer Knight, t television news correspondent, and Amity Jones, a relatively new lawyer who is a former Supreme Court clerk and army veteran. These two unlikely comrades join forces to investigate the death of a U.S. Senator. Although the premise is intriguing and the story is a good one, the very short chapters plus the number of both characters and subplots make this an exceedingly choppy read and one that got confusing at times. The abrupt ending also did not help at all. This could have been an outstanding read, but instead it was merely a decent one.