1
of
1
Secrets of State
Brief Description
Two countries are brought to the brink of nuclear war in this breathtaking thriller from the author of The American Mission. Sam Trainor’s outspokenness left him marginalised in Washington. Formerly a top South Asia expert in the State Department, Sam's knowledge is now being used in...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2699
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Secrets of State
$2699
Unit price
/
Unavailable
A gripping international thriller. As shadowy forces try to provoke war between India and Pakistan, one man must stop them.
A gripping international thriller. As shadowy forces try to provoke war between India and Pakistan, one man must stop them.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Two countries are brought to the brink of nuclear war in this breathtaking thriller from the author of The American Mission.
Sam Trainor’s outspokenness left him marginalised in Washington. Formerly a top South Asia expert in the State Department, Sam's knowledge is now being used in the private sector, but he finds profits-driven consulting work difficult to adjust to.
When Sam stumbles across the transcript of a phone conversation discussing ways to provoke conflict between India and Pakistan, he knows that conversation can’t have taken place — because he is having an affair with one of the alleged participants.
Someone is deliberately stoking the simmering conflict between nuclear-armed rivals. To prevent all-out war, Sam must work out the answers in a deadly game where no one, not even his closest colleagues, can be trusted.
"A gut-churning international thriller" — Huffington Post
"[A] fantastic read" — Suspense Magazine
"An excellent political thriller" — Library Journal
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781035908875
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 11 September 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 36.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 320g
Pages: 464
About the Author
Matthew Palmer is a 30-year veteran of the United States Foreign Service, currently serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in London. Matt has lived and worked all over the globe and writes novels based on his real-world experiences. He lives in Kensington with his wife, Danica, and their dog, Cooper.
Also by Matthew Palmer
View all-
Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes: Seascapes
Short on time but bursting with creativity? Learn to paint dynamic watercolour seascapes with these 33 quick-and-easy, skill-building projects. Best-selling author Matthew Palmer has included all his tried-and-tested tips and techniques, along with step-by-step instructions and full-size tracings for all 33 stunning projects. This beginner's course in watercolour contains a series of 33 ocean-themed painting projects, each designed to take...Paperback$3499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 1 week -
Watercolour Animals for the Absolute Beginner
The quick way to watercolour success is here! If you have ever wanted to learn to paint animals, then this is for you. Step-by-steps and clearly explained techniques will guide beginners through the methods needed to easily and effectively paint a variety of domestic and wild animals. Matthew expertly demonstrates how to paint realistic eyes, mouths, noses, fur markings and...Paperback$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The American Mission
Global headlines come to life as intrigue and international politics collide in this electrifying debut thriller from Matthew Palmer. The American Mission is described by Charles Cumming as a "detailed and atmospheric, exciting, grown-up spy thriller packed with insider knowledge. Highly recommended." After a devastating experience in Darfur strips Alex Baines, former rising star of the State Department, of his...Paperback$2699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Pre-orderThe Wolf of Sarajevo
Compelling tour of Bosnia by a seasoned diplomat and first-class storyteller — Bill Clinton A diplomat deals with the legacy of the devastating Yugoslav wars in this dynamic thriller from the acclaimed author of The American Mission. Diplomat Eric Petrosian has returned to Sarajevo, twenty years after the horrors of the Srebrenica massacre which took the life of his friend....Paperback$2699Unit price /UnavailableOut 4 Aug 2026Pre-order -
The American Mission
Global headlines come to life as intrigue and international politics collide in this electrifying debut thriller from Matthew Palmer. The American Mission is recommended by Charles Cumming as a 'detailed and atmospheric, exciting, grown-up spy thriller packed with insider knowledge'. After a devastating experience in Darfur strips Alex Baines, former rising star of the State Department, of his security clearances,...HardbackSold Out -
Take Three Colours
Learn to paint colourful watercolours using only three colours in this collection of projects, tips and techniques from the innovative Take Three Colours series. Each of the 25 projects explores a variety of watercolour techniques and walks the reader through a sequence of clear steps using a selection of three pure colours and their many mixes, and only three brushes...PaperbackSold Out
More from Crime & Thriller
View all-
New ReleaseEvery Lake
Scary stories are fun... until your life becomes one. When Alice was fifteen, her father killed Mia Heywood in their lakefront cottage before vanishing into the trees. At least that's what the locals think happened. Over a decade later, Alice has lost her job as a journalist, she's going through an expensive divorce and she desperately needs to sell the...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseIt Could Have Been Her
PREPARE TO BE HOOKED: The no. 1 Sunday Times and MULTI-million-copy bestselling author is back with a brand-new spine tingling thriller. It was the night she almost died. Jane Trevally, newly divorced and feeling a little lost, agrees to accompany a man she doesn't know to his house in the darkest corner of Hampstead Heath. She's offered a drink, goes in, and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release26 Beauties
The twenty-sixth thrilling novel in the globally bestselling Women's Murder Club series. Beautiful young women are disappearing by the dozen. A celebration is cut short when a concerned father crashes Detective Inspector Lindsay Boxer's party. His daughter is missing - and she's not the only one. DI Lindsay Boxer has been tracking a chilling pattern: a Jane Doe washed ashore,...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Secrets We Hide
The stunning new North Falls thriller by the bestselling author of We Are All Guilty Here 'Quite simply, Karin Slaughter is the best of us' Dervla McTiernan Welcome back to North Falls -- a small town with big secrets. The house at 1601 Iris Drive looks like any other in the quiet, residential street. But rumours are rife about the Vickery...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Parkwood Murders
They came for an escape, but can they escape a killer? Detective Nicola Bridge returns in another gripping and immersive mystery For its loyal guests, Parkwood Holiday Village in west Dorset is a haven- woodland walks, a tranquil lake, service around the clock. Until, just after midsummer, a body is found floating in the swimming pool. Detective Nicola Bridge, exhausted...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Hope Rises
'BALDACCI IS STILL PEERLESS' - THE SUNDAY TIMES REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD . . . Walter Nash, working under the alias of Dillon Hope, is on the road to revenge after becoming an informant for the FBI against a global criminal operation headed up by Victoria Steers. Steers has ripped everything Nash held dear away from him....Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release
Slash
A year after a brutal shootout left her lover dead, ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is a hot mess, drinking too much and eating too little, working casual gigs for a shady firm of private investigators — while holding conversations with a ghost. A desperate father asks her to investigate his missing son — a double-murder suspect last seen during the...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseA River Red With Blood
The players call it the Game, and its aim is simple: to abduct and kill a stranger without getting caught. They're very good at it. They've been playing it for a long time. And they can keep playing as long as everyone sticks to the rules: No Killing Close to Home and No Killing Outside the Game. But those rules...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Shadow Step
The new Detective Miller thriller from bestselling author Mark Billingham, full of tension, wit and incredible twists. The Shadow Step: One taken simultaneously by a pair of dancers facing the same direction, one of them behind and slightly shifted leftwards ('in the shadow') Typically, such a step perfectly demonstrates synchronized elegance. It showcases a couple in near telepathic harmony with...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid August -
New ReleaseBlue Lightning
Blue Lightning The fourth Shetland novel A remote island on lockdown. A killer on the loose . . . Shetland detective Jimmy Perez knows it will be a difficult homecoming when he returns to Fair Isle to introduce his fiancée to his parents. With the autumn storms raging, the island is cut off from the rest of the world. Then...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseRed Bones
Red Bones is the third Shetland novel featuring detective Jimmy Perez. Sometimes the dead won't stay buried... When a young archaeologist uncovers a set of human remains, the island settlers are intrigued. Is it an ancient find—or a more contemporary mystery? Then an elderly woman is shot in what appears to be a tragic accident in the middle of the...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Last to Drown
Praise for Noelle W. Ihli: 'Hands down one of my favourite reads of the year' - FREIDA MCFADDEN 'A true classic in the genre' - LISA JEWELL 'A propulsive story that haunts and mesmerizes' - KARIN SLAUGHTER FIVE DAYS. TWENTY STRANGERS. NO PHONE SIGNAL. The rafting trip was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. But now that Kaia's...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Crime & Thriller lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
