Dec 11, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Scoop: New thriller from Bill Clinton, James Patterson

The cover of "The First Gentleman," a novel by Bill Clinton and James Patterson — Cover: Alfred A. Knopf and Little, Brown and Company

Former President Clinton and mega-selling novelist James Patterson are co-writing their third thriller together — "The First Gentleman," out June 2 — about the president's husband going on trial for murder.

Why it matters: The story "will be told with Patterson's signature suspense and will be informed by details that only a president can know," the publishers, Alfred A. Knopf and Little, Brown and Company, say in a forthcoming announcement.

The writing partnership has already produced two bestselling novels. Their first, "The President is Missing," sold 3.8 million copies. That was followed by "The President's Daughter" in 2021.

"The First Gentleman" isn't a sequel, and won't include characters from the previous books.

What they're saying: "Jim and I always have a great time writing together, but we're admittedly pretty tough on our fictional presidents," Clinton said.

"We've sent one chief executive into hiding to stop a global terror attack, and thrust another into a deadly firefight to protect his family. In our new book, we really take the gloves off."
Patterson said: "When we first got writing — two presidential administrations ago — we simply could not have dreamt this one up."

Clinton is represented by Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell at Williams & Connolly.

More on the book.

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Scoop: New thriller from Bill Clinton, James Patterson

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