The Devil's Bed

I adore Wm. Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series and didn't know what to expect from this stand-alone. Wow! This is a terrific thriller with so many surprising twists and turns, I had a hard time putting it down until I was finished. Though very different than Krueger's other writing, this is an exciting read with marvelous characters! Highly recommended. Marilyn Meredith, author of Wishing Makes It So and Wingbeat, the latest in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series.

I have been delighted by Krueger's first three novels involving Cork O'Connor and his adventures; this first "standalone" is equally gripping and could turn into a series for Secret Service guy Bo. The plot is labyrinthine, opening with a gruesome murder by David Moses, who also turns out to be Nightmare, a deranged psychotic who is seeking to kill the First Lady because of a scorned love affair years ago.Add some vicious government agents, an almost romance with the First Lady and Bo, and some tense suspense scenes, you've got a rip roaring conspiracy novel. Sometimes Bo seems a little less than what you'd expect in a hero (he's always getting beat up), but he is human and that makes him engaging. Krueger's President Clay Dixon evolves from a rather self-centered ass to a really good president during the course of the novel, so that's unusual...if a little incredible. But, hey, fiction is fiction, right?A good book and I am anxiously awaiting more from Mr. Krueger, maybe both Cork and Bo?

A Review of The Devil's Bed, by William Kent KruegerKrueger seizes the reader by the throat in the prologue of The Devil's Bed with a horrific scene of a brutal murder, then follows the prologue with a chapter in the point of view of a maniac who calls himself Nightmare, a man who carves a notch on his own chest to record a kill-and who carries a vendetta against the woman he once loved, the First Lady, Kathleen Jorgenson Dixon. The President of the United States, Clay Dixon, has problems. His beautiful wife is growing more estranged from him, which not only hurts Dixon emotionally, but disturbs the presidential advisors, who are fretting about the upcoming election. Even Dixon's oldest friend, Robert Lee, is worried about Kate, her emotional state, and the effect she will have on Dixon's presidency. When Kate's father, a former senator and vice president, is badly injured on his Minnesota orchard, Kate leaves Washington to be with her family. Everyone but Dixon himself is relieved to have Kate out of the political spotlight for a while. She will be fine on the family farm, Dixon's advisors assert, especially since Bo Thorsen, Special Agent in the Secret Service, is stationed in the Twin Cities field office. Thorsen has a history with the Jorgenson family that dates back to his own troubled youth, which was spent in and out of foster care. Though Thorsen is troubled by a few details surrounding Tom Jorgenson's injury, the incident that put the elderly statesman in a coma looks like an unfortunate accident. Meanwhile, the President's father, William Dixon, a powerful senior senator from Colorado, voices his strong disapproval of Kate Dixon, though he tells his son that for political interests, he must keep his marriage together. He asks about Tom Jorgenson's accident, and points out that though the man's injury is unfortunate, it could help Dixon in the political polls.Krueger paints vivid pictures of both Thorsen's and Nightmare's desperate childhoods, which parallel each other up to the point where Thorsen was placed with foster parents who redeemed his future. Nightmare, previously known as David Moses, deteriorated to the point where he joined some extremely disreputable characters in order to survive. Krueger's thriller ratchets up the tension as a conspiracy that encompasses all of the characters is slowly revealed. Bo Thorsen and David Moses are the expendable scapegoats, caught in the vortex of the schemers, and it takes heart-pounding feats on both their parts to reveal the heart of the plot. This is a thriller filled with nonstop action, and though we suspect some of the bad guys, we don't know them all. The novel also has a touch of sweet romance and a touching, bittersweet finale. Quite an exciting summer read!Reviewed by Debby Atkinson

President Daniel Clay Dixon is running for reelection but his opponent leads in all the polls even those sanctioned by the incumbent. Daniel's wife Kate feels estranged from him because he's being influenced more and more by his father Senator William Dixon and the men associated with him. When Kate's father, the former vice-president is hurt in what looks like an accident on his farm, she rushes to his bedside leaving the president in Washington.Secret Service agent Bo Thorsen is in charge of protecting the First Lady when she's in Minnesota and his instincts tell him her life is in danger as is that of her father. He finds proof that the ex-vice-president was deliberately injured and the person who is after the duo has a long time grudge against them. Bo is able to foil the first assassination attempt but the next effort has tentacles that reach into the highest levels of government making it nearly impossible to stop it in time.THE DEVIL'S BED is an exciting thriller that starts off at light speed and never slows down. The president, his wife and the cabal members are three-dimensional characters who seem real with plausible actions on each of their parts. The hero is the kind of man one wants in office because he is honorable, patriotic and most importantly, trustworthy. William Kent Krueger, the author of the Cork O'Connor mystery series, has written his best work yet.Harriet Klausner