By Order of the President

by Michael Kilian

When President Henry Hampson is shot during an assassination attempt and rushed to Camp David, factions within Congress and the White House struggle to take charge, and all wonder whether the president is dead or alive

450 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a great political thriller, Michael Kilian takes the reader on an adventure like no others, positing numerous things in an era before the 24 hour news cycle, when information had to be scraped together. Many are eager to hear the thoughts of the President of the United States (POTUS) when he makes a speech at Gettysburg on a sunny afternoon. However, no one could have expected the chaos that followed. A gunman opens fire, shooting POTUS before he is thrust into the limo and whisked away. The Secret Service shift into action, firing back, but only make the bloodbath worse, when an innocent reported took a bullet and died on scene. Both the assassination attempt and the death of the reporter were captured on news reel, which is now being played repeatedly. Out in California, a reporter is following all this with much interest, particularly since he cannot be sure if what he is hearing—POTUS is recovering under guard at Camp David—is entirely true. His analysis of the video from the scene leads to some speculation about how severe the wounds might have been. With a Honduran national is deemed to be the killer, some wonder if this runs deeper and whether there was a Central American plot to destabilize the region. The now former head of the Secret Service cannot sit idly by as he is blamed for exacerbating the situation and finds himself making some connections in Honduras, El Salvador, and even Nicaragua, where sentiment towards the Americans is tepid at best. While all this is going on, a curious vice-president is unsure what is going on and how he ought to act. As a national emergency is declared, should he be leading things for the time being, or simply biding his time as his boss apparently recovers. No one will let the VP see POTUS, which raises questions, while the US public is being fed a line. Everything must come together, though at what cost? Kilian pens a great story set in a time when truths and falsehoods rested on word of mouth, rather than over-analyzing tapes and Tweets. A wonderfully refreshing piece from years past, that will keep the reader thinking and reading more. Recommended to those who love a good political thriller that develops with multiple plot lines.

I have had much trouble with Michael Kilian books in the past, having tried two on multiple occasions. However, I wanted to give this one the benefit of the doubt and am pleased that I did so, as it flowed much better and kept me intrigued from the opening pages. The premise of the piece is a 1980s/early 90s assassination attempt on POTUS and the cover-up on both sides surrounding it. Kilian weaves these multiple storylines together to keep the reader guessing and wondering where truth and falsehood meet. I was eager to see so many characters developing throughout, though I am hard pressed to find one I prefer to call the protagonist. There is a wonderful amount of politicking in a Cold War era here, sprinkled with some past romances that resurface just enough to add intrigue to the overall story. With some wonderful political spin, the reader is able to see how the walls go up on both sides—those trying to keep the situation of POTUS from the world, as well as those seeking to shut-down the assassination doubters—which only makes the reader want to know more. Kilian paces things well with his long chapters, as they seem to fill the reader with needed (and sometimes superfluous) information to keep them wondering. I will have to go back to see if I cannot get hooked by the other Kilian pieces, as this one surely made me a believer yet again and kept me from having to hear about Tweets, cyber-bullying, and other tech-savvy things that seem to supersaturate the genre these days.

Kudos, Mr. Kilian, for a wonderful piece that kept me thinking throughout. I love this era when politics and deception can be just that, straightforward and sinister.

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[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me on my toes. Never guessed the ending. Older book. Well written.