Talk about a fun project!…the 67th Secretary of State and one of Canada’s most prominent authors team up to give us all a thrill in this timely international page turner!
A politician and an author walked into a bar…. (sorry, inside joke, you’ll have to read the book to figure that one out)
Ellen Adams, a novice Secretary of State, has just joined the administration of her rival, a president inaugurated after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage. A series of terrorist attacks throws the global order into disarray and the secretary is tasked with assembling a team to unravel the deadly conspiracy, a scheme carefully designed to take advantage of an American government dangerously out of touch and out of power in the places where it counts the most. This high-stakes thriller of international intrigue features behind-the-scenes global drama informed by details only an insider could provide.
Two smart women, who happen also to be personal friends (and are both wildly famous worldwide), bring tremendous skills to this book: Clinton brings insider knowledge of international diplomacy and Penny brings mystery/suspense writing but also some humour. And if you know Penny’s Gamache series, there are some cameo appearances from Three Pines thrown in too. Clinton and Penny speak fondly of their collaboration and both say they were grateful for the chance they had to work together.
I did not find this to be either a die-hard thriller or a literary masterpiece, but just an entertaining and intriguing plot-driven read, even though the book deals with serious and scary topics. The pleasure that this dynamic duo had in writing the story clearly shines through.
Joanne's Reading Blog 
I just saw Hillary on Rachel Maddow ( MSNBC Nov 23) discussing State of Terror ….The discussion as it relates to current events was indeed very scary. I think I will go back and read it again. I thought it was very good but I now believe there is more to learn. Unfortunately my memory is not as good as it once was.
Thanks for this Karen. The events in the book were some of the things that kept Clinton up at night when she was still in office and Penny found a way to incorporate them into a good story! Let’s hope those things never actually happen!
Super fun clip of the Clinton & Penny. Such a fun read with all the insider details added to the story. The acknowledgements were interesting to me ’cause Clinton added all kinds of political disclaimers while Penny just talked about the friendship w/ Clinton. Once a politician, always a politician I suppose.