DEEP STATE is terrific. It is immediately engrossing, features a strong and endearing protagonist, and coasts along so smoothly and quickly that one never misses the fact that there is no good place to stop reading, if only temporarily. It is everything that a classic thriller, particularly a political thriller, should be.

The book is the creation of Chris Hauty, who has written the scripts for any number of major films. I discovered after the fact that he penned the screenplay for one of my favorite movies, which many will be surprised to know is Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco. DEEP STATE reads like a screenplay treatment, right down to its point-of-view transitions, which might move just a hair too fast in print, but on the screen of your choice would travel just fine, thank you. Someone needs to make a feature of this one on the condition that he or she doesn’t change a thing.

"[DEEP STATE] is immediately engrossing, features a strong and endearing protagonist, and coasts along so smoothly and quickly that one never misses the fact that there is no good place to stop reading..."

I’m digressing, and I apologize. You’re here to learn about the book. Very well. DEEP STATE begins by introducing readers to the wonderfully named Hayley Chill, a multi-talented Army grunt who leaves military service to take a position as a low-level (at first) White House intern. Hayley is possessed of many advantages and disadvantages, the former of which outweigh the latter. She is from an all-but-impoverished family in West Virginia, who at a relatively young age became the sole support of her younger siblings, sending most of her Army wages home to them. Her attributes include her photographic memory, coupled with superior powers of observation and an attitude that does not permit failure or submission. She brings this skill set to a White House helmed by a duly elected but controversial president who is loved and loathed in equal measure.

In the midst of the political chaos swirling around Washington, DC, the President’s Chief of Staff is found dead of an apparent heart attack. Hayley, who is the first to find his body, notices a single clue that suggests his death may not have been happenstance. She unwittingly has stumbled onto and into the first salvo against the President, launched by a group of powerful individuals within the government and, in some cases, merely a few feet away from him. As Hayley soon discovers, she is close to some of the plotters as well. When the removal of the Chief of Staff fails to deter the President from his mission, those assembled against him plan more drastic measures. Hayley suspects quite a bit, but isn’t really in a position to do much, other than what she can. Of course, one must remember that as far as she is concerned, failure is never an option.

I would wager that most readers of DEEP STATE will say, “I didn’t see THAT coming!” at least once. It is full of twists and turns, including a big one at the conclusion. That surprise put me in the mind of another of my favorite movies, but I won’t tell you which one, because it might spoil the elaborately crafted plot that Hauty labored over for our enjoyment. I can only say that if you were in front of me, I would forcefully place DEEP STATE into your hands and guarantee you will enjoy every page of it, as much for Hayley as for the plot, the writing, and...well, everything.