The Bell Ringers
A Novel
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A corrupt prime minister uses current anti-terror laws to Orwellian extremes in this "sophisticated, engrossing, and important political thriller" (The Washington Post).
In a near-future England, there are still concerns about terrorism, the press is still feisty, and the prime minister is about to call a general election. But unknown even to most government officials, new technology and anti-terror laws have been used to establish unprecedented control over the lives of ordinary citizens. A top-secret data-mining system known as Deep Truth combs through personal records, identifying law violators as well as anyone disposed to "antigovernment" beliefs.
David Eyam was once the prime minister's head of intelligence, but after a mysterious fall from grace, he was killed by a terrorist bomb while on vacation in Colombia. Now his former lover, Kate Lockhart, has been named the benefactor of his estate. But Eyam has left her more than just wealth; Lockhart is also heir to his dangerous secrets.
"North by Northwest meets House of Cards . . . Porter claims that the novel is set in the near future. Don't be fooled." —Cullen Murphy, Vanity Fair
"Scary, informative, and, alas, eminently believable." —The Economist
"Superb." —Anna Mundow, The Boston Globe
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Porter's outstanding near-future thriller, David Eyam, the former head of Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee, is killed by a bomb in Colombia that was apparently aimed at others. His recently estranged close friend and former colleague in the spook business, Kate Lockhart, is surprised to learn she's the main beneficiary of Eyam's will. Her suspicions that the story behind his death is more complex than officially reported are heightened when Eyam's lawyer is gunned down soon after thugs break into his office. While the basic plot an attempt to uncover a broad government conspiracy against daunting odds is familiar, Porter (Brandenburg Gate) invests it with urgency and power by taking current legislation drawn up to combat terrorism and projecting how it would play out if special interests and unscrupulous leaders used it to destroy the privacy of individuals. Shaken U.S. readers will wonder how much of the fiction might soon become fact on this side of the Atlantic.
