We welcome your reviews of books that • were published within the past three years • do not advocate for a political party or politician • do address issues supported by the League, and • intrigued you enough that you want to share them. Please submit your review at any time to Margan and Thad Zajdowicz (Margan.Zajdowicz [at] gmail.com ()).
Sometimes when times are grim, it’s therapeutic to take a break and read something lighter and not so dark and depressing. Maybe. I wouldn’t call this thriller light and frivolous. On the other hand, it is imaginary. Well, sort of.
It must be a Clinton family requirement that you find a well-known mystery writer to partner with in writing a novel reflecting one’s political career. Bill has partnered twice with James Patterson to write two thrillers that have been met with less than glowing reviews.
HRC, not to be outdone, has partnered with Louise Penny. Penny is a well-known, award-winning Canadian author of mystery novels, many of them about the adventures of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Sûreté du Quebec. Hillary has made much the better choice.
Her protagonist is—you guessed it—a sometimes disheveled female secretary of state who struggles mightily with her relationship with the newly elected, sitting president she serves. Additionally, she has to clean up the diplomatic and security disasters of the previous president, who bears an uncanny resemblance to He Who Cannot Be Named, sometimes known as The Former Guy. As if these albatrosses were not enough, she must solve the origins of several international dirty bomb blasts, one of which is going to explode momentarily in the United States, most likely in Washington, D.C. In the context of all this, she confronts a sociopathic but cunning nuclear arms dealer and detects a real deep state, a network of high government officials scheming to destroy the United States as we know it.
If you are reasonably familiar with both these author women, it’s great fun to figure out the parallels to real life and to note which parts of the novel reflect which author. As you might guess, Chief Inspector Gamache makes an appearance, as does the Village of Three Pines. If these references ring no bells for you, you should start reading Louise Penny’s novels. They are mental health therapy and cheaper than paying a psychiatrist.
As in most good mystery stories, disaster (here, nuclear devastation) is averted, although you may well be surprised by the final twists. I’ll leave those for you to savor. Don’t be fooled by the fictional cast of this book. Hillary and Louise are trying to tell us something. You have to wonder how much of this page-turner is based on Hillary’s real experiences and reflects her real concerns. You will enjoy the book—it’s a quick read. And, if you haven’t done so already, try Louise Penny’s novels. I have read them all; they are lots of fun.
—Margan Zajdowicz, Co-editor, Book Corner
