Philip Kraske

Mockery Philip Kraske Second, 2 edition

Mockery is a political whodunit: who arranged the two scandals that sank the two major-party presidential candidates and swung victory to the Independent candidate? Sam Walker, a young history-book writer conned into covering the election by his editors, receives an anonymous post-election note: two campaign staffers from different parties colluded to bring about the scandals. He investigates, and the incredible truth pops out: that the scandals were triggered by an innocent mix-up of video tapes. A presidential election, it seems, can be lost as easily as a wallet. Alone with his scoop, Sam writes his how-the-election-was-won book, selling millions of copies -- then discovers that his story was all wrong: much more sinister forces were actually at work. Meanwhile, beautiful Laura Prestini, the campaign worker most responsible for the mix-up, has evolved from national laughingstock into A-list icon! Sam attempts to rewrite history -- but will anyone listen? Poignant, comic, and tragic, its plot turning on one clue after another, Mockery describes the elastic condition of truth in a world where media companies control the public narrative, and the Internet, by its free-for-all nature, can churn truth and falsehood into the same stew.