Book too long, but has satisfying twist

It is not unknown for heads of state to write novels, but presidents of the United States tend to eschew fiction. Now comes Bill Clinton, teaming up with the relentlessly prolific James Patterson to produce an action-packed cyber-thriller, “The President Is Missing.”

The president of the title is 50-year-old Jonathan Duncan, a former baseball player and a U.S. Army Ranger who served during Desert Storm. He is also a widower, bereft without his late wife. Adding to his afflictions is a rare blood disease — immune thrombocytopenia — which is flaring up right now, just in time to threaten his life as he deals with a whole heap of trouble.

The opposition-party Speaker of the House, Lester Rhodes, has called for him to appear before a House select committee to explain a phone call he is reported to have made to Suliman Cindorak, head of the Sons of Jihad and the world’s most notorious cyberterrorist. Duncan is also asked to explain why he sent American operatives — one of whom died — to thwart a mission by Ukrainian separatists to kill Suliman.

The president, of course, had his reasons, which we eventually learn. But for now, he tells his interrogators, they must remain secret.

The fact is, Duncan has learned of a plot by Suliman that presents the most serious threat to the United States in the country’s history, and he needs the cyberterrorist taken alive. News of this has come through a couple of young computer geniuses who have been working for Suliman but have switched sides — so they claim.

Treachery adds to terrorism, as Duncan becomes aware that there is a traitor in his inner circle. In the end, the only people the beleaguered American president finds he can trust are the Chief of Mossad, the Israeli Prime Minister and, to a lesser extent, the German Chancellor.

The desperate game is played out in a hail of bullets whose source is a professional assassin code-named Bach. The clock ticks; suspense builds; and computer geeks scramble to dismantle a virus designed to bring America to its knees. Time evaporates — leaving mere hours, then minutes and, finally, seconds.

So, we wonder: Who wrote what? Patterson is known for providing plots and outlines for many of his books, then delegating the actual writing to a co-author, but it is hard to envision such a relationship in the present case. Clinton no doubt contributed his experience with political inquisitions and his understanding of the burdens presidents bear.

But the novel, too long and — except for the threat of cyberterrorism — ludicrous in its plot elements, does have a satisfying twist at the end.

Editor’s Note Shawn Ryan’s Mind Coffee will return next week.