Amazon.com: Checkmate: Karna Small Bodman: Books

From Publishers Weekly
Bodman, a deputy press secretary and later senior director of the National Security Council under Reagan, comes up with a cool premise for her debut thriller, but the book suffers from annoying minutiae, lame jokes and pedestrian plotting. Computer genius Cameron "Cammy" Talbot of Bandaq Technologies has developed a program whereby she's able to hack into the guidance system of an incoming cruise missile and redirect it back against whoever fired it. Meanwhile, a Muslim terror group bent on taking over Kashmir has stolen three Pakistani cruise missiles, one of which it has fired into India in an effort to provoke a nuclear response against Pakistan. Lt. Col. Hunt Daniels of the Air Force becomes involved with Cammy after someone tries to kill her, and romantic sparks fly: "She could feel the hard muscles of his arms encircling her in a velvet vice." Insider info can be invaluable, but knowing the color of the drapery in the Oval Office (gold) doesn't make up for a thriller that keeps dipping back into romance for its source of suspense. Author tour. (Jan.)
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Review

“Checkmate is a fantastic first novel by a woman who knows the intricacies of Washington. Well worth the read . . . it will get your heart pumping.” —Vince Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Consent to Kill

“Gripping and authentic.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of One Shot

“Karna Small Bodman’s Checkmate hits all the notes. Her years of firsthand White House experience shine through on every page of this fine debut international thriller—authentic, up-to-the-minute, and gripping.” —John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Hunt Club

“A fantastic story of how close our world is to the brink of ruin and how one courageous and determined woman fights to save us all. Karna Small Bodman writes with the eye of an insider, revealing all the secrets we wish we knew in a brilliant, heart-stopping tale.” —Tim Green, New York Times bestselling author of Exact Revenge

“Bodman takes on Washington like only a true insider can, weaving a frightening tale that feels both unerringly authentic and frighteningly real.” —Kyle Mills, New York Times bestselling author of The Second Horseman

“Karna Small Bodman draws on her unique background as a White House insider to inject high tension and authenticity into this high-stakes thriller. She writes with the smooth confidence of someone who truly knows the political landscape—and isn’t afraid to reveal all.” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Vanish

“Checkmate is a chilling and penetrating insider’s look at our national missile defenses, with an astonishing countdown that seems to be happening at this very moment.” —Katherine Neville, New York Times bestselling author of The Eight

“An inside story from an insider. A ripping tale of intrigue about an explosive region, but really about power and Washington. Bodman knows her stuff and lets us see and think about what really happens when the pressure is on and flawed people make decisions that affect us all.” —James W. Huston, New York Times bestselling author of Secret Justice

“Bodman brings us behind the scenes of military meetings, boardrooms, and parlors of the Washington power elite as her heroes race against time and terrorists in her thrilling debut novel, Checkmate. Suspense, romance, life and death scenarios . . . Checkmate has it all.” —Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of Sweetgrass

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Product Details

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Forge Books; 1st ed edition (January 9, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765315424
ISBN-13: 978-0765315427
Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #707,476 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
"A cruise missile attack? Good God!" Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
defense bill, cruise missile attack

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
White House, New Delhi, Taj Mahal, Colonel Daniels, General Landsdale, Davis Metcher, United States, Abbas Khan, Special Envoy, Sterling Dynamics, Cameron Talbot, Nettar Kooner, Austin Gage, National Security Advisor, Hunt Daniels, Stan Bollinger, Capitol Hill, Defense Ministry, Janis Prescott, Khan Sahib, Situation Room, West Wing, House Armed Services, State Department, Stockton Sloan

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Cooperative Threat Reduction, Missile Defense, and the Nuclear Future by Michael Krepon

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting but, January 18, 2007

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

At Bandaq Technologies, Cameron "Cammy" Talbot leads a team of brilliant technocrats in developing the ultimate missile defense program. She and her crew ignore the Star Wars initiative of shooting the projectile out of the sky. Instead they concentrate on a program that takes control of an incoming missile's guidance system in order to reverse it; hitting the initiator. Due to unsavory lobbying her program is in jeopardy as Congress considers moving funding to a rival firm supporting the Star Wars initiative.

Still as Cammy and cohorts make major progress, Muslims steal three Pakistani cruise missiles, firing one at India. This terrorist group intends to take over Kashmir as they expect India to reciprocate leading to an all out war with nukes between India and Pakistan.

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Hunt Daniels meets Cammy when someone tries to kill her. They each feel a strong attraction to one another while someone wants her new technology stopped before completion with her dead before it can be used to prevent a deadly nuclear war.

The premise of this tale is superb, but Karna Small Bodman is unable to decide between a romantic suspense and a nuclear countdown thriller; the reader gets some of both, but the sum of the parts does not quite make a cohesive whole. Still the story line is fun to follow as Cammy races against time to prove her concept works even as she ponders whether Hunt is the hunk who makes her feel complete. Congress seems realistic as money speaks in spite of the cost to the world. Overall this is a fine novel that will please fans of final countdowns to pending disaster with a romantic subplot weaved into the last digits.

Harriet Klausner

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced government thriller (with romance), February 10, 2007

By	Grace Camille Lyons "GCL" (Champaign, IL) - See all my reviews

If you enjoy fast paced books with intrigue and government inside angles...this is a great read. Fasten your seat belts and have fun!
I normally do not read this type of literature, but enjoyed this romp. If you are a fan of The Last Templar, etc., you will want to read this book.

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Checkmate, June 8, 2009

By	A Customer - See all my reviews

A great novel and a fun read written by someone who has been there. And Gambit is even better.

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