The Art of the Devil

April 14, 2014
An unlikely group of conspirators target President Eisenhower in this solid what-if thriller from Altman (The Watchmen). In the fall of 1955, Ike is holed up in a retreat near Gettysburg, Pa., after a heart attack scare, but the chief of the Secret Service, Emil Spooner, is afraid that foul play was responsible for the president’s illness. Worried that another attempt may be made on Eisenhower’s life, and unsure whom he can trust, Spooner turns to disgraced agent Francis Isherwood, whose alcoholism led to his being placed on indefinite leave. A mole inside the Secret Service almost ends Isherwood’s mission before it can start, and the plotters manage to place someone else very close to Eisenhower. Altman succeeds in generating tension, despite the lack of surprise as to the outcome. Fast pacing and a clever plot compensate for less-than-deep characterizations and a few improbabilities. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Agency.

May 1, 2014
It's 1955, and the U.S. is still recovering from the horrors of WWII. Military hero Dwight Eisenhower is president, but some see him as far too liberal, too soft on communism, and too ready to give in to America's enemies, namely the USSR. A far-right-wing senator named Bohn takes matters even further than his colleague Joe McCarthy, putting in place a plan to assassinate President Eisenhower. Secret Service Agent Frank Isherwood, however, has been able to stay one step ahead of multiple assassination attempts, but, unbeknownst to him and the Secret Service, there is another assassin lurking, and this one is highly competent, fearless, and motivated by a deep hatred of everything for which America and Eisenhower stand. Creepy, violent, suspenseful, fast paced, and chockablock with unexpected twists, Altman's latest is a gripping and thoroughly satisfying read. A must for fans of The Manchurian Candidate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)