I’ve been saying it since January 1st. . . summertime is when the genre’s biggest and brightest stars finally put their latest books out, and it’s gearing up to be a special few months, thanks to new offerings from Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Ben Coes, Mike Maden, Megan Abbott, James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, and so many others.
Browse our picks of the twenty hottest thrillers coming out this summer, complete with product information and a few comments from me on why each title made the cut. . . then leave a comment down below telling us which books you’re most excited about.
Happy reading!
The Real Book Spy
Spymaster by Brad Thor
The newest thriller in the #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and #1 Publishers Weekly bestselling series!
Across Europe, a secret organization has begun attacking diplomats. Back in the United States, a foreign ally demands the identity of a highly placed covert asset. In the balance hang the ingredients for all-out war.
With his mentor out of the game, counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath must take on the role he has spent his career avoiding. But, as with everything else he does, he intends to rewrite the rules—all of them.
In Spymaster, Scot Harvath is more cunning, more dangerous, and deadlier than ever before.
If you have never read a Brad Thor novel, this is the place to start!
Release Date: July 3
Book Spy Comments: There’s nobody better in the thriller genre right now than Brad Thor, who’s essentially become required reading for anyone and everyone who claims to enjoy thrillers. His last book revealed a shocking diagnosis for one of the series’ most beloved characters. . . so on top of wanting to see Scot Harvath kick some serious ass, that storyline helps make this the must-read book of the summer.
The Other Woman by Daniel Silva
From Daniel Silva, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author, comes a modern masterpiece of espionage, love, and betrayal
She was his best-kept secret …
In an isolated village in the mountains of Andalusia, a mysterious Frenchwoman begins work on a dangerous memoir. It is the story of a man she once loved in the Beirut of old, and a child taken from her in treason’s name. The woman is the keeper of the Kremlin’s most closely guarded secret. Long ago, the KGB inserted a mole into the heart of the West—a mole who stands on the doorstep of ultimate power.
Only one man can unravel the conspiracy: Gabriel Allon, the legendary art restorer and assassin who serves as the chief of Israel’s vaunted secret intelligence service. Gabriel has battled the dark forces of the new Russia before, at great personal cost. Now he and the Russians will engage in a final epic showdown, with the fate of the postwar global order hanging in the balance.
Gabriel is lured into the hunt for the traitor after his most important asset inside Russian intelligence is brutally assassinated while trying to defect in Vienna. His quest for the truth will lead him backward in time, to the twentieth century’s greatest act of treason, and, finally, to a spellbinding climax along the banks of the Potomac River outside Washington that will leave readers breathless.
Fast as a bullet, hauntingly beautiful, and filled with stunning double-crosses and twists of plot, The Other Woman is a tour de force that proves once again that “of all those writing spy novels today, Daniel Silva is quite simply the best” (Kansas City Star).
Release Date: July 17th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Along with Brad Thor, Daniel Silva is the guy to read every summer. Really, the top three names on this list are the cream of the thriller crop, but Silva, especially, is notable with each new release because nobody has done it quite as long as he has at such a high level. If there was a Mount Rushmore for thriller writers, Silva’s face would be on it, alongside Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor. This book’s a no-brainer — make sure to run and not walk to pick this one up the second it hits store shelves.
Bloody Sunday by Ben Coes
The latest in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Dewey Andreas series.
North Korea, increasingly isolated from most of the rest of the world, is led by an absolute dictator and a madman with a major goal―he’s determined to launch a nuclear attack on the United States. While they have built, and continue to successfully test nuclear bombs, North Korea has yet to develop a ballistic missile with the range necessary to attack America. But their missiles are improving, reaching a point where the U.S. absolutely must respond.
What the U.S. doesn’t know is that North Korea has made a deal with Iran. In exchange for effective missiles from Iran, they will trade nuclear triggers and fissionable material. An exchange, if it goes through, that will create two new nuclear powers, both with dangerous plans.
