Early on in Leave Her Out, a post-political thriller if you will, Daniel Davidsohn introduces a host of highly unique and interesting characters to whet the reader’s appetite for a really good story; including an ex-President of the USA, his ex-Vice President and close friend, Mohe, a Native American, a strongly independent and estranged ex-daughter of the President, and a shy but quite ambitious young female co-gym-worker-outer with the aforementioned estranged ex-daughter. All within the first several pages. Not to mention that moment in Chapter One when the ex-President vanishes – quite literally – from a casual viewer’s eyes. And the mysterious helicopter, of course. So, your appetite is whetted, right? Good; you must be breathing. And the President’s sudden bizarre request for a mental exam? You didn’t really think that was it, did you?

The innate cynicism of Daniel Davidsohn’s engrossing and electrifying thriller, Leave Her Out, should be jarring, or at least depressing, for the more optimistic reader. Instead, it lends ironic freshness to a story where all the characters are flawed, especially the ex-President, but who are also merely human in their wants and needs and positive intentions. Even the villains share humanity. But it is the incredibly unpredictable plotting and unusual situations that will most beguile any veteran of thriller reading. Davidsohn keeps his twists so credible that one wonders why he does not see them coming, as if they are just the most natural next thing to happen. Very difficult to categorize or compare this book, you see. If you are in the mood for something quite unique in a rather over-worked genre, Leave Her Out will thoroughly satisfy your craving.

While walking her dog, Millie Smith is witness to one of the most bizarre events imaginable. In one instant, the president of the United States is walking past her in a wheat field. In the next, he is gone. Just like that. Filing a missing person report with the local authorities, Millie has no idea of the importance of what she has seen. Former President Anthony Morris has long left the world of politics in order to enjoy his golden years free of public stress. Widowed and estranged from his daughter, Anthony’s goal is to make amends by penning his memoir as a way of relaying a secret message to her in case of his unexpected demise. What no one expects is the method in which his disappearance occurs. 

Leave Her Out by Daniel Davidsohn is an unexpected mix of intrigue and government scandal that keeps the reader speculating from page one to the end. Written in a combination of the main character’s first person and third person narrative, the reader is thoroughly immersed in the vivid details of the story line. Daniel Davidsohn is obviously well-versed in the complexities of suspense and intrigue as well as political protocol. Believable characters and the unfortunate probability of events make this an entertaining read, crafted by the succinct words, narrative and descriptions of Davidsohn’s masterful writing. As a reader and a citizen of what we hope is an untarnished nation, Leave Her Out provides food for thought and unanswered questions into the reality of government. Praise for this political thriller.

If the corruption behind high level politics is your kind of reading, you’ll enjoy Leave Her Out by Daniel Davidsohn. This author, who has experimented in film and has written several screenplays, brings the creative skills he has in those areas into this psychological thriller i.e. he makes it easy for readers to see the action in Leave Her Out as if they were watching a movie on the big screen. And what an interesting cast of characters! There’s Anthony Morris, now retired former president of the USA, Morris’s VP, Mohe, of native Indian descent, and his unsmiling, shaman-like father who sees and senses what others can’t. And there’s Morris’s long-estranged daughter, Stella, now a very successful and rich lawyer who rejected what her father stood for even before he became president. There’s also Morris’s supposedly good friend and advisor, Charles Dulles, who moves in unusual ways and has some mysterious, even dangerous contacts. In short, there’s a sea of characters around Morris, who now just wants to be left in peace to write his memoirs…a book he wants given to Stella on his demise. But suddenly his memoirs are of great concern and confusion to all these characters, who scramble to understand why Morris has written them in the way he has, and are fearful of who might be hurt by the contents.

As Morris pens his story, and the author shares that in bits and pieces along the way - a story within a story - in Stella’s world things are being turned upside down as she finds herself defending a company that she now realizes is as crooked as a company can be. She removes herself from the case and, in doing so, plunges herself into danger. When she suddenly and inexplicably disappears, Morris pulls out all the stops to find her, forgetting the animosity that existed between them over the years. Events topple over each other, people inexplicably start dying, and Morris, though he’s unsure of whom to trust, starts putting others before himself for the first time in years. Before readers start hurtling toward the last page, Davidsohn gives them quite a look up the staircase to the top and behind the closed doors of high political office. It’s not a comforting sight, but it sure makes for great reading, along with a fast-moving plot and psychological thrills. Oh, there’s some romance too, just to keep everything in balance. Well done, Mr. Davidsohn!