The Enemy Within

One of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s most acclaimed short stories becomes one of her most original novels.

February, 1964: Two men die in a squalid alley in a bad neighborhood.  New York Homicide Detective Seamus O’Reilly receives the shock of his life when he looks at the men’s identification: J. Edgar Hoover, the famous, tyrannical director of the FBI, and his number one assistant, Clyde Tolson.

O’Reilly teams up with FBI agent Frank Bryce to solve the second high-level assassination in only three months. Because in November of the previous year, someone assassinated President John F. Kennedy. The cop and the FBI agent must determine if the same shadowy organization committed all three murders. To do so, they must act quickly before some of the nation’s most powerful men—from Kennedy’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, to the President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson—do something rash to keep Hoover’s secrets from ever becoming public.

In our world, Hoover kept his secrets until long after his death. In Seamus O’Reilly’s world, Hoover’s secrets get him killed. The Enemy Within offers alternate history so plausible that only Kristine Kathryn Rusch could have written it.


“A dark, yet fascinating tale, The Enemy Within gives readers an intriguing look at what could have happened in 1964 New York.”

—RT Book Reviews


“[Enemy Within] is a blend of mystery, political thriller, and alternate history. It was a compelling read I had trouble putting down. … This is one fans of political thrillers won’t want to miss.”

—Keith West, Adventures Fantastic


“Rusch weaves a convincing alternate history tale of ‘what ifs’ that interlaces with our own history of those troubled times. … Be sure to read Kristine Kathryn’s Rusch’s latest thriller The Enemy Within for non-stop political intrigue!”

—Dave Dickinson, Astroguyz


USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award. 

To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, krisdelake.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com, fictionriver.com). She lives and occasionally sleeps in Oregon.