Second Term by J.M. Adams
What's It About?
A president's desperate power grab threatens democracy in the United States—can former intelligence operative and single mother Cora Walker prevent catastrophe? It's an uphill battle for Cora until an explosive finale exposes what can really happen to democracy when political extremism reaches new heights.Wow, talk about a “ripped from the headlines” book!
J.M. Adams’ debut novel, Second Term (Oceanview Publishing), is a political thriller about a government crisis even worse than the real-life events, which took place in Washington at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It is 2028 now, and a lame-duck president is willing to do anything to stay in power – including suspending the normal rules of law and arresting members of Congress who try to stop him.
A Tough, No-Nonsense Lead Character
The heroine of this story is Cora Walker, a former U.S. intelligence operative who is now a single mother and working for the woman who is Speaker of the House – one of the President’s primary targets for prosecution is his quest for power.
Cora is a wonderfully compelling character – a tough, no-nonsense woman who is also a loving mother to her young daughter as well as a patriot determined to defend America’s freedoms.
We first meet her at the beginning of the book in 2012 when she heroically thwarts a terrorist attack on a secret installation in Benghazi that saves countless lives – even though her superiors had ignored her warnings and forced her to go into action against the enemy on her own. In fact, the first nine chapters of the book are set back then in Benghazi – before Cora arrives in present-day Washington – which gives us a powerful look at this woman’s extraordinary skills and abilities even before the rest of the story plays out for Cora 12 years later in her current life.
Now, back in the U.S. where she’s struggling to balance her demanding job with the House Speaker and her home life as a mother, Cora is unexpectedly forced to use her combat skills all over again – this time in order to save her own country.
With Washington in upheaval and the rules of law being ripped apart all around her, she has to decide who she can trust and who is the enemy.
But, as we quickly find out, Cora’s more than capable of handling herself against the threats to America in this kind of domestic crisis – just the same way as she did 12 years earlier in Benghazi.
She will remind you in some ways of a female Jack Reacher – being thoughtful and sensitive and caring at one point, then suddenly turning into a killing machine when justice needs to be meted out.
The thrilling climax of Second Term features an explosive finale between Cora – and her allies in the government like the House Speaker – against the zealots working against the rule of law to bring political extremism to never-before-seen heights which put the entire country in danger and threaten to end the freedoms from our government that we have taken for granted for so long.
Inspired By Real Life Events
Adams himself is a longtime journalist who has said he definitely drew upon his own experience covering military and anti-terrorist exercises here and around the world in order to write this first novel of his.
But he also used the inspiration of the frightening real-life events which took place at the Capitol in January 2021, to write this story of a future insurrection that could be an even darker day in American history.
In fact – at the beginning of Second Term – he hails the members of law enforcement at the scene that day for their heroism, saying the book is:
Dedicated to the heroes of the Capitol Police force whose courageous actions and uncommon valor on January 6th, 2021, protected not only members of Congress, but also helped our nation preserve the very pillars of our fragile democracy.
Second Term is a roller coaster of a thriller ride – and you’ll find yourself cheering over Cora’s heroic acts; hating the power-hungry President and his corrupt cronies; and rooting for American democracy to be saved by the end of this remarkable book.
Of course, Second Term is a work of fiction.
But the mind-boggling dangerous events described by Adams give us a jolting reminder of how fragile our country’s foundations can be in these turbulent times of political unrest and violence.
Meanwhile, we’ll hopefully soon see Cora Walker in further books from author J.M. Adams. She’s too great a character (Adams describes her as Carrie Mathison from Homeland meets Rayland Givens from Justified) to not return in more exciting political thrillers like this one.
About J.M. Adams:
J. M. Adams is an Emmy-nominated journalist with more than 15 years of on-air television journalism experience, reporting for CBS and NBC news affiliates across the United States and around the world. Besides being nominated for an Emmy for his news reporting, highlights from his career include going on sea patrols with the U.S. Navy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and reporting on location from Kuwait and Iraq while the Air Force enforced No-Fly Zones over Iraq. He also reported on location from a number of hurricane and wildfire disaster zones and covered multiple high-profile federal and state criminal court cases around the country. Adams coaches a high school tennis team and lives with his wife, two daughters and two dogs outside of New York City.
