Dead Watch (Night Watch)

The #1 New York Times #160;bestselling author of the Lucas Davenport novels delivers #8220;a page-turner with a new hero, [and a] breakneck pace" ( Minneapolis Star Tribune ). #8220;Former Sen. Lincoln Bowe, a Republican, has been missing for several days, setting off alarms on both sides of the political aisle. Finally, he is discovered in the remote Virginia woods, barb-wired to a tree, burned almost beyond recognition and missing his head. Democratic #8216;research assistant#8217; (read: fixer) Jacob Winter, ex-Army Intelligence, wounded in Afghanistan, is called in by the Democratic president to unravel an extremely messy situation and shield his office from any hint of scandal. As this runaway train picks up speed, innocents are murdered, and the guilty come to Jesus#8230; #160; "#8230;Sandford is a master at creating believable, indelible characters like Winter#8230;[He] is peerless when it comes to economical, taut plotting, most notably at building tension. Dead Watch is anything but politics as usual.#8221;#8212; San Antonio Express-News Through twenty-one novels featuring Lucas Davenport, Kidd, or the razor-edge world of the Night Crew, John Sandford has been writing brilliantly suspenseful, consistently surprising thrillers filled with rich characters and exceptional drama. But Dead Watch sets a whole new level. Early morning, Virginia, and a woman is on the run. Her husband, a former U.S. Senator, has been missing for days. Kidnapped? Murdered? She doesn't know, but she thinks she knows who's involved, and why. And that she's next. Hours later in Washington, D.C., a cell phone rings. The White House chief of staff needs Jacob Winter now. His chief investigator and an Army Intelligence veteran, Winter knows how to move quickly and decisively, but he's never faced a problem like this. The disappearances are bad, but when the blackened body shows up barbed-wired to a tree, Winter knows there is much worse to come. And soon enough, there is. Large forces are at work, determined to do whatever it takes to achieve their ends. Winter will have to use all his resources not only to prevail but also to survive. And so will the nation. .. Summoned by the White House chief of staff to investigate a series of elected official disappearances, Army intelligence veteran Jacob Winter finds the situation worsening when one of the missing victims is found brutally murdered