Dewey Andreas, still reeling from recent revelations about his own past, is ready to retire from the CIA. But he’s the only available agent with the skills to carry out the CIA’s plan to stop North Korea. The plan is to inject a singular designer poison into the head of the North Korean military and in exchange for the nuclear plans, provide him with the one existing dose of the antidote. But it goes awry when Dewey manages to inject a small amount of the poison into himself. Now, to survive, Dewey must get into North Korea and access the antidote and, while there, thwart the nuclear ambitions of both North Korea and Iran. And he has less than 24 hours to do so―in the latest thriller from Ben Coes.
Release Date: July 31st, 2018
Book Spy Comments: As noted above, these first three names here are the cream of the thriller crop. Ben Coes is, for my money, the most exciting author working right now. Nobody had ridden a more scorching hot streak than Coes is right now since maybe Vince Flynn’s impressive stretch of Mitch Rapp books about a decade ago. This book has it all, including nonstop action, plenty of humor, an amazing plot, and more than a few surprises stashed along the way. Coes’ last four books have been incredible, but this one is his boldest, most daring thriller so far.
Tom Clancy Line of Sight by Mike Maden
Jack Ryan Jr. finds that the scars of war can last a lifetime in the latest entry in Tom Clancy’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.
Twenty years ago, Dr. Cathy Ryan restored the eyesight of a young Bosnian girl who had been injured during an attack in the Balkan War. Today, her son, Jack Ryan Jr. has decided to surprise his mother by tracking down the young lady. What he finds shocks them both.
The helpless child has grown into a remarkable woman. Aida Curic is a self-possessed beauty who runs a refugee agency that helps the children of her native Bosnia. Jack finds himself drawn to her, but before he can act on his feelings she’s snatched off the streets of Sarajevo by kidnappers.
In Jack’s desperate search for Aida, he finds himself opposed by everyone from Serbian mobsters to Croatian paramilitary units. The Balkan War may have ended two decades ago, but the region still seethes with ethnic animosities. The deeper Jack plunges into this world the more he faces a disturbing truth, the scars of war fester long after the surface has healed.
Release Date: June 12th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: I couldn’t put this book down for a second. First of all, Mike Maden was a brilliant choice to take over the Jack Ryan Junior franchise when Grant Blackwood exited the series. What he’s done is nothing short of incredible, putting a charge into this franchise that, while popular, always seemed to be in the shadows of the Jack Ryan Senior books. That changes now. . . thanks to Maden putting his own stamp on this series and elevating it to new heights. Clancy fans, trust me, this book is awesome.
Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
A mesmerizing psychological thriller about how a secret can bind two friends together forever…or tear them apart.
Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane’s academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship. Until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them.
More than a decade later, Kit thinks she’s put Diane behind her forever and she’s begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet, taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol. Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.
Release Date: July 17th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Megan Abbott never disappoints. She’s one of the most consistent writers working today, and her latest is a must for fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.
The Real Michael Swann by Bryan Reardon
In a new novel from New York Times bestselling author Bryan Reardon, a suburban family is rocked in the wake of a terrorist attack on American soil.
On a typical late summer day, Julia Swann is on the phone with her husband, Michael, when the call abruptly goes dead. Then the news rolls in: A bomb has gone off at Penn Station, where Michael was waiting for a train home. New York City is in a state of chaos.
A frantic Julia races to the city to look for Michael, her panic interwoven with memories of meeting and falling in love with the husband she’s now desperate to find. When someone finds a flier she’s posted and tells her they may have seen her husband, her dreams seem to be answered. Yet as she tries to find him, her calls go unanswered.
Weaving between the aftermath of the explosion and Julia’s memories of her life with Michael, new developments raise troubling questions. Did Michael survive the explosion? Why hasn’t he contacted her? What was he doing when their last call was cut off? Was he–or is he still–the man she fell in love with?
Part family drama, part tragic love story, and part disaster narrative that hits terrifyingly close to home, The Real Michael Swann is a deftly plotted suspense novel with an unflinching portrait of a marriage at its heart, challenging us to confront the unthinkable–both in our country and in our own homes.
