Clinton on being president and his new thriller

Former US President Bill Clinton and bestselling author James Patterson sat down with the BBC to discuss how real life informed the first gentleman, their new political thriller.

What happens when the president’s husband is put on trial for murder? It’s a conundrum at the heart of the first gentleman, the latest collaboration between former US President Bill Clinton and thriller Maestro James Patterson. It’s a novel that only these two can recall after the huge success of their previous books, and after The Persition Is Lissing in 2018 (sold three million copies) and the President’s Daughter (2021). Patterson is as big as the thriller world (more than 230 million books available worldwide), but Clinton, a longtime fan of the genre, tells the BBC. And while they’re still telling them in person how much fun they’re still together, it’s clear.

Their fascinating new novels captivate US President Madeline Wright and her husband Cole Wright, as well as former American football star Cole Wright. He still has scars of his career and is looking for purpose in the White House to fight to clear his name at the trial of a cheerleader murder over 20 years ago. It’s a classic police proceeding courtroom drama, as journalists, detectives and political operatives all work to kill cheerleaders and exonerate the first gentleman, destroy him, and exonerate his wife’s political agenda. And of course, the role of the First Gentleman is what President Clinton might have taken on himself in 2017 if he won the 2016 election against US President Donald Trump.

As he writes, it is clear that President Bill Clinton is still with him. “The White House tried to get more stories than stories, not just when Republicans were trying to bounce me, but when I was going through some really controversial and difficult things, in the minds of those who I have covered me.”

But rather than focusing the story on the first couple, the book has a pair of journalists at the heart of it. Independent investigative journalist and lawyer Blair Cook and her partner Garrett Wilson delve into the disappearance of cheerleader Suzanne Bonanno, the first gentleman watched while playing for the New England Patriots soccer team 17 years ago. Wright may have killed her as Cook and Wilson really unravel what happened and where her body is. Inspired by iconic pairs like Bob Woodward and Carl BernsteinPatterson believes it’s natural for journalists to be in the center of novels. “Journalists, sometimes they deserve what they get, but most journalists want to pursue the truth…that’s what we want to make of a journalist.”

Clinton had his own fuss with his conspiracy-minded journalist for many years, but even in the age of avid partisan, honorable journalist, “I think I can stand up as a standout who tells the truth even when I was still wrong, but here is when I think the truth is written, Stephen Knight), Blair Cook could be the central character — journalists are digging for the truth.

But the first gentleman is more than just a courtroom drama. It will also be the first thriller in history and have a grand bargain of US debt and expenditure as a central part of the plot. Let’s say President Wright sets out a way to resolve qualification spending and balance the budget without ruining the ending. This book is coming out at the same time as Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Make your own plans. Can President Wright’s proposal work? Patterson’s joke: “We have a big, beautiful bill in our book.”

Clinton says that sneaking into some substantive information is part of how they see their books connected: “I don’t think people care about learning something useful while being entertained in hell of good stories.” In their first book, it was cybersecurity, but now it’s budget negotiations.

And on their third outing, what did the writing pair learn from each other? For Patterson, it’s all about research and authenticity, and after finishing his recent memoir, he said, “I focus on paying more attention to the writing… I think I’m better than ever before.

But even for this experienced pair, the first draft of the book was tough. Patterson said, “At first, honestly, we weren’t a mess we’ve ever had. There were no presidents. They weren’t good characters. Journalists weren’t good characters. We knew what the story was, but the characters were all wrong.” And Clinton called him one night and said, “There’s a real problem. I don’t care about any of these people.” They added depth and scenes to bring out the characters.

But as long as they are warm collaborators, they are also united by a specific view of life. Patterson explains it: “One of the things we have in common is that we see the world as black and white. It’s always complicated. It’s subtle. There’s a tint, and I think that’s one of the reasons why we can work together.”

And ultimately, it is a sense of obligation that drives the novel into its twisted denouement. Will the President do the right thing by his husband and country? The echo is clear to Clinton. “One thing I know is when the other side declares a war with you in the White House, you still have to come and do your job.”

In a turbulent moment, this thriller from the former president may offer essential advice to world leaders.

Lucas Wittmann is executive director of Unterberg Poetry and Literature Center, located at 92nd Street Y, New York. He was previously an editor and a Daily Beast.

The first gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson has been published since the century and is now available.