Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm about a third through, and thus far, I don't feel invested in any of the characters or surprised by the story arc, but then a rich guy from New York doesn't begin as a sympathetic protagonist. Regardless, I almost stopped reading in Chapter Two at this statement: "The profile avatars of his 'supporters' had either eagles or American flags on them. 'Terrific," Simon said. "The psychos are on my side." So the author's protagonist believes anyone displaying an American Flag must be a psycho? Yep, I realize none of the New York literary scene or rich guys from New York have served that flag, but was it necessary to point out intolerance and ignorance? What point did it serve to insult those patriotic people who aren't at all crazy when the same thing could have been achieved while leaving out that particular passage. Lately, many of the thriller/mystery authors I used to love unnecessarily inject their political views into their books as if it's important to virtue signal to their author communities. News flash: this propensity doesn't make for a better book. Perhaps they feel they're so successful they can afford to discard the riff raff. I've quit reading Baldacci and afraid Corben is next. Honestly, I'm not easily insulted, but enough is enough. You can have your expensive 14.99 downloads and I'll go elsewhere. There are thousands of creative up-and-coming authors to try.