The Devil's Bed »

William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of nine Cork O'Connor novels, including Thunder Bay and Red Knife. All are available from Atria Books. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. Visit his website at www.williamkentkrueger.com.

From the creator of the critically acclaimed, award-winning Cork O'Connor mystery series comes a haunting, atmospheric, conspiracy thriller.

When President Clay Dixon's father-in-law — a former vice president — is injured in a farming accident, First Lady Kate Dixon returns to Minnesota to be at his side. Assigned to protect her, Secret Service agent Bo Thorsen soon falls under Kate's spell. He also suspects the accident is part of a trap set for Kate by David Moses, an escaped mental patient who once loved her. What Bo and Moses don't realize is that they're caught in a web of deadly intrigue spun by a seemingly insignificant bureaucratic department within the federal government. Racing to find answers before an assassin's bullet can kill Kate, Bo soon learns that when you lie down with the devil, there's hell to pay.

Publishers Weekly

Readers of Krueger's Cork O'Connor mystery series (Iron Lake; Boundary Waters; etc.) will have to postpone the pleasures of the much-anticipated fourth volume, but the wait will be well spent with this fast-paced stand-alone political thriller. President Clay Dixon, campaigning for reelection, is falling behind in the polls. Worse, the popular first lady, Kate Jorgenson Dixon, disappointed by Clay's lost idealism, resolves to abandon their marriage-a disaster for his faltering campaign, not to mention his emotional stability. Kate flies back to her native rural Minnesota when she hears that her father, ex-senator Tom Jorgenson, has suffered a farming accident that has nearly killed him. The police declare it an unfortunate mishap, but it isn't-an escaped mental patient has initiated a long-planned vendetta that includes not only Tom but Kate as well. Chilling, mesmerizing lunatic David "Nightmare" Moses, who was once in love with Kate, steals the page each time he makes an appearance. Secret Service agent Bo Thorsen, who protects the first lady, contends with Moses as well as with backstabbing colleagues, scheming Washington politicians and minions of a sinister, secret government agency that appears to have some tie to Moses. Occasional clunky writing and an over-the-top patriotic coda mar the novel, but this will hardly matter to most readers. Nonstop action, abundant romantic complications and a wealth of mayhem keep Krueger's plot speeding toward its suspenseful, blood-soaked climax. (Feb.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.