NEW YORK: Former US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and her long-time friend Louise Penny will come out with a novel "State of Terror" which will be published on October 12 by Pan Macmillan India.
The story follows a novice Secretary of State who has joined the administration of her rival, a president inaugurated after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage.
A series of terrorist attacks throws the global order into disarray, and the Secretary is tasked with assembling a team to unravel the deadly conspiracy, a scheme carefully designed to take advantage of an American government dangerously out of touch and out of power in the places where it counts the most.
This high-stakes thriller of international intrigue features behind-the-scenes global drama informed by details only an insider could know, the publishers said.
"When it was suggested my friend Hillary and I write a political thriller together, I could not say yes fast enough," says Penny.
"What an incredible experience, to get inside the State Department. Inside the White House. Inside the mind of the Secretary of State as high stake crises explode. Before we started, we talked about her time as Secretary of State. What was her worst nightmare? 'State of Terror' is the answer," she says.
Clinton adds, "Writing a thriller with Louise is a dream come true. I've relished every one of her books and their characters, as well as her friendship. Now we're joining our experiences to explore the complex world of high stakes diplomacy and treachery. All is not as it first appears."
Jeremy Trevathan, Pan Macmillan publisher, says the "scope, ingenuity and ambition reflect the strength of the creative chemistry" that exists between Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny.
"It's a unique pairing of global real life experience at the highest level and brilliantly honed narrative craft.
The characters, their nuanced backstories and the tense, all-too-believable plot leap off the page.
" Hillary Clinton, the first woman in US history to become the presidential nominee of a major political party, served as the 67th Secretary of State after nearly four decades in public service advocating on behalf of children and families as an attorney, First Lady, and US Senator.
Penny's "Chief Inspector Armand Gamache" novels have been translated into several languages.
In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture.