Minute Zero

June 22, 2015
Moss’s fine second novel of diplomatic intrigue featuring Judd Ryker (after 2014’s The Golden Hour) takes the U.S. State Department troubleshooter to Zimbabwe, to oversee a dicey presidential election. Once on the ground in Harare, Ryker discovers that the country’s entrenched strongman, Winston Tinotenda, is facing Gugu Mutonga, a female opponent who’s surprisingly tough for a foe of Tinotenda’s, and that heavy foreign money is fueling both candidates. With U.S. policy squishy, Ryker eventually determines that the situation is ripe for a concept known as Minute Zero, the idea that after political upheaval, a narrow window opens when power is up for grabs to anyone who can maneuver adroitly. The action moves relentlessly, shifting between Harare and Washington, D.C., and among several well-drawn characters. A former U.S. diplomat in Africa, Moss maintains a high level of authenticity throughout. At times, Ryker comes across as a bit naïve, particularly in dealing with his wife, whom he doesn’t know works for the CIA, but this is a minor flaw. Author tour. Agent: Josh Getzler, HSG Agency.

Starred review from July 15, 2015
State Department crisis expert Judd Ryker is dispatched to Zimbabwe to help manage a potentially explosive election pitting the nation's corrupt six-term president against an outspoken female challenger.Moss' last novel, The Golden Hour (2014), took its title from Ryker's theory that political crises, like medical traumas, can be cured if proper measures are taken during the crucial period following the outbreak of troubles. This time, Ryker is eager to test a related theory that desired results can be brought about by acting forcefully during periods of great uncertainty-in this case between the casting of ballots and the official announcement of election results. State Department officials who scoff at Ryker's "ivory tower ideas" are determined to keep 88-year-old incumbent Winston Tinotenda in power, as bad as he and his scheming right-hand general, Simba Chimurenga, are. Ryker, however, supports the opposition candidate, Gugu Mutonga, a lawyer who seeks justice for the victims of a massacre the army carried out and covered up. Moss, a former diplomat in West Africa, draws from his experience to produce a tense, fast-paced, utterly convincing picture of chaos in the making. That Ryker acts not like a supersleuth but as the former Amherst professor he is makes the book even more persuasive. Another key figure is exiled Ethiopian dictator Solomon Zagwe (based on Mengistu Haile Mariam), who's been given safe harbor by Tinotenda despite perpetrating the Red Fear, which claimed the lives of untold numbers of Ethiopians in the 1970s. A brilliantly orchestrated realpolitik thriller, Moss' second effort is as instructive as it is exciting.

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September 15, 2015
On the outs with his superiors after the events detailed in 2014's The Golden Hour, State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is surprised to find himself deployed to help make sure everything is legit in Zimbabwe's presidential election. Naturally, it turns out that virtually nothing is on the up-and-up in a country that seems on the verge of collapse: armed gangs are on the prowl, and there is a rumor that enriched uranium is for sale. Moss, former deputy assistant secretary of state, uses his experience to forge a thriller based on an actual election in Zimbabwe. The tale feels authentic, and its focus on insider manipulation of international events, rather than bullets, will attract fans of realistic political fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

April 1, 2015

Having had a Washington Post best seller with his debut, The Golden Hour, Moss--a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs--is down to "minute zero": that crucial point in a country's history when everything is up for grabs. State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is having his minute zero in Zimbabwe, and he hasn't even arrived yet. But a strongman is threatening to tackle the president, which means Judd has an opportunity to push things in the right direction--or die trying.

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