Fiction. When a deranged loner kills twenty-six people in a Pennsylvania schoolyard, the country is stunned and devastated. Among those catatonic with grief is Jo Matheson, an organic farmer who has lost her goddaughter in the shooting. Sam Jackson, an egotistical right-wing TV talking head, has sliding ratings and faces imminent cancellation. He arrives in Pennsylvania and during a rant, he blames the parents of the dead children. He intends the tirade to be his last salvo but, incredibly, his ratings climb, while Jo watches from her farmhouse in upstate New York, incensed.

Sam rides the wave, shouting that it's time to take the country back from the left-wing weaklings who don't have the courage to protect their children. When he is asked to run for Congress, he accepts and amplifies his message. Watching these developments in horror, Jo finally decides that there actually is something she can do.She kidnaps Sam's ten-year-old daughter.

I've been reading Brad Smith since his debut novel because he knows how to put his foot on the gas and keep the pedal down until you finish the tale, breathless and bedazzled. You're going to want to read THE GOLIATH RUN in one sitting, not that you'll have any choice in the matter. Smith delivers a timely story with memorable characters, satisfying twists and turns, and a breakneck pace that keeps the pages turning. Witty and riveting.--Terry Fallis

Brad Smith has got the goods--he's funny, poignant, evocative, and he tells a blistering tale.--Dennis Lehane

Brad Smith is a writer with lots of skill, lots of heart, and] lots of brains.--Richard Russo