Minute Zero: 2 (A Judd Ryker Novel) - Hardcover

Praise for the Judd Ryker series

"From Washington to Bangkok, Harare to Johannesburg, Todd Moss keeps up a break-neck pace in 'Minute Zero, ' with startling plot twists, dazzling characters and a peek behind the curtain of diplomacy that is actually fun." --Jonathan Weisman, New York Times correspondent and author of No. 4 Imperial Lane

"The Golden Hour is a novel that makes your heart race . . . a thriller that weaves diplomacy and national security together with espionage, terrorism, and Washington infighting."
--The Washington Post

"[An] outstanding debut . . . An intriguing cast of morally dubious characters, an intricately constructed plot, and a tantalizing cliffhanger make this thriller a page-turner of the highest order." --Publishers Weekly

"Moss certainly has the politics and players down. Readers of political and military action novels will appreciate his ultracurrent scenarios and characters, and fans of W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy should know there is a new storyteller on the map."-- Library Journal

"I don't feature many thrillers in my Top 10. However, when a book has blurbs from James Fallows and Chester Crocker, you know it's not the same old, same old. Moss knows about 'the golden hour' firsthand. Washingtonians of many stripes will find their pulses racing as the diplomat protagonist tangles with intelligence operatives, revolutionaries, and many other villains." --Washingtonian

"A former diplomat, Moss knows of what he writes. Ranging from Washington to London to the Sahara Desert, the book effortlessly ups the tension while piling on surprises. For those who want to know what it's like to get caught up in a modern coup, this is a good place to turn. A strong debut about a good man in Africa who gets tested at every turn." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Read this novel as a window into politics, power and practice at the U.S. Department of State and you'll find yourself in the middle of troublesome scenes that ring all too true." --Dallas Morning News

"An exciting, multilayered look at international politics and the people who rule nations." --Mystery Scene

"Moss takes readers behind the scenes in a very realistic way. Negotiations and developing American policy in light of events, changing policy according to more current intelligence, cooperation and its opposite among various government agencies are all familiar but Moss tells it with authority and immediacy....THE GOLDEN HOUR is a riveting read." --Deb Shoss, Reviewing The Evidence

An extraordinary international thriller by the former deputy assistant secretary of state and author of the national bestseller The Golden Hour.
 
 
In the life of every country, at a moment of extreme national disruption, there is a brief period of breakdown, when everything is uncertain, events can turn on a dime. That is the moment to act, to shape events how you want them to go. That is Minute Zero.

Fresh off the harrowing events of The Golden Hour, State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is suddenly thrown into a quickly developing emergency in Zimbabwe, where a longtime strongman is being challenged for the presidency. Rumors are flying furiously: armed gangs, military crackdowns, shady outside money pouring in, and, most disturbing for the United States, reports of highly enriched uranium leaking into the market.

And that’s all before Ryker even lands in the country. It gets much worse after that. If he can’t get control, shape his Minute Zero, a lot of people are going to die—not least of all himself.