State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

Simon & Schuster/St. Martin’s Press, 512 pages, $30 (c2021)

I have almost too much to say about “State of Terror,” 99% of it good. I didn’t expect to like it so much. I thought it would be just a political thriller. But it was also about friendship, steadfastness, and the character of people. Not “character” as in, “He is such a character!!” But as in “He has a good character.” The internal state, not the outer one. 

The start of the book seemed a bit rough as some of the main characters were introduced and we got a detailed description of Secretary of State Ellen Adams, just on her way back to DC from a disastrous trip to Korea. After I finished the book, I went back and reread the beginning. It was much better then when I knew who the characters were and what had happened to them.

As you will, too, should you read this book, I assumed Ellen Adams was Hillary Clinton. The physical description was not but the internal monologue? A big YAAAS for clearly hearing Hillary Clinton’s voice! Even if Clinton did not want you to picture her in the part, tough noogies. Adams’ best friend is a woman named Betsy Jameson, who, it turns out, is a homage to Clinton’s real best friend, the late Betsy Johnson Ebeling. Adams’ daughter, Katherine, is not Chelsea but is named after the daughter of a real Ellen, the late Ellen Tauscher, who served in Congress and the State Department. Real people shared their names and probably something of their defining characteristics with the fictional creations.

Ellen Adams was appointed Secretary of State despite having been newly-elected President Doug Williams’ opponent in the primaries. (That sounds familiar.) I have no idea how contentious the relationship was between President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, but President Williams and Secretary of State Adams do not share a drink at the end of the day and stare off into the sunset thinking deep thoughts. As a matter of fact, Adams suspects Williams purposely sent her off to Korea just to humiliate her.

Let me quote the description of the first meeting in the book between Williams and Adams after Adams’ trip:

To the cameras and the millions of people watching, [Williams’] handsome face was stern, more disappointed than angry. A sad parent looking at a well-meaning but wayward child.

‘Madame Secretary.’ You incompetent shit.

‘Mr. President.’ You arrogant asshole.

One of the characters in the book is former president, Eric Dunn. He is a thinly disguised fictionalization of Donald Trump. Dunn is eviscerated by author Clinton (and presumably to a lesser extent by author Penny) with great glee. Some might say “State of Terror” is the ultimate revenge novel.

After Adams returns to DC, three bombs go off in three different cities in the world, although none are in the U.S. There are many victims, but the primary focus seems to be on killing nuclear scientists coming out of Pakistan. The U.S. intelligence people (and Secretary Adams) begin to assemble the clues. A man named Bashir Shah — a terrorist named Bashir Shah — was released from a Pakistani prison at the special request of former President Dunn. Is Shah masterminding a revenge against the U.S./world for imprisoning him? What were the scientists doing in three different cities? Assembling nuclear bombs? For sale? The ultimate horror on a worldwide stage.

Adams has to meet with several government heads to determine whether the U.S.’s suspicions are warranted. Then … what to do about the information she receives? The scenes of Adams meeting with ayatollahs and presidents are riveting. I was reminded of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” and all the levels of hidden meaning in the book’s diplomatic meetings. One of my favorite scenes takes place in the war room back at the White House. I have no idea how close we came to nuclear war in real life during any of the modern-day presidencies (with the exception of the “Cuban Missile Crisis”), but the different viewpoints and responsibilities of the disparate parts of government should give us pause to reflect on how tenuous our stability really is.

In fiction, Hillary Clinton — because I am assuming it was Clinton who wrote the war room scenes — presents an all-too-feasible scenario. I loved the look into the “back rooms” of power, and like a martini, I was shaken, not stirred. (Well, I was stirred but that would spoil the simile.)

Louise Penny definitely wrote the chapters which take place in Three Pines, Quebec. Yes, Inspector Gamache makes an appearance. Irascible poet Ruth Zardo is mentioned a couple of times. In addition, some of the book’s humor and warmth seems very Louise Penny. The melding of authorial forces was not seamless — and that seemed to be on purpose sometimes —  but it did not detract from my enjoyment.

The plot had the requisite twists and turns and definitely earned the designation of thriller. I’m very grateful what happened in the book didn’t happen for real. (Or did it?)