The Faking of the President

***Editor's Choice, NEW YORK TIMES*** “The stories put arrows in the red ... [with] “Manchurian Candidate”-style Cold War paranoia ... exploitation ... actual history [and] first ladies who are the power behind the throne. ... The actual present is left until last, when [editor] Carlaftes himself appears for an audacious final story.” —The New York Times

"One of the strangest, most exhilarating rides you’ll take in noir this year...Editor Peter Carlaftes brings together a talented group of contemporary noir luminaries, each author offering a unique vision of executive excess and intrigue." —CrimeReads

“The Faking of the President is equal parts historical and hysterical. The assemblage of authors is uniformly talented. They each start with as many real facts as are necessary and then, unconstrained by anything except their imaginations, produce delightful riffs on reality. They are fake news.” —NY Journal of Books

"Many of the 19 speculative stories in this highly entertaining anthology show U.S. presidents behaving badly, some with the same impunity as the current occupant of the White House. ... Fans of alternate history will have fun. This is the perfect diversion for those seeking a break from the more serious aspects of the election season." —Publishers Weekly

“In many ways, the collection is a lot of fun. There’s a schadenfreude aspect to some of it . . . The Faking of the President offers a comical and twisted version of our history.” —Portland Book Review

“The Faking of the President is a terrific burning barn of a book. Focused on the potential realities in past American presidencies (and a future glimpse) and written by 19 talented mystery writers who really know their American history, these great fictional takes on what could have happened, might have happened, and didn’t happen are really deep-dive marvels and often breathtaking wonders to take in. Then the real mind-bending occurs when you are inspired by the stories in The Faking of the President to imagine what directions we might have instead taken, and often tragically did not, particularly in the continuing saga of the most genetically twisted presidency we’ve yet experienced.” —Hot Indie News

"The Faking of the President is a wild, rollicking ride through the corridors of power both past and present. These stories are dark, humorous and thoughtful; they take the presidency and its environs and turn it into a fun house of noirish story-telling. Get this book and read it during the presidential campaign to help keep your head on straight." —T.J. English, New York Times Best Selling author of Havana Nocturne and The Westies

“Whether burrowing into archival gaps, forging extraordinary connections between pivotal milestones, or conjuring up wild (and wildly entertaining!) alternative histories, these slyly subversive what-ifs and cutting critiques hit their marks on presidencies past and present.” —Art Taylor, Edgar Award-winning author of The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74