“‘They came to witness history.’

So did I.

The first time in history that a president’s spouse is going on trial for murder.”

The First Gentleman explores a completely unprecedented situation: the spouse of a federal official being tried for murder. This exchange between Brea and a Globe reporter underlines the unusual nature of the situation. It also emphasizes the stakes of the novel and highlights the driving question of the novel: Did Cole commit the crime of which he is accused?

“‘Marcia,’ he says, ‘our book will prove that Cole Wright, the First Gentleman of the United States, is a stone-cold murderer.’”

Garrett’s pitch to Marcia emphasizes that doesn’t begin his investigation with an open mind. He’s already convinced that Cole is responsible for the murder of Suzanne, highlighting the personal bias, perspectives, and experiences that each individual involved brings to their view of the case. Garrett’s certainty of Cole’s guilt makes it even more dramatic when, later in the novel, he changes his mind following an interview with the first gentleman.

“Our Grand Bargain might get exposed before we’re ready to reveal it. And that will be the end of it. The end of my presidency. We can’t let that happen.”

This statement by President Wright emphasizes the stakes of the Grand Bargain. She sees it as existentially important for both the country and her political career. In this scene, she explicitly equates the failure of the Grand Bargain with the end of her presidency.

“‘Play hardball, Maddy. We need to get our financial house in order once and for all—before the whole thing collapses.’

‘I believe it’s what we were put here to do,’ says Maddy. ‘Me and you.’”

Although Vice President Faulkner and President Wright are political rivals, the authors illustrate their positive working relationship in this exchange. Faulkner understands the stakes of the Grand Bargain’s success even though he is sidelined from working on it directly by his illness. President Wright’s words to him demonstrate her political acumen, emphasizing their common goal by using language like “we” and “me and you” to ensure a united front.

“‘So maybe you know she was supposed to be on a date with him the night she disappeared.’

‘Right,’ Romero snarls. ‘And now that prick is living in the White House, screwing the goddamn president. I guess he moved up in the world. Can you believe that shit? Only in America…’”

This exchange between Garrett and Tony illustrates Tony’s deep-seated hatred of Cole, pointing to The Corruptive Power of Jealousy, Resentment, and Insecurity as a key theme in the novel. Here, the authors describe Tony as “snarl[ing]” and highlight his use of strong language like “prick” and “goddamn” to signal his malicious intent. Tony’s suggestion that Cole achieved his position through corruption is an example of irony, as it is Tony who is involved in a corrupt political conspiracy.

“This has been a long time coming. Her payback. The facts don’t matter anymore. All she has to do is make the accusation. Brea will put it in a bestselling book. Fox and social media will take care of the rest.”

Amber’s plan to tell Brea that she believes Cole is involved in Suzanne’s murder in the hopes that “Fox and social media” will help her profit from the accusation provides an example of the ways the truth can be manipulated based on individual desires and motivations. Making Amber’s deception explicit highlights the possibility that other witnesses might be providing misleading or false information about Cole, complicating the pursuit of justice.

“DeMarco lowers his voice and says in a near whisper, ‘You asked me if I killed Suzanne Bonanno. I said no.’ He looks from side to side. ‘You never asked me if I know who did.’”

This scene represents a feature of classic thriller structure in which a chapter ends on a cliffhanger that builds anticipation and encourages the reader to keep going. DeMarco’s final line creates a cliffhanger that drives the plot toward its climax, in which Suzanne’s true murderer will be revealed.

“‘A conspiracy, and people are leading you two around by your noses. Look, we all understand that there’s a large slice of the American public that just can’t stomach having a woman in the Oval Office. And that includes a lot of politicians, lobbyists, and corporations. Go after the president’s husband and you hurt the president, maybe deny her a second term, maybe even get her to quit altogether.’

‘So, in your opinion,’ says Garrett, ‘these stories about the First Gentleman are just rumors being spread by political enemies of the president?’ ‘Absolutely…’”

Pearce uses his powerful position to insinuate that there is a “conspiracy” against the president and her husband to Garrett and Brea. In retrospect, his intervention is ironic and misleading because it is Pearce himself who is responsible for the conspiracy against Cole.

“Alongside a set of jumper cables and some road flares is a bundled-up filthy blue sheet.

Staring out through a gap in the fabric is a grinning human skull.”

This passage provides an example of imagery used to create suspense and a sense of building menace. The grotesque image of the “grinning human skull” creates a jump scare, or something intended to shock. The authors note that the skull is “staring out through a gap in the fabric,” allowing the mind to speculate wildly about what else might be hidden.

“He was surprised to find the First Gentleman so down-to-earth. Straightforward. Even with all Garrett’s suspicions, even with his reporter’s guard up, he actually liked the guy. And he was blown away by what Cole Wright had to say.”

Garrett’s conversation with Cole represents a key turning point in the narrative because it begins to become apparent that, despite the evidence against him, Cole might not be responsible for Suzanne’s murder. Garrett’s shift from full belief in Cole’s guilt to suspecting his innocence mirrors the journey of the reader as the conspiracy against Cole is progressively revealed. The emphatic language that Garrett is “blown away” by what he learned reiterates the importance of their conversation.

“The metal end of the silencer is cold on Garrett’s forehead.

Brea! His last thought.”

The authors use spare, fragmented language to depict Garrett’s death. The sensory reference to the gun and Garrett’s “last thought” implies that he was shot in the head and killed without a lengthy or graphic description of the act. The tragedy of the situation is emphasized when Garrett’s last thought is of Brea, pointing to the novel’s thematic interest in Relationships as a Source of Support and Strength.

“Law enforcement and politics are supposed to be kept separate, but they never are.”

