The Washington Decree by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Washington Decree

by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Department Q series is back, with a terrifyingly relevant stand-alone novel about an America in chaos.

Sixteen years before Democratic Senator Bruce Jansen was elected president of the United States, a PR stunt brought together five very different people: fourteen-year-old Dorothy "Doggie" Rogers, small-town sheriff T. Perkins, single mother Rosalie Lee, well-known journalist John Bugatti, and the teenage son of one of Jansen's employees, Wesley Barefoot. In spite of their differences, the five remain bonded by their shared experience and devotion to their candidate.

For Doggie, who worked the campaign trail with Wesley, Jansen's election is a personal victory: a job in the White House, proof to her Republican father that she was right to support Jansen, and the rise of an intelligent, clear-headed leader with her same ideals. But the triumph is short-lived: Jansen's pregnant wife is assassinated on election night, and the alleged mastermind behind the shooting is none other than Doggie's own father.

When Jansen ascends to the White House, he is a changed man, determined to end gun violence by any means necessary. Rights are taken away as quickly as weapons. International travel becomes impossible. Checkpoints and roadblocks destroy infrastructure. The media is censored. Militias declare civil war on the government. The country is in chaos, and Jansen's former friends each find themselves fighting a very different battle, for themselves, their rights, their country . . . and, in Doggie's case, the life of her father, who just may be innocent.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Washington Decree is a political thriller by Jussi Adler-Olsen (author of the Department Q novels - though this one is a standalone, not related to that series). Originally released in Danish in 2006, the English translation was released 6th Aug 2019 by Penguin on their Dutton imprint. This edition is 592 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I read the book at a difficult time. As an American who spends a lot of time in Scandinavia, I feel as though I have a different perspective from a lot of Americans who live in the USA full time. Outside the USA, the media coverage is very different, especially regarding political coverage and culture. It often feels quite surreal to see the things which are happening inside the USA and reading this book was often difficult and distressing for me personally. It is a very long book, which wouldn't normally be a problem (I like big books and I cannot lie), but this one did drag for me in places. I think my major problem was that, when I'm reading Lee Child, Barry Eisler, Brian Haig, and that crew, my suspension of disbelief allows me to read and process the fiction without being constantly yanked out of the narrative because it's too real. There also seemed to be somewhat more filler here than for a lot of political thrillers which tend to be more action and less cerebration.

There were some British idioms which made it into my eARC, but not many and I don't think they would present any problems in context for readers. They included 'sacked' for 'fired' and possibly one or two others, which I couldn't find again from my notes. There are several references to alt-right organizations (KKK, moral minority, hell's angels, and finally 'White-Headed Eagles', which I believe is fictive, but all too believable - I do -not- believe that it was a mistranslation). Otherwise, the translation (by Steve Schein) was, for me, seamless. I did read the original at release in Danish, and am shocked and dismayed by the current political landscape and the eerie prescient reflections ripped from the headlines today. I think it's brave (?) of Penguin and the author to release the book into the current climate. The language is R rated and I would say typical for the genre. There is murder, assassination, discussion of sexual assault and rape, miscarriage of justice, and the depressing inevitable tectonic grind of political extremism.

I was left with a feeling of inevitability and sadness and despair reading this book. Despite a solid denouement in the book, I just can't help feeling we aren't going to get anything remotely resembling a neat resolution in real life. Everything is changed and it certainly won't be much improved in my lifetime at least.

Three stars for depressing content, four stars for writing, rounded up for relevance.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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