Hillary Rodham Clinton

Louise Penny

Thriller

State of Terror

From the #1 bestselling authors Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny comes a novel of unsurpassed thrills and incomparable insider expertise—State of Terror. After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state. There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate. As the new president addresses Congress for the first time, with Secretary Adams in attendance, Anahita Dahir, a young foreign service officer (FSO) on the Pakistan desk at the State Department, receives a baffling text from an anonymous source. Too late, she realizes the message was a hastily coded warning. What begins as a series of apparent terrorist attacks is revealed to be the beginning of an international chess game involving the volatile and Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons in the region; the Russian mob; a burgeoning rogue terrorist organization; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena. As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of power in the places where it counts the most. To defeat such an intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy, it will take the skills of a unique team: a passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state. State of Terror is a unique and utterly compelling international thriller cowritten by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th secretary of state, and Louise Penny, a multiple award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling novelist.

A Novel

Kristen Claiborn

When I do a review, I use the synopsis from either the book jacket, the back of a paperback, or the Goodreads/Amazon description. While I do consider myself good with words, I want to spend my energy telling you what I liked/didn’t like about a book, not giving my own description of a book when somebody else has already been paid to do that. Some of those descriptions are a bit lacking, leaving the potential reader with more questions than any desire to actually read the book. Some of those descriptions entice the potential reader. This particular book description pretty much negates the need to read the book. There isn’t much a potential reader DOESN’T know. This is not a good start for this book…at all. 
	I didn’t hate this book. However, I also didn’t love it. The was the most “meh” book I’ve read in a while. The initial story set-up wasn’t as thorough as I would have liked, I feel like I got dropped into the story well past the beginning and left to figure out how it actually started (then I recall the overly detailed synopsis and realize I’m well-aware of what is going on). There are a huge number of characters, all of whom seem to be the most important character of this book. It’s overwhelming. That might be the reason why this book wasn’t higher rated for me: the sheer number of characters and their storylines. 
	I got a general feeling that Clinton took her 2016 frustrations out in a fictional format, which is fine. She shat upon four years (justifiably) of the U.S. government in this book. This book isn’t going to be for everybody (like…half the population of the U.S.), and the primary reason is due to her unveiled disdain for that one guy. There is no hiding the real reason this story was written. If you’re a 45er, don’t read this one. There is way too much reality in this book for those who like guy. It’s not a bad novel, but it is very involved.

Scott Wilson

This was an amazing book with a very real premise... I can't really talk too much about the premise without spoiling the book but needless to say that everything that has happened with the terrorist attacks has happened in the 'real world.' 

Secretary of State Ellen is put into a precarious position of having to move from her former position being very much in charge of her media empire into being someone who very much serves at the pleasure of the President of the United States. What seems incredulous is that in her former role she was often at odds with, and responsible for, extremely negative press surrounding the newly inaugurated President Williams.

This book is full of political intrigue both national and international as the Secretary of State tries to discern who is friend and who is foe. To make matters worse, there is a deadly deadline that she needs to solve before America is knocked to its knees or worse reduced to cinders.

This book was very well written - it was very easy to read and it was one of those books that you have a hard to put down! Definitely a top five book for me in 2022.

From the #1 bestselling authors Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny comes a novel of unsurpassed thrills and incomparable insider expertise - STATE OF TERROR. State of Terror follows a novice Secretary of State who has 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 know. PRAISE FOR STATE OF TERROR 'Yes, this novel is a rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it's also timely, cheeky, important, and wonderfully, courageously provocative. There is much to think about in these pages - which you won't be able to stop turning as fast as your little fingers can move. What great fun!' James Patterson '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 'Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it.' Kathy Reichs '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

Cindy Lieberman

A terrific political thriller written with the insider knowledge of a former Secretary of State (Hilary Clinton) and the skill of an accomplished author of murder mysteries (Louise Penny). Less atmospheric than Ms Penny’s typical novels, the writing is fast-paced and supports the breakneck action. Lives are at stake but who can be trusted when “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”? This of-the-moment story shows the US as a deeply divided nation with conflicting loyalties. Any more would be spoiling. Highly recommended and I hope this is just the first in a series. (Easter eggs for Louise Penny fans too.)

Caitlin Snyder

3.5

(+) Definitely a terrifying political thriller! 

(-) I got a little lost sometimes with all the characters lol.

Amanda J 

I think this would work better as a movie.
It switched POV so often that you never got attached to any one character. Which was probably a good thing, as I didn't really care for any of the characters. Their thoughts and personalities didn't do anything for me. Their actions I was interested in, but their emotions not so much. There was a disconnect between the two for me--more tell than show the reader. 
But I was interested in the story, and the little bread crumbs and mini-cliff hangers in each chapter made me want to keep reading. The story is nothing new, in a political thriller sense, but how it all comes together is interesting. Some of the actions/decisions in the plot made me go, ehh?, they just didn't seem to fit. 
I think this book also needed another round of edits. I was tempted to turn every time Betsy is referred to as Mrs. Cleaver into a drinking game, but figured I wouldn't be able to finish the book lol. Also, some names were too similar and switched between referring to characters by first and last name. This led to me being confused at times.

State of Terror Thriller

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