I was given this book by my future mother-in-law to read as she had enjoyed it whilst on holiday. I have never read anything by this author before although I have watched The House of Cards which was originally a novel by Dobbs.The protagonist in the book is Ginny Edge, who at the beginning of the book is quite a normal housewife to the MP Dominic Edge. However upon finding out that her husband has had an affair; Ginny sets out on a path of utter ruthlessness to make her husband the Prime Minister and herself his First Lady. Characters along the way are as you would expect, sleazy politicians and head-line hungry newspaper editors. Ginny's day to day life and struggles run parallel to the character of Ajok Arab, an immigrant from the Sudan struggling to carve out a new life in Britain for herself and her two children. By the end of the book the two women's lived become intertwined as Ginny uses Ajok to score some much needed political points for her husband's election bid.
I did enjoy this book but I did feel that it was a little predictable and parts that could have been interesting, like Ginny's relationship with her father are passed over very quickly. The strength of this book lies in leaving the reader with many questions; would you have acted similarly if in Ginny's situation, is the ruthlessness understandable and would you ever destroy other people in the pursuit of power?
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