Keep You Close

March 18, 2019
Early in this propulsive novel from bestseller Cleveland (Need to Know), 37-year-old single mother Stephanie Maddox finds a loaded handgun in the closet of her 17-year-old son, Zachary. Stephanie, who heads the FBI’s Internal Investigations Section, knows she should alert the Washington, D.C., police, but when she confronts Zach, he professes ignorance. Stephanie assumes that one of Zach’s friends stashed the gun without his knowledge, but then a fellow FBI agent warns her that the domestic terrorism squad suspects Zach is involved with an extremist group called the Freedom Solidarity Movement. Zach denies the charge, prompting Stephanie to investigate. Either Zach isn’t who she thought, or someone from Stephanie’s past is working to frame him. Equal parts conspiracy thriller and paranoia tale, Cleveland’s latest exploits the distance between parents and teenagers while exploring the lines a patriot will cross to protect kin. Elements of the twisty plot strain credulity, but clearly established, ever-increasing stakes create an adrenaline-fueled narrative that will leave readers wanting more. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company.

March 15, 2019
The Russians are here--and they're deeply embedded in the most powerful echelons of the United States government.FBI Agent Stephanie Maddox has made a career of putting the bad guys away, starting with organized crime in Chicago and moving up to internal affairs in Washington, D.C. No one knows that she's driven by a trauma from her own past and that trying to outrun this pain has consistently caused her to prioritize her job over the raising of her son, Zachary. Now 17 and about to graduate from high school, Zachary suddenly seems like a stranger to Steph. When a colleague approaches her with the news that Zachary has some links to a domestic anarchist group, she fears the worst, yet she can't help but keep some faith in her son. Drawn deeper and deeper into the web of lies that has been created around Zachary, and desperately fearful for her family's safety, Steph realizes that the Russians have infiltrated the FBI at the highest levels, and they are planning an imminent attack. Now if she can only find someone to believe her....The Russian connection is, of course, both a classic spy trope and also a fear plucked from our daily headlines; Cleveland excels at twisting her plots so tightly that the "big reveal" in the end truly is a surprise. The writing, sadly, isn't as sharply honed as the action, but in a novel like this, few fans will complain as they're swept along by the multilayered plot.While at times it feels overdramatic, Cleveland's (Need to Know, 2018) second political thriller rings plausible enough to keep the most faithful--or eager--conspiracy theorists reading along.

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May 1, 2019
All working parents doubt how well they're managing the work-life balance. When you're Stephanie Maddox, division chief of the Internal Investigation Section of the FBI, you may have more reason to doubt than most people. Stephanie's parental insecurities go on red alert when a colleague reports that Stephanie's son, Zachary, has been radicalized by a terrorist group targeting vulnerable teens online. Whom should she believe? The son, who has grown increasingly distant and won't account for his time? Or bureau reports, which, mysteriously, Stephanie doesn't have the credentials to access? This fast-paced tale makes a great recommendation for fans of high-stakes poltical thrillers. Cleveland is a former CIA analyst whose debut novel, Need to Know (2018), was a New York Times best-seller, with rights sold to Universal Pictures for Charlize Theron.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)