Review of “A Compromising Position” by Diane Merrill-Wigginton

Score 92/100 (9.2 out of 10)

If you're up for some political intrigue and scandalous scandals, then A Compromising Position is the novel for you!

The book follows Catherine Lawrence, a lifetime workaholic, as she lives her [supposed] dream of getting into politics and being a person of significance. She is hired as the campaign manager for Russell Tillman, the Republican candidate for the office of Governor of Florida. This is a move which deeply upsets others involved in the campaign, particularly Patricia Grant, Catherine's arch-rival for the position and one of the lead antagonists of the story. Scratch that, she is literally called “Catherine's arch nemesis and the very bane of her existence.” It seems like Patricia has two goals in life: 1. To be the future governor's top girl, 2. To make Catherine's life a living hell.

Patricia Grant, surprisingly, is actually somewhat of a sympathetic character. We actually thought she'd be even more prominent in the story, perhaps even the deuteragonist (secondary protagonist) of the story. Unfortunately, that's not the way things turned out.

That honor was arguably given to Jake, Catherine's love interest. Jake is a renegade and a runaway. He's everything that Catherine is not. The romance between Jake and Catherine is one of the pillars of the book.

If you love odd-couple romances, then this is definitely one of them!

As you'd expect, Jake brings out things in Catherine that she has long repressed or has never experienced, things like intimacy or even...freedom.

Catherine is chained to her work—a slave of it. Even her leisure time is dominated by “work.” She apparently runs 25 miles a day on a treadmill and follows the same monotonous endurance routine. She never takes time to hang out with friends, go on vacation, or so much as get a cup of coffee, especially if these things aren't related to her job.

The more we learn about Catherine (particularly her parents), the more we understand why she is the way that she is: an overachiever to a fault.

Similarly, Catherine opens Jake's eyes to things such as an appreciation of the parents he fled from and left in the dark.

It is somewhat of a mutually beneficial relationship. However, it is very clear that Catherine's career is constantly in the way. As she constantly declares, “My work comes first.” It stabs like knives when she says that sometimes.

Still, little by little you see them working their magic on each other. Catherine starts to breath more. She starts to take more time for herself including a sick day. Jake starts to wonder about his father's health.

There's also a scandal akin to the plot of Ides of March that threatens to derail Russell's public image, marriage, and his hopes for the governorship. This gives the book its name. However, unlike Ides of March, this book doesn't try to paint the candidate as a wolf in sheep's clothing or a monster. Yes, Russell is immoral and severely flawed, but he isn't evil. He is human, and it's really surprising to read about such a powerful, influential public figure being so weak, vulnerable, and anxious about things like what his wife will think.

There are also several interwoven subplots such as those who are specifically out to “get” Catherine and pick up dirt on her.

One last thing: the writing of this book can actually be quite humorous. For instance, when a character almost chokes on shrimp, this is worded as:

“A pesky shrimp swimming in the wrong direction.”

When Jake describes surviving a shark attack, a socially-awkward Catherine simply replies:

“I'm glad that the shark didn't eat you.”

All in all, this is a pretty entertaining novel with the political intrigue of something like Ides of March or House of Cards.

Check it out on Amazon!