State of Terror --by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

Fiction / Political Thriller

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VJL9Z5X

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 198217367X

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982173678

Simon & Schuster / St. Martin’s Press

October 12, 2021

512 pages

5 Stars

 

If you’re a fan of Louise Penny’s books, be sure to read this one. This is one of the best collaborations I’ve ever read. They hit the decks running and don’t stop till it’s over, and even then, you just know there is going to be a sequel—just not soon enough!

 

Political Thriller’s aren’t my usual read, and though I’d planned on reading this one eventually, once the price came down to something reasonable, it was the first book chosen by my book club for January discussion. Which meant I had to read it in December. The book is fiction. Remember that, but you just know a lot of it is based in actuality. Maybe not the scene, but how things are handled.

 

Ellen Adams is the Secretary of State, she ran for office against the man who won, and though they are political opponents he picked her. Think Clinton/Obama at your risk. They are brand new in their respective offices, after the past President, Eric Dunn lost an election. Mr. Dunn was sure he’d been elected King and could not, cannot believe he was not re-elected.

 

Bashir Shaw is the Terrorists Terrorist and an old nemesis of Secretary Adams. He is safely under house arrest in Pakistan. Isn’t he? There are more turns and twist than in a Bimini Twist Knot. I strongly recommend you commence reading this book in the morning when you have nothing more pressing to do than drink that pot of coffee you just made. It is not an easy book to put down. 

 

Betsy Jameson is the best friend of the protagonist and has a vocabulary to put Marines to shame. She looks like Mrs. Cleaver, of Leave it to Beaver fame, and was often thought of by that name. “…Mrs. Cleaver…combined and conjugated words that should never, really, have conjugal relations. The ensuing progeny was both grotesque and hilarious, as she turned nouns into verbs, and verbs into something else entirely…” Betsey Jameson supplies comic relief throughout the book, especially with her vocabulary which is only described, not used. But, oh, the descriptions!

 

And, joy of joys, Ruth Zardo gets a mention, and her slim book of poetry called I’m F.I.N.E., not to mention a few other inhabitants of the village of Three Pines. This book is a bit faster paced and grittier than Ms. Penny’s regular books. It is well crafted (you expected otherwise?), and a hard to put down read. Even once I found the mistrake, I still loved the book. And, no, I am not telling you where the mistrake is, or what it is, but I did check it out with subject matter experts.