by M. J. Simms-Maddox (Author)

Political thriller fans will find this drama compelling. It follows a self-assured Black American protagonist as she navigates Ohio's male-dominated Senate during the early 1980s.

• A blend of insider knowledge, historical context, and a multidimensional heroine enriches the narrative.

• Contemporary literature, political thriller, women's, and autobiographical fiction, all in one place.

• Priscilla is the legislative aide to Ohio state Senator Daniel P. Callahan. She takes us behind the scenes in the Ohio Senate to reveal how the system operates. She has already witnessed much of this firsthand and now shares the secrets she uncovered, offering insights only an insider could provide.

• How does she manage to do all that? In the early 1980s, no one paid much attention to a Black female staffer in a legislative body, especially one so young. Priscilla was often mistaken for a low-level staff member, like a page-someone who runs errands, makes copies, and delivers coffee. In fact, people like Priscilla were considered "invisible." Even though she is a real person, no one notices her, much like the invisible man in Ralph Ellison's novel. However, the more engaged Priscilla is in the game, the more visible she becomes.

• Priscilla is on a mission that has little to do with her role in the Ohio Senate, which is simply a means to an end.

• The opening scene features Priscilla as a junior college professor teaching political science majors who are nearly her age, twenty-five, with some even older. In the scenes that follow, including her father's mysterious request, her arrival at the Ohio Senate, and the chapters on her rite of passage, a defection in the ranks, and the Delgato offer, no one can predict what will happen, not even at the end.

• Throughout, Priscilla reflects on her early life, especially her aggressive and defiant phase. Yet her love for her upbringing in western New York's Snowbelt is undeniable, as she proudly highlights the region's scenic, snow-covered landscapes, the Christmas season, the contributions of Catherine Harris (a pioneer conductor of the Underground Railroad), the birthplace of television legend Lucille Ball, and the world-famous Chautauqua Institute. However, not all of her life has been easy.

• Black middle-class family life is similar to that of any other family. But readers might especially appreciate learning how and why a Black Methodist minister raises his daughter as if she were a son.

• Adult readers of all ages will find this story easy to read, immersive, thought-provoking, and insightful, especially in its exploration of ambition, faith, identity, power, resilience, and real-world systems.

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