The Evil That Men Do

Gleason (And into the Fire) goes after the extremes of both conservative and liberal thought in this outlandish satirical thriller, in which former real estate developer J.T. Tower has become the U.S. president with the help of Russian president Mikhail Ivanovich Putilov. One of Tower’s principal peeves is the United Nations, which is trying to pass an anti-inequality resolution designed to expropriate half the offshore funds from him and the rest of the world’s billionaires. Putilov promises he has something in the works to take care of the U.N. situation, though he won’t share the details with Tower, whom he loathes. Meanwhile, Tower is enraged by constant needling from TV personality Danny McMahon, who, when not ragging on Tower, devotes his show to tearing down Islam and the Koran, which he refers to as a “crock of ground-up goat shit.” Readers should be prepared for a jeremiad replete with scenes of extended torture and agonizing sex. Anyone expecting anything like a normal thriller may want to steer clear. This is Dr. Strangelove rewritten by the Mad Hatter. Agent: Susan Gleason, Susan Gleason Literary Agency. (May)