Lethal Ambition

A Contemporary Christian Thriller

By: Michael Swiger

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Romance. Revenge. Redemption.

A crusading congressional candidate, Marcus Blanchard, is framed for an election-night murder. Three powerful foes - his entrenched opponent, a drug lord, and a racist political boss – all want him dead. Accused of killing the woman hired to kill him, Marcus turns to the only man he can trust.

Brilliant but struggling with the ravages of age, Edward Mead takes the case while nursing his wife through the merciless treatments for stage-four breast cancer. Mead is thrust headlong into Cleveland’s gritty underbelly, colliding with drug dealers and thugs, race riots and protests, and an all-pervasive political corruption that enslaves its citizens in poverty while sowing the seeds of division and hatred.

John Grisham meets Agatha Christie in this fast-paced legal thriller murder mystery that grapples with the urban unrest in communities across the country. This book will leave you exhilarated and entertained, but most of all it will make you think.


With suspense on every page, Amazon #1 Best-Selling author Michael Swiger demonstrates why he is a favorite among mystery, suspense and thriller fans.

Fans of Creston Mapes, Robert Whitlow, Scott Pratt, John Grisham and James Patterson will love this thriller from award-winning and bestselling author Michael Swiger.


Reader praise for Lethal Ambition

★★★★★ Great Legal Thriller - Excellent legal read. Kept me totally intrigued. Great character development and book moved at a great pace. I highly recommend it if you like legal thrillers.

★★★★★ Better than James Patterson - In the past year I have read several James Patterson books, several John Grisham books…this is by far the best book I have read this year.

★★★★★ A real page turner! - This book grabs you from the get-go and doesn't let you leave for even a minute! The characters are great, you love them, you hate them, and you feel sorry for some of them...ok two of them. Just like a fine meal the ones you hate get their "just-deserts!" This is a must read!

★★★★★ Marvelous book - Rarely do I read a book so quickly and effortlessly. Never have I seen a book written without fluff. This could not have been an easy task ....to edit and tell the story without so much detail that the reader loses the story and gets sidetracked. All the characters were fully developed, and you got to like them and hate them because the details told you their story.
I have 2 more of your books and am putting them at the top of my TBR pile.

★★★★★ Excellently conceived and skillfully delivered - Lethal Ambition introduces us to Edward Mead, happily married to the love of his life for 52 years, and now on sabbatical from his position as a revered law professor. However, a negative prognosis of his wife’s cancer sets in motion a powerful underlying personal conflict; very real, so poignant – so touching. Further tension, produced by political aspirations and intrigue affecting one of Professor Mead’s former students is the vehicle that embroils the plot. Author Michael Swiger creates characters with distinct personalities and unique character traits that you grow either to love or loathe. Page by page, he skillfully sets the scenes that come alive, drawing the reader into the surroundings. He leads you through complex turns and plot twists that keep you drawn to the characters and riveted to the action.

All of this excitement, intensity and complexity is offered without one instance of trashy language that some “popular” authors feel obligated to include. Swiger’s solid moral foundation is just that. It does not awkwardly interfere with the characters or overpower the plot - a beautifully crafted story, excellently conceived and skillfully delivered.

great story, moved quickly

Interesting, captivating, full of intrigue, twists and turns. Would highly recommend to lovers of legal fiction.

Like a Grisham Novel, but Cleaner!

I really enjoyed this book! It read like a John Grisham novel, but with much better language. The plot was engaging, and I really liked the Edward Mead character. I didn’t particularly enjoy the virtual narration, but it wasn’t terrible, either. The story gets an A!

Great Story

I enjoyed the twists and realism in this book - I will definitely read more from this author

The virtual voice pronunciation of the first words of each paragraph was irritating.

The pronunciation of the first word of each paragraph by virtual voice really was irritating

I liked the story a lot and I appreciate that there wasn't bad language and the characters were believable

Did the publisher listen to th e AI reader? It was not ready for prime time. please use real people.

Entertainment with Morality

A great story line and plot! The author did a great job setting up the plot and had great twists throughout the narrative. The story was every bit as entertaining as Grisham and others, yet without the immorality so often exalted in our culture.

Additionally, the author supplied great examples of biblical truth amid the corruption of a fallen world.

The only drawback was the virtual voice. It was terrible! It almost made me quit five minute in. I’m thankful I continued. Overall, a great treasure!

Good story line

Good storyline but absolutely hate the artificial voice reading! Inflection is wrong in a lot of places and words are mispronounced including one of the main character’s name…Edward. Would be so much better with a real person reading this book.

love this author

very good story. love the authentic way the author weaves his Christian faith in. more, please

Story line was good with a bit of a surprise ending.

The narration using virtual voice leaves a lot to be desired. Paragraphs that started with a proper name, first instance Edward were pronounced as E Duard. Or another example W Illiam. Very distracting. Along with various words pronounced incorrectly or with emphasis on the wrong part of the word. I will be sure not to listen to any other books narrated using virtual voice.

Interesting plot

I really enjoyed the storyline of this book, but the nsarration is mechanical and distracting.