Keep Calm

In the gripping opening of screenwriter Binder’s first novel, a tense political thriller, a bomb explodes during a high-powered conference at 10 Downing Street, seriously injuring Prime Minister Roland Lassiter. Adam Tatum, an American ex-cop now working for a powerful British-owned investment firm, becomes the prime suspect, because his presence during the conference was seemingly last-minute. With Lassiter out of commission, Georgia Turnbull, the first female chancellor of the exchequer, assumes his duties. Davina Steel, the head of an antiterrorism unit, leads the investigation into the bombing. Meanwhile, Adam goes on the run with his family. Davina proves her mettle, despite her youth, her insight having been honed by observing customers and the streets near her parents’ Bloomsbury cafe. Amid an exposition-laden plot with a surfeit of characters, only Georgia and Davina are worth caring about. Their relationship brings a much-needed humanity to this tale of betrayal at the highest levels of government and business. Agent: Adam Levine, Verve. (Feb.)