by Bret Baier
First published 2026
Sarah Chen thought she understood the game. As a seasoned political reporter in Washington, she knew how to read between the lines of press briefings and decode the careful language of senators. But when a national security crisis erupts, Chen finds herself caught between competing versions of the truth. Her sources in the intelligence community tell one story. Her editors demand another. The politicians she covers spin a third. As Chen digs deeper, she realizes that her own network may be part of the deception. Every lead she follows puts her career at risk. Every question she asks makes her more enemies. The story that could define her profession might also destroy it. Chen must decide whether exposing the truth is worth losing everything she has worked to build. In a city where information equals power, she learns that some secrets come with a price no one should have to pay.
Genres: american, contemporary, 21st-century, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Period: 21st-Century
256 pages · Hardcover · Mariner Books