one hell of a candidate: a novel of politics by william f. gavin is set against the backdrop of a special election for an open congressional seat in a district in a southern state, where the seat opened up due to the sitting congressman going into a coma after suffering a heart attack. it’s a good and fun book, but it suffers from not having a real central character, and some rather foreseeable plot points. there’s more of a focus on the republican side of the race, with the democratic candidates falling into more obvious stereotypes, but the novel doesn’t really let anyone off the hook.