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While You Are Waiting for... STATE OF TERROR
It's finally here, the latest blockbuster pairing of an author and a political figure. The hotly anticipated new book, State of Terror, pairs Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton for a breakneck, plot-driven, political thrill-ride that is sure to have you turning pages deep into the night. Secretary of State Ellen Adams and her childhood best friend Betsy Jameson are in a race against time to stop a cabal of terrorists from turning the US into a satellite state of Russia. It's a political thriller penned by women, starring women, but likely anyone that picks it up is sure to be captivated.
So, as there are currently over 200 holds on this book, you're going to need something to read while you wait for your turn. Here are a few I can recommend:
American Spy, by Lauren Wilkinson: Like Penny and Clinton's decision to place two highly professional and intelligent women in opposition to a world of corrupt and egotistical men, so too does Lauren Wilkinson challenge the genre by writing a woman of color, and a mother, into the role of international spy during the Cold War in the 1980s. The narrative is told in the form of a letter from our spy, Marie Mitchell, to her sons, revealing her activities as a CIA operative employed to develop relations with a charismatic, intensely popular Marxist president of Burkina Faso, a country that sits in opposition to US interests. Marie learns to negotiate her world in a way that only she can, all the while keeping in mind the contradictions and the nuances of being an African-American female spy for the US against an African Country fighting against western dominance. It's a refreshing take on a traditional genre. For another great cold war spy thriller featuring a compelling female protagonist, try Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews.
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams: Want more fiction from a political superstar? Stacey Abrams' recent thriller centers on the dealings in the Highest Court in the Land. Avery Keene's boss, the infamous Supreme Court Justice Howard Wynn, has fallen into a coma, at the very same time he is expected to rule on a highly controversial case for which he would be the swing vote. Avery must go on a chase to uncover corruption, a path that leads through very powerful corridors. Will Avery unravel the conspiracy in time? For a first effort at a legal/ political thriller from a very busy woman, this is a very entertaining read.
Of course, this list wouldn't be complete unless we did include a classic entry in the political thriller genre. Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series, beginning with American Assassin from 2010, casts his CIA assassin against all sorts of political nemeses and terrorists, foreign and domestic. Rapp often has to be "creative" in his thinking and actions, and work around common protocols to get the job done. Other notable political thrillers include Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series, Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series and Joseph Finder's Nick Heller novels.
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