Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery

This was so not what I was execting. And that doesn't disappoint me.The way the cover made it appear was that this was going to be a rip-snorting comedy, a farce about Biden and Obama (since it's first person from Biden's standpoint I put him first even if it should be the higher ranked stateman's name first. Fight me!) becoming super-crime-solvers. It's not that.It's a really well written, often funny but not comical, cozy mystery. (It's a cozy in that the people solving the crime are not professionals. Yes, they are a former US President and his former Vice President but they're not professional police or detectives.) It's a realistic case, with a really realistic resolution. The characters are portrayed so well that I could hear their dialogue in their own voices. There is a third member of the crime-solving group, Obama's Secret Service escort Steve, who is not based on a real person that I'm aware of, but his voice sounded pretty true as well. (The fourth and fifth members of the group are the cars, but I'll leave that for you to find out about.)The story begins with the death of an Amtrak conductor who is found with a map to Biden's home among the possessions when his body is discovered. Biden, a long-time rider of Amtrak's commuter lines, knew the conductor and he sets off to make sure the family receives appropriate justice. And things just go from there. Yeah, it gets weird at places. There is a dream sequence involving Barak Obama on a unicorn that I'd rather not think too much about. But it's a tight plot, well organized and hard for me to put down.I also have to say that every time Biden experienced one of the standard aches and pains of his age I (a bit younger than he) felt them myself. My knee may never recover from reading this book.I've added the sequel to my reading list and I'm hoping we get to see Michelle Obama in this one. (Jill Biden passive aggressively doing dinner dishes made me snort, btw. I hope we see more of her, too.)

Andrew Shaffer’s “Hope Never Dies: An Obama-Biden Mystery” follows retired Vice President Joe Biden as he begins looking into the circumstances of Amtrak conductor, and personal friend, Finn Donnelly’s death. Shaffer could easily have written a one-note story that was more meme than plot, but he uses the unique tax structure of Wilmington, Delaware to examine the growing wealth divide in the United States in a manner that evokes the social divisions of the great hard-boiled detective novels of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. While early twentieth-century fiction focused on bootlegging amid the backdrop of Prohibition, Shaffer uses the modern opioid epidemic to much the same effect.The title evokes then-candidate Barack Obama’s answer to a field organizer’s question about losing hope during the 2008 election, which is particularly fitting as Shaffer’s Biden wonders at his legacy and his ability to make a difference amid the chaos of the current administration and its seeming quest to undo all the progress of the previous eight years. While no work focusing on Obama and Biden after 2016 could avoid this topic, Shaffer uses it to further establish the noir mood of his story, painting the country in the same ambivalent light that crime novelists of the 1930s used in their stories. “Hope Never Dies” is the gripping mystery that our country needs as we find ourselves facing greater struggles and uncertainty from day-to-day.

Okay, let's not expect this to be a piece of literary fiction. Yes, the book is totally what he claims to be: a mystery written in the formula of so many mystery writers. So for those you have given it a one star, maybe you don't exactly know what "irony" is when you see it as well as "satire" when you read it. But I do--and this book is very funny, and probably even more so for those who live in and around Wilmington, Delaware, where Joe Biden lives and not far from where I too live (recently so having moved from Miami Beach). The plot is silly because that is exactly what it must be when doing irony. The last thing you expect--here's the irony!--is for Number Forty-four (Obama) to be Joe Biden's underling in a detective story. There are wonderful, usually rather subtle, comments related to those eight years when we had a thoughtful President and his sometimes off-script side kick, the VP. So for those of you, like me, would buy the book just for the cover and then have it out in a prominent place--your coffee table maybe--do so. The chapters are, of course, short. And naturally these two guys go down wrong paths. There are car chases--of course there are--and mistaken identities. Well, you know what I mean if you've ever read a mystery written to a formula just as some of loved the formula writing of our earliest novel, i.e., Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries.

This lovable well known duo fight for justice & truth as they rediscover their friendship to seal their bond through this harrowing tale. The twists & turns will be sure to keep you reading far into the night. Their natural banter will keep you entertained & smiling.

Obama and Biden as private detectives! Hell ya. This story places them at the heart of a whodunit and up there with the great sluthes. Brilliant read that had me gripped. Please please more!

Great concept and character depiction, especially enjoyed the serious treatment and consistency of the story - recommend reading :) .

This book was highly entertaining. I had previously read his book, "The Fifty Shames of Earl Grey," but this original novel is a better use of the author's wit. Although he gives credit to his wife for most of the jokes, this humorous book has an actual mystery plot. The main character of Joe Biden is well developed and human, referencing what is publicly known about his life and political career. With lines like:Obama - what's with her?Biden - she's a Republican...you will laugh. A must read read for any Democrat, or anyone tired of hearing from the "Tweeter In Chief".

I like this one. Written from the perspective of Joe Biden you encounter a typical aging father figure: not perfect, reflective, still emotional, with self-pitty at times but always struggling to get a meaning out of life. The character of Barrack Obama is not over stressed and balanced well into the plot.All in all fun reading with reflective depth. I am looking out for the sequel.