The novel takes a pragmatic view of political machinations and their role in obstructing justice and creating false narratives. The declarative nature of the statement highlights the interplay between systems of institutional power, highlighting how investigations into powerful people like the Wrights are often politically motivated.

“‘Cole, you’ve always needed me, even at Dartmouth. Do I have to remind you how I helped when those rumors started about you?’

‘That was then. This is now.’

‘And now is an even more delicate time. Anything any of us does can affect the president’s agenda! How do you think it would look to the inquiring public?’”

This exchange between Pearce and Cole draws a connection between the political stakes of the novel—the Grand Bargain—and the personal stakes—the accusations against Cole Wright. It also illustrates Pearce’s manipulative abilities. He tells Cole that he “helped” Cole with the rumors about Cole’s rape of a young woman while they were at Dartmouth, when in fact it was Pearce who both committed the rape and started the rumor about Cole’s involvement.

“‘Say it, Mr. Amalfi. Say it! Tell me who ordered Garrett Wilson killed.’

‘It was the man in the White House,’ he says.

Holy shit. We were right. This noble First Gentleman act is just that—an act.”

This exchange between Brea and the Providence mobster, Amalfi, illustrates one of the challenges of pursuing truth and justice. When Amalfi refers to a “man in the White House” as being involved in the conspiracy, Brea leaps to the conclusion that he is referring to Cole when he’s referring to Pearce.

“The jury and alternates have been seated. Today it begins. The end of Cole Wright.”

The turn of phrase “the end of Cole Wright” creates a sense of drama and stakes around Cole’s murder trial. If he’s convicted, his life as he has known it will be over.

“My client played NFL football for three years. He has the battle scars to prove it. And I believe he would tell you that it was nothing compared to the blood sport of national politics, where people will do anything and everything to gain an advantage over the competition. Like rehashing old rumors. Trolling for coincidences. Playing on sympathies for a beautiful young woman who died too soon. Somebody has to pay, right?”

In her opening statement, Cole Wright’s defense attorney speaks directly to the novel’s thematic engagement with jealousy and resentment as corruptive forces that push people to distort the truth. She intimates that Cole’s prosecution is politically motivated due to his role in “the blood sport of national politics.” The term “blood sport” draws a connection between the rough and tumble world of professional football and American politics—the two spheres of Cole’s life.

“Personally, I believe Amalfi was telling the truth. I think the First Gentleman ordered Garrett’s murder because he was getting too close to finding out about the murder Cole Wright himself had committed. The one he’s on trial for now. I think Garrett learned something that day at the airport—and I think he died because of it.”

During Cole’s trial, Brea continues to believe that Cole is guilty not only of Suzanne’s murder but also of Garrett’s. Although she is wrong about Cole’s guilt, she’s correct that he died because of what he learned. Her hypothesis emphasizes the authors’ use of red herrings to misdirect readers, obscuring the truth until the final reveal.

“‘Maddy appreciates your loyalty,’ says Pearce. ‘Always has.’

‘I think she appreciates having me out of the way, not making waves. And what if this Grand Bargain idea goes to shit? What if Wall Street crashes? What if the governors revolt? What if the electorate turns against us? We’re taking a big risk. There’s a reason why no other administration has gone this far.’”

This exchange with Vice President Faulkner reiterates how high the stakes are around the Grand Bargain. He highlights all the potential ways that, even if President Wright passes the legislation, things might go wrong and the inherent risk in large-scale political change.

“‘How do you know Suzanne was pregnant?’

‘Because she told me—the night before she disappeared. She said she was gonna break up with Cole because of it.’

‘Why? Because it would get him kicked off the team?’

‘No. Because it wasn’t his baby. It was Tony Romero’s.’”

In this exchange with Brea, Teresa drops the bombshell that Suzanne was pregnant with Tony’s child at the time of her death. Like other clues Brea has uncovered in her investigation, the significance of this clue is ambiguous. It could suggest that Cole murdered Suzanne out of jealousy, although it is ultimately revealed that it was a catalyst for Tony’s murder of Suzanne.

“I’ve discovered that there’s an active cabal disseminating disinformation about the president’s husband as a way of undermining the administration, trying to bring it down.”

The last-minute intervention of Ukrainian researcher Daryna acts as a deus ex machina device that reveals the conspiracies manipulating events behind the scenes. It underscores the cutthroat world of American politics portrayed in the novel, in which many actors with conflicting motives seek to further their agendas by any means necessary.

“This is a famous man, no doubt. An influential man. A powerfully connected man. But he is also an innocent man.”

In her closing argument, Cole’s defense attorney highlights her belief that people are more quick to judge “famous,” “influential,” and powerfully connected” men for perceived wrongdoing—a perspective reinforced by the authors throughout the novel that leaves the inherent privilege and self-protective nature of institutionalized power largely uninterrogated.

“‘Eva, I’m so sorry that happened to you. Did you ever see the guy’s face? Do you know who it was?’

It takes her a few seconds to answer.

‘I didn’t then. I do now.’ She looks right at me. ‘He works in the White House. His name is Burton Pearce.’”

This scene acts as a plot twist in the narrative of The First Gentleman. Up until this point, the authors have left it ambiguous whether Cole is guilty of rape. This revelation radically shifts the interpretation of the other clues uncovered by Brea in the course of her investigation.

“I’ll give you an ending, you bitch. Here it is: President Wright resigns. I become President Faulkner’s chief of staff. I preside over the biggest policy triumph in American history. Cole Wright gets shanked to death in prison. And you never write another goddamn word.”

Like a classic movie villain, Pearce reveals his entire plot and motive in the moments before he intends to have Brea murdered. Like the other antagonists in the novel, he’s motivated by jealousy and resentment. He wants the adulation, power, and influence enjoyed by Cole at any cost.