“Be warned, you might not look at newspaper headlines the same way come morning. In a country with a government of the people, by the people and for the people, is the DEEP STATE really pulling the strings?”
That is how former Navy SEAL turned acclaimed thriller author Jack Carr (The Terminal List, 2018) described Deep State, the highly-anticipated debut thriller from screenwriter Chris Hauty, which comes out on January 14, 2020.
With such credits such as Never Back Down, Sniper: Ghost Shooter, and Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco listed on his IMDB page, Hauty is no stranger when it comes to storytelling. Now, though, after two decades in Holywood, he’s kicking off his career as a novelist after signing a two-book deal with Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Atria Books at Simon & Schuster—the publishing home of Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Jack Carr, Matthew Betley, and others, last October.
“I wrote Deep State to celebrate the mythic power of The One,” said Hauty in an exclusive statement to The Real Book Spy.
“Like the lone protester who stood in defiance before a convoy of tanks in Tiananmen Square, single mom Erin Brockovich taking on Pacific Gas & Electric, or David’s tangle with Goliath, a lowly intern’s courageous struggle to push back against a vast conspiracy resonates with our need for the unlikely hero. These types of stories can make us feel like no foe is invincible.”
See the official plot details and cover art below.
In this white-knuckled, timely, and whip-smart debut thriller, a deadly plot against the president’s life emerges from the shadows of the deep state.
Trust No One.
Recently elected President Richard Monroe—populist, controversial, and divisive—is at the center of an increasingly polarized Washington, DC. Never has the partisan drama been so tense or the paranoia so rampant. In the midst of contentious political turf wars, the White House chief of staff is found dead in his house. A tenacious intern discovers a single, ominous clue that suggests he died from something other than natural causes, and there may be a wide-ranging conspiracy running beneath the surface of everyday events: powerful government figures are scheming to undermine the rule of law—and democracy itself. Soon, allies are exposed as enemies, once-dependable authorities will fall under suspicion, and no one seems to be who they say they are. The unthinkable is happening. The Deep State is real. Who will die to keep its secrets? Who will kill to uncover the truth?
Chris Hauty (who is represented by Ann Rittenberg of the Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency, Inc.) is a screenwriter who has worked at all the major movie studios, in nearly every genre of film. The proud father of two magnificent young men, George and Jackson, he currently lives in Venice, CA, in the company a classic Triumph motorcycle and a feral cat. Deep State is his first novel.
Readers excited to check out Deep State can now pre-order their copy here, or anywhere else books are sold. In the meantime, make sure you’re following Chris Hauty on Facebook and Twitter for more details.
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.