Release Date: June 12th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Out of all the books I’ve read so far this year, I cannot think of one that caught me more by surprise than this one. I didn’t know anything about it going into it, and spent the next six hours glued to my reading chair. Reardon explores the aftermath of a terrorist attack by following a suburban family who inadvertently winds up in the center of the media coverage. It’s chilling, thought-provoking, and powerful. Plus, there’s a really great twist at the end.
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
The #1 internationally bestselling author returns with a new novel in the vein of her New York Times bestsellers Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter—a story even more electrifying, provocative, and suspenseful than anything she’s written before.
What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?
Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?
But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.
The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Karen Slaughter is one of the best crime thriller authors on the planet, and she keeps getting better and better with each new release. Read this plot description and tell me you’re not dying to know who Laura really is! Just in case that wasn’t enough, the promise that this is Slaughter’s most provocative novel yet should really get her fans excited.
The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer
The Middleman is the stunning standalone from the author of New York Times bestseller The Tourist, follows the people on all sides of a domestic terrorist group, from the group’s converts to the FBI agents investigating them.
New York Times bestselling author Olen Steinhauer’s next sweeping espionage novel traces the rise and fall of a domestic left-wing terrorist group. Told from the individual perspectives of an FBI agent, an undercover agent within the group, a convert to the terrorist organization, and a writer on the edges of the whole affair, this is another tightly wound thriller, and an intimate exploration of the people behind the politics, from a master of suspense.
Release Date: August 7th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: I actually read a very early copy of this book. . . and was totally blown away back in January when I first dove into the manuscript and found myself unable to put it down. I think this is, without question, Steinhauer’s best work to date, but it’s also firmly in the running for best novel of 2018.
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
President Bill Clinton and bestselling novelist James Patterson set out to write the best thriller ever about an American president–The President Is Missing.
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes.
One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper – the wealthy mother of a famous actor – enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service.
Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home.
Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who’s as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz.
Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own.
A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises, The Word is Murder is Anthony Horowitz at his very best.
Release Date: June 5th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: I wasn’t too sure about this book when I first heard about it. Having read it, I can tell you this much. . . it’s a ton of fun! Horowitz took a fascinating idea and executed it masterfully. Keep an eye out for my review soon, but in the meantime, I highly recommend getting this one pre-ordered!
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly
From internationally bestselling author and “creative genius who has few equals in either horror fiction or the mystery genre” (New York Journal of Books) comes a gripping thriller starring Private Investigator Charlie Parker. When the body of a woman—who apparently died in childbirth—is discovered, Parker is hired to track down both her identity and her missing child.
In the beautiful Maine woods, a partly preserved body is discovered. Investigators realize that the dead young woman gave birth shortly before her death. But there is no sign of a baby.
Private detective Charlie Parker is hired by a lawyer to shadow the police investigation and find the infant but Parker is not the only searcher. Someone else is following the trail left by the woman, someone with an interest in much more than a missing child…someone prepared to leave bodies in his wake.
And in a house by the woods, a toy telephone begins to ring and a young boy is about to receive a call from a dead woman.
Release Date: June 12, 2018
Book Spy Comments: I really enjoy Connolly’s stuff, but didn’t love last year’s book. Don’t get me wrong, A Game of Ghosts was very solid, but when you compare it to this one, well, The Woman in the Woods is really so much better. This one had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. . . and there’s at least one really good twist that I didn’t see coming.
Scorpion Strike by John Gilstrap
An island paradise held hostage. A band of dangerous killers unleashed. A sinister plot that could push the superpowers to the brink of war. The perfect formula for explosive suspense in John Gilstrap’s electrifying new Jonathan Grave thriller . . .
For Jonathan Grave and Gail Bonneville, the Crystal Sands Resort is the perfect getaway—until gunshots shatter the night. Wealthy guests are yanked out of their sleep, herded like animals, forced to submit to their captors’ demands. But Jonathan and Gail are no ordinary vacationers. The assassins who invade their bungalow receive a deadly surprise. And two determined, skilled operatives escape into the jungle.
