cover image Statute of Limitations

Statute of Limitations

John Buckley. Simon & Schuster, $19.45 (365pp) ISBN 978-0-671-69095-3

The good guy in this timely romp through behind-the-scenes Washington, D.C., is Tom O'Malley, speechwriter for the new Democratic president. Tom smoked pot at Amherst in the '70s, and now his former roommate, a bigshot drug dealer, is blackmailing him into smuggling cocaine during a presidential visit to South America. Tom represents those talented baby-boomers whose mildly disreputable pasts, sullied years ago when the nation's attitude toward drugs was comparatively lenient, can bar them from public service today. Buckley, author of Family Politics , irreverently reveals the inner workings of the White House and news media, convincingly depicting the games Washington insiders play. The plot is initially bogged down by frequent scene changes, too many undistinguishable minor characters, wordy prose and cursory references to the recently newsworthy--from spin doctors to Bryant Gumble to the Medellin cartel. But after the action picks up and the reader gets a handle on details and characters, the serpentine plot is refreshingly loophole-free and absorbing. (Aug.)