First published 2008
Private detective Dana Cutler takes what appears to be standard surveillance work. She must track a young woman who works for the presidential challenger's campaign. Cutler discovers something explosive when she observes a secret meeting between her target and the sitting president himself. The woman turns up dead the following day, her body brutally disfigured. Now Cutler faces murder charges and must clear her name against the most powerful person in America. Across the country in Portland, a law firm associate handles the death row appeal of a convicted serial killer. The condemned man insists he never murdered one particular victim, a woman who worked for a state governor. That same governor now occupies the White House. Two separate investigations begin to merge as evidence mounts that the president may be responsible for multiple killings. Cutler and the Portland lawyer must navigate deadly political conspiracies to expose the truth.
Genres: mystery, crime, action, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, political-corruption
Setting: Portland, America, White House
Period: 21st-century
358 pages · Hardcover · Harper
Content warnings: murder, violence