Did you say Obama and Biden crime mystery? Sign me up! Hope Never Dies is pure fan fiction, following a retired Joe Biden as he comes to grips with life after vice presidency. It’s been over six months since he left the White House and he’s no longer in receipt of a Secret Service detail. It feels like every day the news is full of Obama and his shiny new celeb friends. Has Joe been forgotten?

The moral arc of the universe bends towards justice, but sometimes the universe needs a little help.

An Amtrak conductor is killed on the tracks and in his belongings is a map with Joe’s house marked on it. They knew each other from when he used to take the train into Washington DC. Obama gives his old partner a visit to advise him to hire some private security. They agree to tell the police that the Secret Service are looking into it to keep Joe’s name out the papers. But Joe can’t leave it be, he needs to uncover the truth.

Barack and Secret Service Steve, keep coming to Joe’s rescue and eventually they team up, much to Steve’s disapproval. They will just have to give him the slip. There’s seedy motels, biker gangs, and one dodgy knee. It’s silly and fun, even if the mystery element isn’t anything amazing. I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

They get the idea from TV shows that every death is a crime, and that crimes are solved over the course of an hour with commercial breaks in between. That’s not real life. This is.

There’s plenty of little jabs at the current administration too. I liked how it didn’t gloss over Joe’s age, he can’t just charge around like a young man and he spends half the book with a knee injury after falling over. Some of the jokes were a bit cringey, but I also chuckled in places. I’d probably read another one if Andrew Shaffer were to write another.

What would Barack say if he saw me out here, rolling around like a turtle on my back?

Hope Never Dies is published by Quirk Books and is available now in paperback and ebook editions. Thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free of charge for review purposes only. Receipt of a book does not guarantee a review or endorsement. My reviews are my honest opinion and are not biased for the purpose of personal gain.