First published 1991
The President of the United States watches nervously as a charismatic new Soviet leader gains international acclaim. This popularity threatens something the President values deeply: America's economy built on perpetual warfare. The President knows that peace could unravel the military-industrial complex that keeps the nation running. His anxiety grows as the Soviet leader's charm offensive continues across the globe. Then a wave of murders begins. Prominent Americans start dying in shocking assassinations that grab headlines and shift public attention. Each death seems random, yet together they create a pattern that changes everything. As the body count rises, the President discovers that his fears about the Soviet threat may have been premature. The assassinations reshape the political landscape in ways he never expected. What emerges is a story about how violence can serve political ends and how leaders manipulate crisis for advantage.
Genres: suspense, thriller, action, political-thriller
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: United States, Soviet Union
Period: 20th-century
387 pages · Hardcover · Bantam
Content warnings: violence