State of Terror: A Novel Paperback – June 28, 2022

I was surprised that this book took off like a rocket and kept climbing to the end. A good thriller. With Hillary’s political knowledge and exposition, and Louise’s character revelations and insightful human interactions it was an entertaining and educational experience. Thank you both. …. So sorry to read that Louise lost her husband to dementia, I know that is a hard trip to have to take. … Also, Hillary’s losses of dear friends, who ended up lovingly in this book. … They mentioned two other nightmare scenarios that would wake Hilary up in the dead of night. I hope they too become thrillers.

So first, this is an excellent read. Well written, great plot, lots of action, and solid character development/insight/motives. If you like this genre, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy.Next....you know those one-star haters that seem to rate it poorly primarily because it's got Hillary's name on the cover? Well, some of their complaints may have some validity.Because the politics are a huge part of this book and HRC is involved...allow me a brief political aside. I'm a centrist dem and did not care for 45 in the least. This book takes MANY (deserved?) pot shots at the Trump administration without actually saying his name. The parallels, play on words/names/situations are impossible to miss. At first, I found these amusing, but halfway through the book, it started to get old. I get it...Hillary doesn't like 45. But her dislike for his administration came through overwhelmingly loud - and frequently - in this fictional work.So be aware - if you are a Trump supporter, you're going to be ticked, and I doubt you'll enjoy this novel. If you're anti-45 or neutral towards him, you may revel in the thinly-veiled jabs, or you may find them as distracting and unnecessary as I eventually did. Without these not-so-subtle digs, this is a 5-star read. Still, a solid effort that kept me on the edge of my seat.

My husband and I have very similar tastes in many things, including the books to which we are drawn. A few months ago, we found our way — late to the party, as the saying goes — to the novels of Louise Penny. Many years into Ms. Penny’s literary career, we were intrigued by the summary of her 2020 novel All the Devils Are Here and read it — and, in the process, found ourselves an author whose books we looked forward to savoring into the future!We have both enjoyed the nonfiction books by Hillary Rodham Clinton, including It Takes a Village and her outstanding memoir, Living History. We have great admiration for Secretary Clinton as a woman of tremendous achievement AND profound love of her family, her country, and children and families everywhere.When we first heard that these two women were collaborating as co-authors of a political thriller, we felt both excitement and trepidation. Excitement at the prospect of two women we admired working together on a book . . . but trepidation as well, caused by the unknown outcome of their combined efforts. Ms. Penny had made a name writing crime novels, and Secretary Clinton had never tried her hand at writing fiction of any kind. As State of Terror’s publication date neared, my husband and I hoped for the best but braced ourselves for the possibility of something between an awkwardly well-intentioned disappointment and a flat-out fiasco.I just finished reading State of Terror, and am delighted to say that it exceeded even my highest hopes. This is a beautifully crafted thriller that takes hold of its readers from the opening pages and keeps them breathlessly turning its pages right up to its white-knuckle, highly satisfying conclusion. Every character is wonderfully developed, and the plot is all too believable and authentic from beginning to end. Penny and Clinton have provided enough well-placed red herrings throughout the unfolding of their story to keep readers guessing. In addition to their resounding success in developing an edge-of-the-seat thriller, the authors have infused this story with genuine heart in its depiction and celebration of the power of friendship and love. (And, without being a “spoiler,” I would be remiss not to say that fans of Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series will be richly rewarded by reading this “non-Gamache” book.)Not only was my trepidation laid to rest, I reached the last page of State of Terror hoping that just maybe I was finishing the first book of a brand- new series!I can’t wait for my husband to finish the book he is currently reading, so he can experience this wonderful collaboration by two amazing authors . . . and so we can discuss its many thrills and surprises as he encounters them!I highly recommend State of Terror to anyone in search a genuinely thrilling reading experience.

I adore the James Patterson/Bill Clinton series about the U.S. President, but this novel is now my new and Clear favorite. Maybe because it’s State, my home away from home. maybe it’s because much of it takes place in Pakistan.When I began the book, I thought it was because of the way the FSO was treated by her supervisor and others in the State Department. Badly, is putting it mildly. There is an arrogance at State among officers who have been there for years, but aren’t necessarily wise officers. Intent upon continuing everything the way it’s always been done, they ignore many innovative and bright ideas simply because they come from “outsiders”. Are use the term outsiders loosely because FSO’s, young FSOs, are not outsiders, they are just new to the system.Anahita is dragged unaware into this mystery. When she tries to share the information she’s found, she is ignored and belittled by her supervisor. Yet confident in her analysis she does what Hass to be done to get the information to people who can do something about it. This brings the Secretary of State into the picture and she soon has to take on a world crisis, partially informed by the information from her FSO.Not satisfied to bring a great female Secretary of State in to solve the problems of the world, these authors bring her entire family and her best friend in to help. All intelligent, entertaining people who make this a book worth reading.The evil in the world is on clear display in this plot line. Perhaps not surprisingly the evil turns out to be greed and stupidity. Maybe stupidity is too strong a word. Rather than stupidity, it’s foolishness. It’s believing that you know better than everyone around you what is best for mankind, for our country, for the future.For some reason, this book left me feeling hopeful for our country. I only pray that there really are people of integrity and intelligence who will conquer evil when it arises. In the meanwhile, I hope I find more books like this to keep me busy.

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.

I rather enjoyed this thriller even though not all of it is good. Too many changes of scene, some events are far fetched and not very credible. Too many flights. The chatacters are not well defined. There are mistakes in spelling and editing.

After having read Bill Clintons books (together with Petterson), I decided to give Hillary a try. What a powerful book with a lot of insight and a good story with an excellent suspense.

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

Great story, really good characters & a believable plot made this a real page turner. With Hilary's background there was plenty of her personality in the main character's make up plus the intrigue back at the White House & the action at the multiple foreign locations kept the storyline lively & exciting. Louise Penny interweaved it altogether expertly. Enjoyed this very much & will likely read it again. Recommended.