Autorentext

STACEY ABRAMS is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and political leader. She served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and she was the first black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history.  Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, voting rights, and effective public policy. She has also co-founded successful companies, including a financial services firm, an energy and infrastructure consulting firm, and the media company, Sage Works Productions, Inc.

Klappentext

Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling a conspiracy that took down the President of the United States in While Justice Sleeps. But as the sparks of impeachment hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she recently took her own life, and he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved. Moments later, Avery is shocked when she witnesses Davies being murdered. After breaking the encrypted file Davies gave to her, Avery reveals a list of names, all federal judges, and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America's "secret court." It is this body that grants permission to the government to wiretap American individuals or corporations suspected of terrorism.

Zusammenfassung
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The #1 bestselling author of While Justice Sleeps returns with another riveting and intricately plotted thriller, in which a blackmailed federal judge, a secret court and a brazen murder may lead to an unprecedented national crisis.

"Abrams delivers another smart, zippy thriller." —Washington Post

"A thoroughly compelling take on the machinations of Washington and those covetous of power." —New York Magazine

Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling an international conspiracy in While Justice Sleeps. But as the sparks of Congressional hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Desperate to understand what happened, he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved. 

Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names – all federal judges – and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America’s "secret court." It is this body which grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern – and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation’s third branch of government. With lives at stake, Avery must race the clock and an unexpected enemy to find the answer.

Drawn from today’s headlines and woven with her unique insider perspective, Stacey Abrams combines twisting plotlines, wry wit, and clever puzzles to create another immensely entertaining suspense novel.

Leseprobe
One

Monday, September 30

Avery Keene took the assigned seat, her mass of black hair with its tight curls tamed into a sleek chignon at her nape. The hunter-green suit she’d chosen for today’s inquisition complemented her caramel skin and clear green eyes. For jewelry, she wore department store pearls and a slim gold watch that had once belonged to her maternal grandmother—a woman she’d never met.

The circa-1920s piece kept excellent time, and the links were made of real gold. Her mother, Rita, had pawned it years ago. Fourteen-year-old Avery secretly bought it back with a sob story and $158 she had squirreled away from completing homework for overprivileged, lazy kids. She drew the line at cheat sheets and crib notes. Homework was for practice, and if they wanted to squander a chance at learning, that was on them. By then, she’d built a nest egg of $1,792, and only sentiment forced her to part with even a penny. Lucky for her, the pawn dealer hadn’t realized Rita was telling the truth about the watch’s value, which meant she got it back for a fraction of its worth.

After recovering the watch, Avery had stashed it with her emergency money and the precious few treasures she still had from her father, like the engraved knife she’d consciously left at home. On days like this, and nearly every day, she sincerely wished she still had him too. Arthur Keene had perished in a bus accident weeks after her ninth birthday, leaving her with a broken mother who’d crawled into alcohol, drugs, and destitution. Avery had decided that night at the pawn shop that she would never follow her mother’s spiral down.

She hadn’t gone down, but her life had certainly spun sideways.

Avery shifted in her seat, waiting for the proceedings to begin. She unfolded her copy of the New York Times and let her eyes scan down the front-page article that cataloged the current woes of the nation—and her own existence.

President Brandon Stokes, Removed from Office, Aims to Discredit Congressional Investigation; House Promises Impeachment Vote Within Days

By Linda Loewenthal

WASHINGTON—­It has been four months to the day since the Stokes presidency was brought down by an explosive investigation begun by Supreme Court Associate Justice Howard Wynn, who currently lies in a coma at Bethesda Naval Hospital. In a controversial move, Justice Wynn’s clerk, Avery Keene, 27, was designated to hold his power of attorney, and she followed an elaborate trail of intrigue left by Justice Wynn. After a tumultuous ten-­day foray, Ms. Keene uncovered shocking evidence that has derailed the Stokes presidency—­including accusations of genocide, treason and murder.

Several congressional committees have convened hearings based on Keene’s revelations, and House Democrats are preparing articles of impeachment. For her part, the enigmatic Ms. Keene has become a legal pawn on Capitol Hill and political symbol around the world, from India to America. She has been interrogated in closed-­door legislative sessions, lauded by a narrow majority of Americans and vilified by myriad conservative allies of the displaced president.

One beneficiary of the current political tumult is Vice President Samantha Slosberg. In the wake of the scandal, she and a majority of President Stokes’s cabinet members invoked the never-before-used 25th Amendment, removing him from office. Slosberg has been silent about the impeachment proceedings. As the week begins, Congress is expected to hear additional evidence and move forward a vote on removing President Stokes permanently from office, which could come as early as next week. Republicans loyal to Stokes continue to rail against the confidential hearings with Ms. Keene and others, while Democratic leaders invoke “national security interests” to justify the secret interviews.

With a sigh, Avery scanned the rest of the article, tucked the newspaper into her bag, and glanced up at the ceiling. The reporter’s story was thorough, but not the end of the story. We…