John Houle

For former political fixer Henry Mercucio, business has always been personal. Now at the helm of his father-in-law’s legal empire, Henry is playing by a new set of rules—his own. With his candidate installed as mayor of Providence, he manages to gain an appointment on a major defense contractor’s board, but his foray into corporate takeovers is short-lived as he discovers this world is just as shady as the Machiavellian political sphere he has escaped.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Charlie Braverman stumbles across a sinister, nationwide Russian plot to undermine America’s electoral system, already fully operational. With Henry licking his wounds after being double-crossed in business, he and former Congressman McNally are recruited to scramble up a new Democratic gubernatorial candidate in defense of national stability.

With his state’s political future in jeopardy and his marriage and future in question, Henry must bootstrap it again while navigating new revelations from his past to deliver the only candidate that could prevent his state and country from falling to dark forces. To teach their enemies an ultimate lesson, Henry will organize his biggest plot yet.

“Gone were the days of neighborhood rallies and volunteer-packed halls, only to be replaced by high-end fundraisers and professional phone banks. It was the cold, unattached politics of the present Henry didn’t like.”

Seven points down with two weeks to close the gap on Congressman Ray McNally’s bid for Governor of Rhode Island, ex-lawyer and campaign wizard Henry Mercucio meets Councilman John Campagna at his father’s funeral amid a veritable who’s-who of Providence politics. As he watches the numbers and questions the wisdom of his career choice, little does he know that this one meeting will lead to the greatest test of his life...

Then rumors of extortion and embezzlement hit sitting Providence Mayor Jack Donovan. With the authorities closing in, he abandons his post to abscond to Europe, where shady characters set him up to spend his ill-gotten savings in comfort and style. Back home, however, the vacancy leads to an emergency referendum for which the dogged Henry is recruited as a consultant, and it looks like the job may require tactics just as shadowy as the man his less-than-scrupulous team is working to unseat.

To make a name for himself, Henry will put everything he’s earned on the line—his place at the table, his wealthy fiancée, and his strong values—but when his arch-nemesis joins the opposition, forcing Henry to play both sides beyond the pale, will the people he loves remain with him while he walks the tightrope between devious righteousness and moral corruption?

The King-Makers of Providence is a tour de force in five acts through campaign craft and all-out political war, a fast-paced novel for our time that unites the Machiavellian with the Shakespearean to answer one looming question: When you only play to win, how do you keep from becoming your worst enemy?

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