Dynamic duo of Obama and Biden ride again in detective series

Missing the good old days of Barack Obama and Joe Biden? The best buddies are back together again, on the case instead of in the White House, and solving mysteries.

Nope, we’re not kidding.

The first novel in a new “Obama Biden Mystery” series, Andrew Shaffer’s “Hope Never Dies,” is a breezy partisan romp featuring the chill former president and his fiery vice-president playing amateur detectives in order to find some personal justice.

The audacity of “Hope” is that it goes all in on pulpy, far-fetched absurdity while also trying to find nuance in political characters who are figuring out their private lives after running the country for eight years.

Set some months after the 2016 election, the book starts by playing into public perceptions of its main players.

“Amtrak Joe” spent decades travelling via train from Delaware to DC when he was in Congress, so when his favourite railroad conductor dies under shady circumstances, Biden takes it upon himself to find out the truth. The situation comes at a complicated point for Joe, who’s wrestling with mortality, how to still best serve the country, and why Barack can’t be bothered to call.