Secrets of State
Written by Matthew Palmer
Narrated by Fred Sanders
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
From a veteran insider with over twenty years' experience in the U.S. Foreign Service comes a taut, insightful thriller of global intrigue and behind-the-scenes international politics.
Sam Trainor's career of overseas work coupled with a penchant for being outspoken has left him on the outside of the competitive Washington establishment. Formerly the top South Asia expert in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Trainor has moved to the private sector, working as an analyst for the consulting firm Argus Systems.
But Sam soon discovers that for all their similarities, the government and their hired contractors have vastly different motives. As he struggles to adjust to a more corporate, profit-driven version of the work that had been his life, he stumbles across an intelligence anomaly--the transcript of a phone conversation about the fastest ways to upend the delicate political balance keeping India and Pakistan from all--out war. Yet Sam knows that conversation can't have occurred-because he is having an affair with one of the alleged participants.
As he digs into the source of this misinformation, he realizes that more is at stake than just bad intel. Someone is deliberately twisting the intelligence to stoke the simmering conflict between India and Pakistan, nuclear armed rivals that have already fought multiple wars. And Sam's new employer could be up to its neck in it.
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Reviews for Secrets of State
10 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not as good as his first. Intelligent, but not as original as I had hoped for.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding himself on the outside looking in as a government contractor, instead of being in the "in crowd," Sam Trainor finds that there is a lot of nasty hanky-panky going on in them there alphabet soup government agencies. What would be handy right now is someone who could defuse a nuke that has been tricked to trick the defuser. Is it true that there is a secret club of power junkies dedicated to maneuver historical events to benefit the USA according to their plan? They have been changing the course of politics and world events since George Washington was in training riding breeches? Well that would explain a lot if it were true. "Remember the Maine," "Who shot JR", I mean John Kennedy, and now India needs to wipe out Pakistan, it's nuclear capabilities and all the crazies therein. It has always been these self-important, "I know what's best for the US," morality police, control-freak bozos with their fingers on the button. It is a fascinating read from Mr. Palmer. My thanks to him and the Penguin First to Read program for a complimentary copy.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Due to be released on 26 May, 2015, Secrets of the State by Matthew Palmer is an intense suspense thriller that will take the reader on a taut journey to the brink of war between India and Pakistan, this is a must read for all who enjoy suspense thrillers. Sam Trainor was the top South Asia expert in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence & Research, but has decided to work outside the government for a Beltway Bandit consulting firm, twice the pay for the same work, at Argus Systems, which will allow him more freedom and he will still be proving key intel to the federal government. It does not take Sam long to discover the vast differences in motivations between the public and private sector, and while trying to adjust he stumbles across intel that could not possibly be true, but could be catastrophic to the delicate balance between India and Pakistan. The more Sam digs into the phony intel the more dangerous the situation becomes. Palmer is quite gifted at crafting political suspense thrillers and Secrets of the State just well may be my favorite to date. Secrets of the State is superbly written, the plot lines are well constructed and intertwine in unexpected ways, which keeps the reader eagerly turning the pages, his characters are well defined and the story is atmospheric enough for the reader to feel as though they are there with Sam. Palmer’s knowledge of international relations and politics creates for a wonderful and realistic story as well as a taut suspenseful thriller and one I highly recommend to readers who enjoy this genre.