Haley Chill is no stranger to adversity. A small-town girl at heart, she bucked the odds and escaped the life of her town to join the military. Once in the service, Haley quietly rose to become one of the first women permitted to the infantry. On the side, she became a knockout success in the boxing ring. Through sheer persistence and will, Haley even beat out a future olympian in the final round of what should have been a runaway win. No matter what she is put against, Haley Chill is determined to find a way to win.Now Haley is facing a new kind of challenge. She has traded in her military uniform for the business attire of a newly minted White House intern. As she enters the West Wing for the first time, Haley can't help but be excited at the chance to serve her beloved country in a new way. Yes, she's older than the other interns, her office is more akin to a crowded janitor closet with poor wifi, and she has some personal disagreements with the controversial new president's policies, but this truly seems like a new chance to make her mark in service to the nation that has given her so much.
Just as Haley has started to settle into the routine of her new position, things get complicated. She retrieves the morning security briefing and takes it to the house of her boss, White House Chief of Staff Peter Hall. Hall rises early each morning at likes to read the briefing before he gets to the office. Haley rings the doorbell and the seconds begin to pass. Already Haley knows something is not right. She walks around the side of the house and peers into the kitchen window. Inside, she can just make out the body of Hall lying motionless on the floor. As Haley rushes to call paramedics to the house, she spots a freshly left boot mark in the still falling snow. Immediately, she fears the worst. It will soon be up to her to stop the already moving pieces of a Deep State conspiracy from falling into place.
With Deep State, his debut novel, author and screenwriter Chris Hauty gives readers the first great thriller of the year. The prologue of the novel quickly endeared me to Haley as a character without hinting at any of the non-stop action to come. By engaging readers first with his character, Hauty imbues the novel with a depth and emotional connection that many thrillers brush over. Let's be clear, there is plenty of plot and twits to burn through and keep the pages rapidly turning, but it is the thoughtful development of the main character that truly drives the story.
As with any good political thriller, Deep State doesn't shy away from reflections on current politics. The president in this novel was a surprise winner from outside the political bubble who draws controversy from his "against the norm" approach to governing. Sound familiar? I was fearful that Hauty would use these similarities to preach his own political viewpoints. Fortunately, this is not the case. Instead, Hauty uses Haley to be the voice of unity in these divisive political times. Haley is not driven by the motivations of a single political perspective. Rather, she is solely focused on protecting the institution of government as a whole. Timely, character-driven, and full of action, Deep State by Chris Hauytty is pretty much everything you could hope from a modern thriller.
For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2020, 2)
This one sounds plenty exciting with enough action and twists to keep it moving quickly. Haley sounds like a great main character.
ReplyDeleteI read an interview with the author where he said that his main goal was to write a story about people. That really shines through with Haley!
DeleteThis one sounds really good!! I just added it to my to read list. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lori. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
DeleteSounds good Ethan from the action to the well-developed characters.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how much good characters can carry a novel.
DeleteOn the one hand, I like the sounds of Haley, but on the other, I don't know if this sort of story, within politics is exactly for me. But I haven't known about this before, so I'll keep an eye out for mroe reviews.
ReplyDeleteI'd urge you not to let politics stop you from reading this one. Hauty does a great job at staying neutral and not pushing any kind of agenda.
DeleteI don't know that I've read a political thriller. I'm glad the character development was good, and that it had plenty of twists and turns!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
This one would be a nice introduction to the genre for you.
DeleteIt's great to hear that the characters have depth and emotional connection. I agree it's something that's often overlooked in thrillers.
ReplyDeleteIt really is the element that makes this thriller stand out from the rest.
DeleteI haven't read a good political thriller in ages! Glad to hear in promotes unity! :) I'll check it out!
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly worth a read!
DeleteIt sounds like getting into the character first was such a great idea because then you were rooting for them all the way through the intense plot too. I do like my thrillers which reflect current day politics as well, so I am glad to see this one doing so!
ReplyDeleteThe character in this one was essential to it working.
DeleteNice to hear this didn't preach a political agenda. Sounds like an engaging and exciting thriller. Something I'd probably enjoy.
ReplyDelete