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State of Terror

By: Louise Penny, Hillary Rodham Clinton
Narrated by: Joan Allen
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Publisher's summary

An instant number one New York Times best seller​

Named one of the most anticipated novels of the season by People, Associated Press, Time, Los Angeles Times, Parade, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.

From the number one best-selling 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 number one New York Times best-selling novelist.

©2021 Hillary Rodham Clinton and Three Pines Creations, LLC. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Editor's Pick

Protagonists belong in the house—and State Department!
I thought I knew what to expect from a story co-written by a former Secretary of State and a best-selling, multi-award-winning mystery author. (Confession: I expected a lot of decorous handshakes and bloodless conflict.) Instead, State of Terror grabbed me from the opening scene and threw me into a detailed, fast-moving, emotionally rich milieu where bombs actually go off, and powerful people (often women) rely on soft skills to fight danger. The main characters unflinchingly confront the effects of violence—whether professional, personal, or international—in a series of locales with a strong sense of place. After a while I noticed how deliciously novel it felt to have women at the center of a (not psychological) thriller. The cool energy of Joan Allen’s performance brings out every nuance of humor, suspense, and heartfelt connection between the characters, about whom I cared a lot. It’s a dangerous world, but a really fun thriller. —Christina H., Audible Editor