Final Finesse [Hardcover]

Karna Small Bodman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009

Samantha Reid, the White House Deputy Director for Homeland Security, deals with national security threats on a daily basis. When a natural-gas pipeline explodes in America’s heartland, she senses pending disaster and tries to convince reluctant officials to take action.

After several more explosions, Samantha teams up with Tripp Adams, Vice President of GeoGlobal Oil & Gas, owner of the pipelines, to investigate.

As they race to solve the mystery of the explosions and determine the motives of the shadowy group behind the havoc, Samantha and Tripp spend days . . . and nights . . . together, growing ever closer. Then Tripp is sent on a business trip to South America---and disappears.

Now Samantha must deal with political intrigue at the highest levels, finesse international plots, and break all the White House rules as she races to find Tripp and stop the team of foreign agents before they carry out their final deadly scheme.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Romance fans will best appreciate the third near-future political thriller (after Checkmate and Gambit) from Bodman, a former Reagan deputy press secretary and NSC senior director. When a natural-gas pipeline explosion in Oklahoma kills one and leaves thousands without heat during a cold snap, Samantha Reid, the attractive Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, gets on the case. More pipeline explosions follow. In the course of her investigations, Reid falls hard and fast for Tripp Adams, a vice president of GeoGlobal Oil & Gas, the pipelines' owner. After Adams disappears in Venezuela, Reid abandons her post without permission to move heaven and earth to find him, earning the dubious distinction of being the first senior White House staff member to become completely unreachable. That Samantha tends to rely on her physical charms in her rescue efforts may dismay those who believe such tactics are unworthy of a high U.S. government official. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Written by a top White House staffer, Final Finesse is a first-rate thriller packed with marvelous insider knowledge and richly drawn characters. I couldn't put down this electrifying, authentic, and well-crafted novel.”--Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of The Monster of Florence

“Karna Bodman gives us an insider’s view of a frightening situation that seems all too real. Fast-paced and suspenseful, romantic and ultimately hopeful, this is up-all-night reading at its best.”--Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of Fireside on Final Finesse

“Final Finesse is a political thrill ride with unpredictable, hair-raising roller-coaster turns, made even more spellbinding by the authentic White House details provided by Karna Small Bodman. A White House insider’s look at terrorism that will keep you up all night!”--Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of A Stranger’s Game

“I loved this book! Authentic and tense, Final Finesse is a can’t-put-down read by an author to watch. Karna Small Bodman has written a winner!”—Carla Neggers, New York Times bestselling author of Cold Pursuit

"This exciting political romantic suspense thriller takes off from the onset . . . and never slows down. . . . Fans will appreciate this exhilarating tale as Karna Small Bodman once again combines strange bedfellows: romance and politics."--Harriet Klausner

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765322528
• ISBN-13: 978-0765322524
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,318,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karna was on the air for 15 years as a TV news reporter and anchor in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and did political commentary in New York. She also served in the Reagan White House, first as Deputy Press Secretary and later asd Senior Director and Spokesman for the National Security Council. Now she is writing "political thrillers" where she weaves in many of her White House experiences and impressions -- stories of political intrigue, international plots, bureaucratic infighting and, oh yes, romantic entanglements.

Her second novel, GAMBIT, was featured on The Today Show where they said that since these books all focus on current events and very real "national security threats" to our country, instead of calling them "fiction," perhaps we should call them "faction."

Her newest novel, FINAL FINESSE, was the subject of a lengthy interview on the Rush Limbaugh show. Check out Karna's website: www.karnabodman.com -- and you'll see the link -- among other things.

Brand new -- check out her short story (a romantic thriller) "The Agent" - available for download to a Kindle for only 99 cents.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exciting political romantic suspense thriller, May 12, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Final Finesse (Hardcover)

During a particularly wintry cold spell in Oklahoma, a natural-gas pipeline explodes leaving one person dead and thousands without heat. White House Deputy Director for Homeland Security Samantha Reid leads the investigation in determining the cause.

More explosions occur to the pipeline leaving many to wonder if terrorism is the root cause. When Reid meets the pipeline's company GeoGlobal Oil & Gas Vice President Tripp Adams, she immediately wants him. He appears to reciprocate. When he vanishes without a trace while on a business trip in Venezuela, Reid dumps her work and goes AWOL to rescue him.

This exciting political romantic suspense thriller takes off from the onset as the temperature in the home of a Sooner couple drops to 30 degrees and never slows down until the final energy segue in the State of the Union address. The story line is fast-paced especially when Reid and Tripp meet for the first time. Although readers will doubt a high ranking political appointee would abandon her post even for love and use her body to gain access on her quest to save Tripp, fans will appreciate this exhilarating tale as Karna Small Bodman once again combines strange bedfellows; romance and politics (see CHECKMATE and GAMBIT).

Harriet Klausner

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Up To Snuff!!, June 10, 2009

By 

John R. Linnell (New Gloucester, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Final Finesse (Hardcover)

I really wanted to like this novel. I had never heard of the author until she called in to the Rush Limbaugh radio show recently. She was funny, topical, on point and during the conversation mentioned she was an author. I checked her out. I bought her latest. I settled down yesterday to what I hoped would be a good read.

Folks...I'm sorry. But there is little to recommend this book. It is Soph Lit 101 writing. I couldn't even finish it. That doesn't happen very often to me when I select an author to read.

However, a long time ago when I started sharing my opinion on books, I decided I would tell it as I saw it. I see this one as a total waste of your time and money and I wish that were not so. But there it is.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, exciting read!, November 3, 2009

By 

Alice in Wonderland - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Final Finesse (Hardcover)

Samantha Reid has been climbing the political ladder in Washington D.C., her wagon hitched to the star of the new Chief of Homeland Security, landing her the job of Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. But, when the country is wracked by a series of explosions in natural gas pipelines, she realizes that something serious is going on. Her boss does not believe that the explosions are anything but accidents, leaving Samantha to finesse the government into action.

When she meets GeoGlobal Oil & Gas VP Tripp Adams, she meets the love that she has been looking for. And when Tripp is kidnapped in Venezuela, Samantha cannot just stand by, but must get right into the action. This is going to tax her abilities to the utmost, but the stakes are too high to sit back. Sometimes you need a little finesse, and sometimes you need a LOT!

This is a very good thriller - I liked the peep into the inner workings of Washington D.C. that Karna Small Bodman (one-time Senior Director of the National Security Council!) gives the reader. I thought that the action was good, and that romance angle was excellently done, giving Samantha and Tripp a great chemistry.

Great book, exciting read. I highly recommend it!

(Review of Final Finesse by Karna Small Bodman)