Louise Penny's "State of Terror" - A Thrilling Political Novel Featuring Hillary Rodham Clinton

kimceann: Read it twice to get it all. Page turner with Penny’s prose and Clinton’s inside understanding of state department and politics. Dream team.

United States on Oct 03, 2023

MB: Good for one time beach read.

Germany on Sep 22, 2023

Joan A. Damico: I burnt the midnight oil reading this book. Fantastical, yet believable, written with wisdom, knowledge, humor and insight about what we need to pay attention to. It was thoroughly relevant. I don't know if Penny and Clinton will pair up again, but I sure hope so. Fiction? See for yourself.

United States on Sep 10, 2023

Nancy J. Cohen: The talented Louise Penny and experienced, thoughtful former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have pulled off a spectacular, tense novel that conveys in full a sense of realism. Current events in American politics underscore the possibility of this being a true story. After all, much is based in real events. The plot has all the suspenseful twists and turns one could want.

I found it useful to keep a device close by to look up terms, show maps, research questions as they popped up. That’s just me. It’s book that requires careful reading. Enjoy!

United States on Sep 04, 2023

Rehan Khan: Excellent story telling, and great print and bind! Go for it!

India on Aug 11, 2023

karin1910: Passend für einen Roman, bei dem eine ehemalige US-Außenministerin als Co-Autorin fungiert, spielt hier eine US-Außenministerin die Hauptrolle: Ellen Adams ist erst seit kurzen im Amt. Sie muss sich mit außenpolitischen Krisen herumschlagen, welche die Vorgänger-Regierung hinterlassen hat, und hat auch nicht das volle Vertrauen des Präsidenten. Als sich innerhalb kurzer Zeit drei Terroranschläge in verschiedenen europäischen Städten ereignen und sich die Hinweise mehren, dass Anschläge in den USA unmittelbar bevorstehen, muss sie über sich hinauswachsen, um eine Bedrohung abzuwehren, die, wie sich immer mehr zeigt, ihren Ursprung innerhalb ihres eigenen Landes hat.

Die hier beschriebe Ausgangssituation ist interessant und verbindet dramatische Szenen (beispielsweise geheime Treffen oder Verfolgungsjagden) mit Nachforschungen zu politischen Intrigen.
Hillary Clinton konnte sicher einige Hintergrundinformationen zur internationalen und US-Politik beisteuern. Trotzdem wirkt manche Beschreibung von Zusammenkünften mit Repräsentanten anderer Staaten eher so "wie sich der kleine Maxi die große Politik vorstellt." (Was natürlich auch bedeuten könnte, dass der...

Germany on Aug 06, 2023

Betty BettyBetty: I was a bit apprehensive about reading this book. But, since I am a big fan of Louise Penny books I did. All in all a very good read. It flowed and I couldn't tell which author wrote which part. The spicy scenes were a bust for me but there were only a couple so it really didn't make a difference to the book as a whole. I would read another book by these two ladies

Spain on May 12, 2023

DIDIER CABARET: Le personnage principal est clairement inspiré par Hillary Clinton et offre une perspective intéressante sur les relations géopolitiques et l'exercice du pouvoir. L'intrigue est plutôt bonne et on a toujours envie de savoir la suite.
Par contre le style est très mécanique, les personnages stéréotypés et certains éléments à peine crédibles.
Pa désagréable au final mais Tom Clancy faisait largement mieux dans le genre.

France on Feb 13, 2023

Susan B. Iwanisziw: Given the state of the world right now, I wasn't ready to revisit Islamic terrorism--but this thriller was recommended, and it is so much more encompassing than I expected. This is hundreds of pages of faintly disguised snark from Hillary Clinton on the causes and effects of current American political unrest, with a sly acknowledgment of the (now trending) Twitter tag PedoPutin.
Twenty pages into the story, I was engaged. The plot is complex and twisty enough to satisfy any reader and even throws in a bittersweet romance. The characters are not stereotypical (for the most part, and, in fact, the protagonist's counselor and best friend is a feisty ex-teacher whose conversations glitter with literary and grammatical jokes.
I will say that Ms. Clinton and Ms. Penny might have consulted an expert on the presentation of fight scenes and the slow twisting of the knife as it were, but otherwise, I was thrilled to be introduced by an absolute expert to the inner circle of our government and the frantic flight schedule of a Secretary of State.
Buy or borrow this novel and read it (especially if you're not a fan of autobiography or biography). It's a cogent allegorical study of how...

United States on Aug 27, 2022

rwu: To begin, I confess to being a strong fan of Louise Penny, having read all her books, so I simply had to give this one a try as well. The fact that her co-Author is the former Secretary of State and First Lady is quite coincidental. However, the chief character of the book is the lady Secretary of State to a new President whose recent election has replaced the previous Chief of State who has left the office in total disarray. The ramifications are soon apparent. The book risks being a political statement but the reader has to put that out of mind and go with the flow. The skills of Penny are apparent in the flow of the text and there is even a section set in that quaint village of "Three Pines" Quebec and the locals familiar to any readers who have read the Gamache books. All that aside, the plot is wild and rough, a lot of violence and blood, which some might feel it to be a little too much. But there is a lot of suspense and page turning narrative to make the book entertaining. One weakness is the number of characters, some with very similar names, and the reader may wish for a list of characters to have handy as a reference. I did. I give the book a four-star rating and...

United States on Oct 28, 2021