Jonathan and Gail are not the only free agents on the island. Cut off from his usual tactical team, with a pair of unlikely allies he can’t fully trust, Grave’s only hope of reliable back-up is his partner Boxers, who’s hundreds of miles—and hours—away. It won’t be long before the invaders turn this tropical paradise into the powderkeg that will set off global chaos. Grave may be without weapons, but he’s never without resources. Bold action is the only solution. Like the scorpion, Grave must strike fast and hard . . .
Release Date: June 26, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Gilstrap is so good. I loved Final Target — it was one of my favorite 2017 thrillers — but as much as I liked that book, I enjoyed this one just a touch more. Grave really is a terrific hero, and Gilstrap uses him perfectly here, giving his fans plenty of what they want from Scorpion. . . hard-hitting action on top of nonstop suspense.
Assassin’s Run by Ward Larsen
Assassin David Slaton clashes with the Russians in this action-packed espionage thriller from USA Today bestselling author Ward Larsen
Ward Larsen’s Assassin’s Run revives globe-trotting, hard-hitting assassin David Slaton for another breathless adventure. When a Russian oligarch is killed by a single bullet on his yacht off the Isle of Capri, Russian intelligence sources speculate that a legendary Israeli assassin, long thought dead, might be responsible. However, David Slaton―the assassin in question―is innocent. Realizing the only way to clear his name is to find out who’s truly responsible, he travels to Capri.
While he searches, a web of disparate events unfolds across the Middle East. Three ships, owned by the group of Russians, deliver a mysterious cargo to the shores of the Arabian Peninsula. In Morocco, a Russian aerospace company begins flight testing an innovative new drone.
From Switzerland to the Red Sea to Morocco, Slaton gradually uncovers a conspiracy of monumental scope. It is a plot that will change the world strategic order―and one that goes straight to the top of the Russian government.
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Larsen’s series is super underrated. Slaton is like a cross between Gabriel Allon and The Gray Man. . . if you like either of those guys, you’ll love Ward Larsen’s stuff.
Desolation Mountain by William Kent Krueger
New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger delivers yet another “punch-to-the-gut blend of detective story and investigative fiction” (Booklist, starred review) as Cork O’Connor and his son Stephen work together to uncover the truth behind the tragic plane crash of a senator on Desolation Mountain and the mysterious disappearances of several first responders. This is a heart-pounding and devastating mystery the scope and consequences of which go far beyond what father or son could ever have imagined.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
To Stephen O’Connor, Hamlet’s dour observation is more than just words. All his life, he has had visions of tragedies to come. When he experiences the vision of a great bird shot from the sky, he knows something terrible is about to happen. The crash of a private plane on Desolation Mountain in a remote part of the Iron Lake Reservation, which kills a United States senator and most of her family, confirms Stephen’s worst fears.
Stephen joins his father, Cork O’Connor and a few Ojibwe men from the nearby Iron Lake reservation to sift through the smoldering wreckage when the FBI arrives and quickly assumes control of the situation. What seems like the end of the O’Connors’ involvement is, however, only the beginning of a harrowing journey to understand the truth behind the Senator’s death. As he initiates his own probe, Cork O’Connor stumbles upon a familiar face in Bo Thorson, a private security consultant whose unnamed clients have hired him to look quietly into the cause of the crash. The men agree to join forces in their investigation, but soon Cork begins to wonder if Thorson’s loyalties lie elsewhere.
In that far north Minnesota County, which is overrun with agents of the FBI, NTSB, DoD, and even members of a rightwing militia, all of whom have their own agendas, Cork, Stephen, and Bo attempt to navigate a perilous course. Roadblocked by lies from the highest levels of government, uncertain who to trust, and facing growing threats the deeper they dig for answers, the three men finally understand that to get to the truth, they will have to face the great menace, a beast of true evil lurking in the woods—a beast with a murderous intent of unimaginable scale.
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Cork O’Connor is a great character, and William Kent Krueger has shown no signs of slowing down — neither has Cork. Last year’s Sulfur Springs was terrific, but it looks like Cork will be back in Minnesota this year, something fans of the series will no doubt enjoy. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’m dying to get my hands on it.
Stay Hidden by Paul Doiron
A supposed hunting accident becomes a dangerously complicated murder investigation in Stay Hidden, the intricately-plotted new thriller from Paul Doiron featuring Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch.
