The Snares: A Novel

At once a gripping political thriller and a tense family drama, Grewal-Kök’s debut speaks to the burden of treading a fine line between right and wrong. Neel Chima, a father of two and the son of Punjabi Sikh immigrants, has dedicated his life to service, first in the U.S. Navy and most recently as a deputy assistant attorney general for most of George W. Bush’s second term. Still, he doesn’t feel fulfilled. In 2008, shortly before the presidential election, he’s persuaded to join the Freedom Center, a shadowy federal intelligence agency, where he surveils suspected terrorists. After Neel makes a costly mistake while carrying out a morally objectionable assignment, he begins to unravel. To cope with the stress, he drinks heavily, causing tension with his wife and risking all he holds dear. Meanwhile, he’s asked to do more unspeakable things—acts seemingly out of a “horror movie” that will test the limits of his conscience. As he slips deeper into a nightmare of his own design—and the government’s—the novel asks readers to ponder the conflict between ambition, free will, and morality. It’s a striking and uncompromising meditation on the war on terror’s human cost. Agent: Dan Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Apr.)