Keep Calm: A Thriller

by Mike Binder

Overview

"Starts with a bang and never slows down—a very superior high-stakes thriller." —#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child

When a bombing at 10 Downing Street wounds the Prime Minister and tests Great Britain's resolve, American ex-cop Adam Tatum must confront a conspiracy in the highest halls of power

Former Michigan detective Adam Tatum receives an unexpected offer, a golden opportunity that seems almost too good to be true. He travels to 10 Downing Street to participate in a high-stakes conference. Immediately after his visit, a bomb detonates, wounding the prime minister and placing Adam Tatum squarely in the crosshairs of suspicion.

Sensing a setup, Tatum flees with his family, desperately fighting for survival in an unfamiliar country. The lives of his children, the future of his marriage, and the fate of a nation depend on Tatum exposing the conspirators who pegged him for a fall.

Georgia Turnbull, the chancellor of the exchequer, and Davina Steel, the lead investigator, both stand to gain from the successful manhunt of Adam Tatum. But, as motives emerge and desires ignite, each must decide what they're really after.

Layered plots, crackling dialogue, and propulsive action mark Keep Calm, the riveting debut thriller from award-winning actor, director, and screenwriter Mike Binder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627793476
Publisher:	Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Mike Binder is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer. His latest film is Black or White, starring Kevin Costner. Keep Calm is his first novel.

Editorial Reviews

12/14/2015
In the gripping opening of screenwriter Binder’s first novel, a tense political thriller, a bomb explodes during a high-powered conference at 10 Downing Street, seriously injuring Prime Minister Roland Lassiter. Adam Tatum, an American ex-cop now working for a powerful British-owned investment firm, becomes the prime suspect, because his presence during the conference was seemingly last-minute. With Lassiter out of commission, Georgia Turnbull, the first female chancellor of the exchequer, assumes his duties. Davina Steel, the head of an antiterrorism unit, leads the investigation into the bombing. Meanwhile, Adam goes on the run with his family. Davina proves her mettle, despite her youth, her insight having been honed by observing customers and the streets near her parents’ Bloomsbury cafe. Amid an exposition-laden plot with a surfeit of characters, only Georgia and Davina are worth caring about. Their relationship brings a much-needed humanity to this tale of betrayal at the highest levels of government and business. Agent: Adam Levine, Verve. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"[G]ripping...a tense political thriller....[A] tale of betrayal at the highest levels of government and business."
—Publishers Weekly

"Binder has produced an elegant thriller, with a plot that uncurls so effortlessly the reader is guyed along as easily as the hero...Binder is so good he can blend family drama with darker goings-on without weakening either...Binder involves us in the characters’ emotional lives to a jarring degree. When a brutalized cop gets revenge on her tormentor, we worry about her. A good man we’ve come to like is killed, and we nearly drop the book. And when we learn which high-level government official is behind the plot, for a moment we don’t believe it. A thriller with resonance."
—Booklist

"This fast-paced thriller shows off Binder's Hollywood chops."
—AARP

“Starts with a bang and never slows down—a very superior high-stakes thriller.”
—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Already a wonderful storyteller in film, Mike Binder explodes on the pages of Keep Calm as a hugely gifted word-shaper of action, character, and riveting events. A wildly impressive debut.”
—Mitch Albom, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Binder’s considerable storytelling prowess has not only survived his transition to prose, it has thrived. Keep Calm is a complex and gripping thriller that keeps you riveted from the first page to the last.”
—Jonathan Tropper, New York Times bestselling author of This is Where I Leave You

“Great action, great characters, a tough book to put down once you start. Mike Binder is my favorite new thriller author.”
—Sam Raimi, director of The Evil Dead and Spider-Man

From the Publisher

2015-11-18
An American ex-cop is suckered into a plot to overthrow the British prime minister in this debut thriller by the director/writer. Adam Tatum has lost his job after taking part in a politically motivated—and illegal—union scheme. He rebounds by landing a corporate job with the help of his English father-in-law. Selected to travel to the U.K. as part of a high-level business deal, he discovers he's been used as patsy when the deal turns out to be a cover for a plot to take over the British government. Tatum comes under suspicion and goes on the run. The competently handled plotting moves on parallel tracks between Adam's travails and the investigation of Davina Steel, the savvy young British agent who begins to realize Adam is not the culprit he's assumed to be. But the book is unpleasant, using mayhem directed toward women as a plot device without according their suffering any weight. Adam is framed for beating up a call girl, and though his manipulators make the charges go away, there's not a word about the fate of the girl. Davina can't simply be threatened to stop investigating the power broker she suspects is guilty, she has to be tied to the bed in her parents' home and digitally raped. It's not just women who get a raw deal, either. This is the sort of book where as soon as someone exhibits bravery or selflessness, you know he's dead. The author even stoops to shooting a few dogs to toughen up a scene. It adds up to nearly 400 pages of bad things happening to people you haven't been made to care about. It's one thing for thrills to come cheap, but they needn't be so unimaginative or so lacking in finesse.

Kirkus Reviews