Article XII

A Political Thriller

Fiction - Thriller - General
362 Pages
Reviewed on 12/04/2016
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Alan May is widely published in the field of probate law, contributing articles to journals such as Commentator, Michigan Bar Journal, NAWCC Bulletin, and Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal. He also blogs frequently about probate and baseball. Since graduating Cum Laude from the University of Michigan Law School, he has been President and CEO of May & May, a partner at Kemp–Klein, a Special Assistant Attorney General, a Trustee of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, a Founders Society member of the Detroit Institute of Arts, a lecturer and instructor at Wayne State University and Oakland University, a delegate to the 1984 and 1988 Republican National Convention, a member of the Board of Directors of the Anti-Defamation League, a lifetime member of the NAACP, Vice-Chairman of the National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ), Wayne Country Public Administrator, Chairman of both the Federal Judicial Evaluations Committee and the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, and an elector in the Electoral College. He has appeared in Martindale-Hubbel’s Register of Preeminent Lawyers 30 times, in Michigan Super Lawyers since 2007, in The Best Lawyers in America since 2010, and has been named one of the top attorneys in Michigan by the New York Times. A lifelong resident of the state of Michigan, Mr. May lives in Bloomfield Hills with his wife, Liz. Article XII is his first novel.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lex Allen for Readers' Favorite

Alan May has written a political thriller pertinent to today’s news and events (as I write this review in Dec 2016). The basic premise of Article XII revolves around the Electoral College and its power to confirm or deny the results of a presidential election. The recent presidential election was so close that, for the first time in over one hundred-fifty years, the House of Representatives could decide the winner; a man that Dwight Burrell, a multimillionaire corporate giant, hates. Burrell recognizes that only two faithless electorates could preempt a House vote, and he sets out to ensure that happens, regardless of the means or the devastating effects on everyone involved.

Mike Ianelli and Washington Post reporter Lauren Baxter catch wind of the conspiracy and set out to publicize and stop this corruption of the electorate and political process. To insure verisimilitude, Mr. May includes a variety of supporting characters to flesh out the story. From a Detroit crime baron to the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of the FBI, several criminal types, and the electorates that Burrell believes vulnerable to his oppressive tactics, each character is explicitly defined and perfectly fitted to their designated part of the tale.

As Stephen King says, “Fiction is a lie. And GOOD fiction is the truth inside the lie.” Article XII is GOOD fiction... make that great fiction. I could easily envision this story taking place right now in Washington D.C. and around the country. Mr. May has written a high intensity novel that is not only entertaining, it is likewise germane to today’s political environment, and educational for those unaware or uninformed about the American political processes.

R.L.Kaplan

There have been some strange elections in recent memory (Romney/Obama, Bush/Gore, Nixon/Carter), and this current election season has proven to be as wild a ride as any. Article XII is just about as germane to the topic as a book can get. The action spans two months—early November through early January. The novel’s storyline is bookended by Election Day and the counting of the Electoral College’s votes. Within that timeframe, Assistant Attorney General Mike Ianelli (a welcome addition to the hardboiled, noir, detective genre) seeks to uncover and neutralize a conspiracy to sway electors who will vote in mid-December at Electoral College state meetings. Along the way, Ianelli encounters underworld characters who attempt to and sometimes succeed at abducting, murdering, scandalizing, and corrupting their prey. Ianelli also enjoys the requisite romances expected of a protagonist of his breed. The book is filled with evidence of the author’s erudition, insight into arcane legal matters, taste for the good life, and sense of humor.

Article XII ‘s ambitious and unconventional plot structure and its complex cast of characters is complemented by the insight into human nature and behavior it provides. When core values and self-interest align, choices are easy. When they conflict, it takes courage and self-mastery to act honorably. What makes one person looks the other way—even when that complacency facilitates evil—while another takes it upon himself to confront injustice? Does self-interest invoke a person’s conscience or his ability to rationalize? Must a person follow orders even if doing so flies in the face of that person’s moral beliefs? These questions and conundrums permeate Article XII. There’s a lot to think about and enjoy here.