Book Review: The JFK Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch

“From the New York Times bestselling authors of The Nazi Conspiracy and The Lincoln Conspiracy comes a true, little-known story about the first assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy, right before his inauguration.”

Goodreads blurb for The JFK Conspiracy

Review:

While at first glance the title of the book sounds like your run-of-the-mill ‘whodunit’ in the John F. Kennedy series, The Kennedy Conspiracy is actually about a lesser-known assassination attempt that took place before President Kennedy’s inauguration.

Richard Pavlick, a retired postal worker from New Hampshire, resented President-elect John F. Kennedy’s victory, political beliefs, and religion. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he packed his car full of dynamite and found Kennedy in Florida. Had his plot not been thwarted, America never would have seen Kennedy take office. This book focuses on Pavlick’s plot but also supplies a good amount of history of the days just after the 1960 election with an emphasis on Jacqueline Kennedy as between election day and inauguration day, she gave birth to John F. Kennedy Jr.

I don’t recall ever hearing about this assassination attempt. If I have, it was in passing. In the grand scheme of things, a failed attempt has become a footnote. Though I suppose the motives stay a similar realm as the 1963 assassination, this story has a much different tone. There were fewer question marks, and the motives were clear: hate. It struck me how much of Pavlick’s disdain stemmed from his hatred of Catholicism. It feels like in modern times, Kennedy’s religion and the discrimination he faced during his election (as well as in office) gets brushed off.

What I found most interesting was the psychology of it all. For a man who so hated John F. Kennedy, he spent so much time thinking about him, following and tracking him, talking about him, and above all, was willing to sacrifice his own life in the name of hatred. Of course, now we see this every day. It’s an illness that now runs rampant in our society, and it was haunting to realize when similar events happen today, most people don’t bat an eye. It might be considered tame. We are desensitized. I appreciated the way this book was able to maintain a shock value in this retelling.

It was interesting to read something new in the Kennedy field. It did feel like it was more about Jackie than Jack aside from him being the target, but everything ties together by the end. I’ve read this author team once before and I enjoyed their work just as much this time. Good research and a unique topic. I listened to the audiobook version and thought the narrator did a fantastic job and kept the narration engaging.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing a free audio-ARC of the book. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Unique and engaging.
• Though I would have liked it a tad longer, it didn’t need to be. The book felt complete.
• It paid a nice homage to Jacqueline Kennedy.

What I didn’t like:

• There was a bit in the beginning that made it sound like Pavlick was part of a bigger scheme to eliminate JFK, in particular, notable Protestants. Then, this completely fell off, so I don’t know why it needed to be mentioned at all.
• Again, I will say that this was equally as about Jacqueline (adjusting to life in the public eye, her marriage, and her children). While this is a positive for me, it was a glaring filler and doesn’t fit in with the title.

Afterthoughts:

Realizing now this book is part of a (loose) series, I’m interested in backtracking.

Where to buy the book: