Dead Ringer

At the outset of this entertaining conspiracy thriller from Hauty (The Devil You Know), National Archives employee Olivia Heller is attacked by a club-wielding assassin on her way home from work one night, and chooses death rather than reveal a secret about the JFK assassination that she believes could destroy the nation. The next morning, Olivia’s former lover, ex–Secret Service agent Joe Mingus, is told by police that she’s been killed. Filled with rage, Joe goes to Olivia’s house and finds Juan Verdugo, a Georgetown history professor, who says he was a close friend of Olivia’s and that he received a mysterious message from her before she died. Both Juan and Joe then receive a posthumous video message from Olivia urging them to find a report about the assassination from a friend of Olivia’s they’ve never heard of. Their search eventually leads them to a secret religious organization called the Movement, who hired Olivia’s killer and engineered the election of a North Carolina senator they control. Few if any readers will predict the final twist that sets this apart from other fictional explorations of an enduring American mystery. It’s a blast. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House. (Dec.)