A woman has been shot to death by a deer hunter on an island off the coast of Maine. To newly promoted Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch, the case seems open and shut. But as soon as he arrives on remote Maquoit Island he discovers mysteries piling up one on top of the other.
The hunter now claims he didn’t fire the fatal shot and the evidence proves he’s telling the truth. Bowditch begins to suspect the secretive community might be covering up the identity of whoever killed the woman, known as Ariel Evans. The controversial author was supposedly writing a book about the island’s notorious hermit. So why are there no notes in her rented cottage?
The biggest blow comes the next day when the weekly ferry arrives and off steps the dead woman herself. Ariel Evans is alive, well, and determined to solve her own “murder” even if it upsets Mike Bowditch’s investigation and makes them both targets of an elusive killer who will do anything to conceal his crimes.
Release Date: July 3, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Knife Creek was really good, and certainly among last year’s best crime thrillers, but Stay Hidden is even better. Not only is it awesome to see Mike finally promoted, but Paul Doiron came up with a great first case for the new warden investigator to tackle. If you like C.J. Box or William Kent Krueger, you’ve got to try this series.
The Moscow Offensive by Dale Brown
America’s first line of defense—Brad McLanahan and the heroes of the Iron Wolf Squadron—must counter a dangerous Russian strike from within the homeland in this cutting-edge tale from the New York Times master of the high-tech military thriller, Dale Brown.
On a remote island estate, a billionaire investor sells his air freight company to a mysterious new owner. The purchaser is none other than the President of Russia, Gennadiy Gryzlov. The Russians will use these private planes to secretly transport dangerous cargo into the United States.
The inept American President Stacy Anne Barbeau has failed to account for the Russian threat. But others have been vigilant and will not leave America defenseless. Brad McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron have joined forces with the newly formed Alliance of Free Nations in Eastern Europe, to prepare for the attack they know is imminent. Working with the most cutting-edge technology, the team will deploy CIDs—Cybernetic Infantry Devices—twelve-foot-tall humanoid combat robots, each armed with more firepower than a conventional platoon.
But their state-of-the-art weapons may not be enough to combat the threat. The Russians have managed to reverse engineer their own combat robots nearly decimated in a previous attack, and have slowly begun smuggling them across America’s borders. Dealing with an unprecedented danger and a feckless president and congress, McLanahan and the Iron Wolf Squadron will once again put their own lives on the line to check this new Russian peril and keep the home of the brave and the free world safe.
Release Date: June 5th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Dale Brown is the king of techno-thrillers, and he shows why once again with his latest novel, The Moscow Offensive. The Iron Wolf Squadron is unlike anything else in print right now, and anyone who loves action will enjoy seeing Brown’s combat robots in action. (Spoiler: There’s tons of action in this one!)
A Conspiracy of Bones by Cathy Reichs
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs ratchets up the suspense as forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan fights to crack her most chilling case yet.
Temperance Brennan is stressed. Following a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe has finally agreed to move in with him. Her mother is planning the mother of all weddings.
Not only that, but Tempe’s beloved boss has died a tragic death. His replacement still smolders from Tempe’s criticism of her years earlier and exiles Tempe from the lab.
Then a friend tips off Tempe that a mutilated corpse has been found. Identity unknown. Cause of death unclear. Though the body lacks a face, hands, and organs, Tempe’s new boss refuses to ask her for a consult.
Tempe vows to discover the truth, but the clues she discovers are disturbing and confusing. Was the faceless man a spy? A trafficker? A target for assassination by the government? And why was he carrying the name of a child missing for almost a decade?
The more Tempe uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes…
Release Date: August 20, 2018
Book Spy Comments: Temperance Brennan is back, and this time she’s finally planning her wedding to Andrew Ryan when a mutilated corpse turns up out of nowhere. Determined to find out what happened, even if her new boss doesn’t want her help, Reich’s fan-favorite heroine sets out to do what she does best. Nobody’s better at this stuff than Cathy Reichs, making A Conspiracy of Bones an easy pick here.
