Authors Hillary Rodham Clinton (left) and Louise Penny
For
this thriller, Hillary Rodham Clinton drew on her experience as U.S. Secretary
of State and Louise Penny on her talent as a mystery writer to craft a
tale about a Secretary of State trying to stop nuclear terrorists from
exploding bombs in American cities. The twist - a traitor in the upper
echelons of the U.S. government is helping the terrorists.
*****
Newly elected President Douglas Williams isn't Ellen Adams' favorite person.
When Williams was a powerful senator and Ellen was in charge of a global media empire....
.....Ellen's journalist son Gil Bahar was kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists.
Senator
Williams wouldn't allow the government to negotiate for Gil's release
and Ellen expected her son to be beheaded momentarily.....but Gil
miraculously escaped. Gil has now converted to Islam and has friends and
contacts in the Middle East.
After Williams failed to help Gil,
Ellen used her media conglomerate to lobby HARD against the senator
being nominated for president, but Williams got the nomination and won.
Now - to everyone's shock - Williams has made Ellen Secretary of State,
but he plans to sabotage and disgrace her.
The
new administration has to repair the damage done by the previous
president, Eric Dunn - called Eric the Dunce by his critics - who cozied
up to dictators, allowed Iran to pursue nuclear weapons, damaged
America's relations with its allies, and more.
As if that's not bad enough, three bus bombs explode in a single day - first in London, then in Paris, and finally in Frankfurt.
Just
before the last bomb explodes a Pakistani-American foreign service
officer called Anahita Dahir realizes a gibberish email she received,
which her boss thought was spam, was a warning about the bombs.
Secretary
of State Adams gets the news just moments before the last bomb
explodes, and is able to warn her son Gil, who's on the Frankfurt bus
following a Pakistani nuclear physicist. Gil escapes the bus in time,
but is injured and taken to the hospital.
It turns out the bombs
were detonated for the express purpose of killing three Pakistani
scientists on their way to build nuclear weapons for other Middle
Eastern factions.
The theory is that Iran planted the bombs to stop its enemies in the region from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
The
situation in the Middle East is always complicated, but the U.S.
suspects the Russian Mafia - under the supervision of Russian President
Ivanov - is selling nuclear components to Middle Eastern terrorists, and
a Pakistani nuclear physicist called Dr. Bashir Shah is providing
scientists to those same terrorists, all to help the zealots build
nuclear bombs.
Ellen and her trusted counselor Betsy Jameson.....
....along with foreign service officer Anahita Dahir and members of Ellen's staff - rush to the Middle East.
Ellen
plans to consult with the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan,
hoping to get information about the terrorists' identity and location.
Along
the way Ellen learns that three nuclear weapons have been placed in
American cities, and are set to be detonated at any moment.
Meanwhile
Ellen's son Gil leaves the hospital and makes his way to his secret
source in Afghanistan, who tells him a 'High Level Informant' in America
is in league with Russia and the terrorists.
When Ellen learns
about the traitor she sends Betsy back to America to investigate the
miscreant's identity. Betsy gets assistance from a disgruntled member of
former President Dunn's administration, and their prying leads to
murder.
Meanwhile
Ellen - with the blessings of President Williams (who's come to
appreciate her intelligence and capabilities) - is in a race against
time to stop the explosions on American soil. Ellen even confronts
Russian President Ivanov, and gives him a taste of his own medicine.
As
with all thrillers, the plot requires some suspension of disbelief, but
it mirrors several real world worries, like the Russian mafia arming the
world, and Americans trying to undermine their own government.
Fans
of Louise Penny's Detective Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in the
Canadian village of Three Pines, will be happy to see some favorite
characters. Moreover, Secretary of State Ellen Adams' favorite poet is
Ruth Zardo. 🙂
I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller, and got a kick
out of Ellen Adams and her ally Betsy Jameson going face to face with
some tough guys.
Thriller fans (except for supporters of former President Trump) would probably enjoy this book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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