State of Terror

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What to expect

A Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller!

‘A rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it’s also timely, cheeky, important and wonderfully, courageously provocative. What great fun!’ – James Patterson

‘Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it’ – Kathy Reichs

Take a ringside seat in the high-stakes world of international politics . . .

After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in. Secretary of State, Ellen Adams, is determined to do her duty for her country. But she is about to face a horrifying international threat . . .

A young foreign service officer has received a baffling text from an anonymous source. Too late, she realizes it was a hastily coded warning. Then a series of bus bombs devastate Europe, heralding the rise of a new rogue terrorist organization who will stop at nothing in their efforts to develop their own nuclear arsenal.

As Ellen unravels the damaging effects of the former presidency on international politics, she must also contemplate the unthinkable: that the last president of the United States was more than just an ineffectual leader. Was he also a traitor to his country?

State of Terror is a compelling and critically acclaimed international political thriller co-written by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th secretary of state, and Louise Penny, a multiple award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling novelist.
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Praise for State of Terror:

‘Clinton and Penny are each a force on their own - put together they are unstoppable’ – Karin Slaughter

'This is as close as you’ll get to being in the White House Situation Room with a secretary of state.' – The Times

'Fast-paced and packed with insider knowledge.' – Daily Mail

'The perfect political thriller . . . a glimpse into the world of our most powerful politicians.' - Ann Cleeves

Critics Review

Pretty darn good...the real appeal of the novel, apart from a fuel tanker’s worth of political score-settling, is that this is as close as you’ll get to being in the White House Situation Room with a secretary of state.
The Times
Tightly plotted tale of political intrigue...[Clinton and Penny are] a match made in heaven... This is meticulously plotted, intelligent and terrifying... Don’t miss it.
The Guardian
Great fun...an unexpected delight
Daily Telegraph
remarkable...Fast-paced and packed with insider knowledge, it superbly conveys the pressures at the heart of the world’s diplomacy.
Daily Mail
I expected a thriller written by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny to be smart, very well-written, and suspenseful . . . But State of Terror is so much more than that. Yes, this novel is a rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it’s also timely, cheeky, important, and wonderfully, courageously provocative. What great fun!
James Patterson
The nearly 500-page novel combines other details that resonate with recent news... along with explorations of friendship... and, for the writers, the enjoyment of placing women of a certain age at the heart of a political thriller.
Independent (AP News)
State of Terror is an absolutely gripping, utterly believable, heart-stopping thriller that will make readers question how much is fiction and how much is based on reality. Clinton and Penny are each a force on their own – put together they are unstoppable
Karin Slaughter
This is the perfect political thriller: rollercoaster action, credible heroes and villains, and a glimpse into the world of our most powerful politicians. Add into the mix flashes of humour and fine writing and we have a winning formula!
Ann Cleeves
Expectedly, but effectively, the book targets Washington misogyny...The novel is geopolitically thoughtful as well, exploring a moral dilemma worthy of John le Carré...
The Guardian
Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny Deliver a Page-Turner … a romp...political junkies will relish the veiled insults to real-life people. … I’m going to award the prize for Best Clinton Thriller of 2021 to Hillary.
New York Times
Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it
Kathy Reichs
cracking political thriller...
Ryan Tubridy, RTE
a complex plot with the highest international stakes...State of Terror proves to be a lively ... blockbuster...The geopolitical aspects here are handled with plausible authenticity...
Financial Times
Mrs Clinton's co-author is the splendid Louise Penny, author of the wonderful Inspector Gamache series...lively and readable...
Daily Express
consistently entertaining...Penny and Clinton demonstrate a sure hand at international intrigue and narrative pacing. The real key to “State of Terror,” though, is its secret weapon: female friendship. International terrorists may have all the materials they need for a dirty bomb, but America has these two middle-aged women with a plan. Honestly, it’s not a fair fight.
Washington Post
The thriller follows the journey of new secretary of state and main character, Ellen Adams.... Secretary Adams must navigate a terrorist plot, nuclear weapons and a Trump-like administration. Along the way, Adams battles sexist comments from her male counterparts but also finds friendship and support in the women around her...’State of Terror’ also tackles Washington's misogyny as the main character navigates jabs and sexist comments at the hands of the male antagonists. While the male characters are rude and crass, the women win by outsmarting their counterparts.
USA Today
State of Terror moves at a galloping pace all the while offering tantalizing insight into the mind of the GOAT (greatest of all time) herself. Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny have written us some truly iconic women. We are not worthy!
Jessica Knoll
Breathlessly pacy and topical
Evening Standard

John le Carre's mantle was taken up by...Hillary Clinton...slickly enjoyable...fascinating granular detail of how a US Secretary of State sets about tackling an international terrorist plot...

The Telegraph on 'The best new crime fiction and thrillers to buy for Christmas 2021'
To say more would rob readers of the pleasures of discovery in this taut thriller, a story made all the more relevant by the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Possessed of both head and heart, “State of Terror’s” layering of ethical trade-offs, political intrigue, high-level espionage and pure evil perfectly melds Clinton’s intimate knowledge of the State Department and foreign policy with Penny’s mastery of genre mechanics.
L.A. Times
Hillary Rodham Clinton pairs up with powerhouse mystery novelist Louise Penny for State of Terror, a political thriller full of action and intrigue...Clinton and Penny create a heart-pounding mystery about terrorism, corruption and diplomacy, meticulously written with the promise of details only someone on the inside could contribute.
Time
[A] pulsating thriller.
People
With combined expertise, Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny offer a story that is not only artfully written but also rich in its deep knowledge of the complicated global mess that is international politics. With each tick of the clock, the spring is more tightly wound, and readers will find themselves breathlessly expecting in every moment that in the next moment the worst will occur. But wisely and with expert craft, across page after page of heart-in-your-throat moments, these two collaborators draw the reader inevitably toward a truly surprising conclusion. State of Terror is a feast for thriller lovers.
William Kent Krueger, author of Ordinary Grace
An inspired pairing. Penny’s turn-the-page pacing and Clinton’s wealth of insider details mesh perfectly in this fast, entertaining thriller that also has knowing things to say about national – and international – politics. So authentic it feels like eavesdropping.
Joseph Kanon
This is one of the paciest and most complex political thrillers I’ve read in years
Stylist
This fast-paced thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat!
My Weekly

suspenseful debut...a shrewdly written political thriller, jam-packed with insider expertise.

The Herald
Grips from the first page
Bella
This brilliant read blew us away
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