Swift Vengeance by T. Jefferson Parker
In this incendiary new thriller from three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, Roland Ford is hunting down a mysterious killer, jockeying for position with the FBI, and risking everything to save a friend in terrible jeopardy.
Returning hero and private investigator Roland Ford is on the trail of a mysterious killer who is beheading CIA drone operators and leaving puzzling clues at each crime scene. His troubled friend Lindsay Rakes is afraid for her own life and the life of her son after a fellow flight crew member is killed in brutal fashion. Even more terrifying is the odd note the killer left behind: “Welcome to Caliphornia. This is not the last.” Ford strikes an uneasy alliance with San Diego-based FBI agent Joan Taucher, who is tough as nails but haunted by what sees as the Bureau’s failure to catch the 9/11 terrorists, many of whom spent their last days in her city. As the killer strikes again, Ford and Taucher dash into the fray, each desperate for their own reasons–each ready to risk it all to stop the killer from doing far more damage.
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Book Spy Comments: T. Jefferson brings back Roland Ford for another adventure, this time to find whoever is knocking off CIA drone operators. Parker is a very talented writer, and Roland might be his most compelling character to date. I love that he brought him back for another go-around, and hope to see more of him in the future.
The Washington Decree by Jussi Adler-Olsen
The New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Department Q series is back, with a terrifyingly relevant stand-alone novel about an America in chaos.
“The president has gone way too far. . . . These are practically dictatorial methods we’re talking about.”
Sixteen years before Democratic Senator Bruce Jansen was elected president of the United States, a PR stunt brought together five very different people: fourteen-year-old Dorothy “Doggie” Rogers, small-town sheriff T. Perkins, single mother Rosalie Lee, well-known journalist John Bugatti, and the teenage son of one of Jansen’s employees, Wesley Barefoot. In spite of their differences, the five remain bonded by their shared experience and devotion to their candidate.
For Doggie, who worked the campaign trail with Wesley, Jansen’s election is a personal victory: a job in the White House, proof to her Republican father that she was right to support Jansen, and the rise of an intelligent, clear-headed leader with her same ideals. But the triumph is short-lived: Jansen’s pregnant wife is assassinated on election night, and the alleged mastermind behind the shooting is none other than Doggie’s own father.
When Jansen ascends to the White House, he is a changed man, determined to end gun violence by any means necessary. Rights are taken away as quickly as weapons. International travel becomes impossible. Checkpoints and roadblocks destroy infrastructure. The media is censored. Militias declare civil war on the government. The country is in chaos, and Jansen’s former friends each find themselves fighting a very different battle, for themselves, their rights, their country . . . and, in Doggie’s case, the life of her father, who just may be innocent.
Release Date: August 7th, 2018
Book Spy Comments: I personally loved Stephen Coonts’ Liberty’s Last Stand, which is perhaps the most politically incorrect novel I’ve ever read after Vince Flynn’s Term Limits. The Washington Decree isn’t quite on that level, but it’s very solid, timely. . . and absolutely terrifying.
The Pharaoh Key by Preston & Child
Gideon Crew–brilliant scientist, master thief, intrepid adventurer–is shocked when his former employer, Eli Glinn, vanishes without a trace, and Glinn’s high-tech lab Effective Engineering Solutions shuts down seemingly overnight.
Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Crew is contacted by one of his former coworkers at EES, Manuel Garza, who has a bead on one final treasure hinted at in EES’s final case, the long-awaited translation of a centuries-old stone tablet of a previously undiscovered civilization: The Phaistos Disc.
What lies at the end of the trail will either save Gideon’s life–or bring it to a sudden, shocking close. Crew once again faces incredible odds–but as Gideon has proved again and again, there’s no such thing as too great a risk when you’re living on borrowed time.
Release Date: June 12, 2018
Book Spy Comments: While the last few Pendergast books have been hit or miss, Preston & Child’s Gideon Crew series has been very solid with each new release. Plus, he’s a really cool character. . . which makes it sad that he’s only given a few months to live unless, of course, he’s able to find some type of cure to stay alive.
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.