Minute Zero

by Todd Moss

Overview

An extraordinary international thriller by the former deputy assistant secretary of state and author of the national bestseller The Golden Hour.
 
 
In the life of every country, at a moment of extreme national disruption, there is a brief period of breakdown, when everything is uncertain, events can turn on a dime. That is the moment to act, to shape events how you want them to go. That is Minute Zero.

Fresh off the harrowing events of The Golden Hour, State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is suddenly thrown into a quickly developing emergency in Zimbabwe, where a longtime strongman is being challenged for the presidency. Rumors are flying furiously: armed gangs, military crackdowns, shady outside money pouring in, and, most disturbing for the United States, reports of highly enriched uranium leaking into the market.

And that’s all before Ryker even lands in the country. It gets much worse after that. If he can’t get control, shape his Minute Zero, a lot of people are going to die—not least of all himself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399168680
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Series:	A Judd Ryker Novel Series , #2
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Todd Moss is vice president and senior fellow at the Washington think tank the Center for Global Development, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. In 2007–2008, he served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs, where he was responsible for diplomatic relations with sixteen West African countries. Moss lives in Maryland.

Read an Excerpt

PROLOGUE
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Minute Zero"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Todd Moss.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The Golden Hour is a novel that makes your heart race . . . a thriller that weaves diplomacy and national security together with espionage, terrorism, and Washington infighting.”
—The Washington Post
 
“[An] outstanding debut . . . An intriguing cast of morally dubious characters, an intricately constructed plot, and a tantalizing cliffhanger make this thriller a page-turner of the highest order.” —Publishers Weekly

“Moss certainly has the politics and players down. Readers of political and military action novels will appreciate his ultracurrent scenarios and characters, and fans of W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy should know there is a new storyteller on the map.”— Library Journal

“I don’t feature many thrillers in my Top 10. However, when a book has blurbs from James Fallows and Chester Crocker, you know it’s not the same old, same old. Moss knows about ‘the golden hour’ firsthand. Washingtonians of many stripes will find their pulses racing as the diplomat protagonist tangles with intelligence operatives, revolutionaries, and many other villains.” —Washingtonian

“A former diplomat, Moss knows of what he writes. Ranging from Washington to London to the Sahara Desert, the book effortlessly ups the tension while piling on surprises. For those who want to know what it’s like to get caught up in a modern coup, this is a good place to turn. A strong debut about a good man in Africa who gets tested at every turn.”   — Kirkus Reviews
“Read this novel as a window into politics, power and practice at the U.S. Department of State and you’ll find yourself in the middle of troublesome scenes that ring all too true.” —Dallas Morning News

“An exciting, multilayered look at international politics and the people who rule nations.” —Mystery Scene

“Moss takes readers behind the scenes in a very realistic way. Negotiations and developing American policy in light of events, changing policy according to more current intelligence, cooperation and its opposite among various government agencies are all familiar but Moss tells it with authority and immediacy....THE GOLDEN HOUR is a riveting read.” —Deb Shoss, Reviewing The Evidence

Reading Group Guide

Reading Guide Questions for MINUTE ZERO

1. In Minute Zero, author Todd Moss explores the world of diplomacy. What role does the swapping of favors play in this sort of political landscape?

2. The character Dr. Judd Ryker frequently exchanges information among his allies in Minute Zero while Special Agent Isabella Espinosa opts instead to refuse help when it could mean owing a personal debt in return. Who has the better approach?

3. Who in the American government has the most power? What about in Zimbabwe? Are the big players the ones you expected?

4. Many characters in Minute Zero are motivated by revenge. With Jessica Ryker and Lucky Magombe, does this desire overshadow the goal of finding justice or help drive its achievement?

5. Does Judd Ryker’s academic background prove an advantage or a disadvantage in the political arena?

6. Dr. Ryker has many friends and professional allies. Whom among them do you consider the most trustworthy?

7. With covert operatives, where should the ethical line be drawn? On which side of the line does Jessica Ryker fall when she chooses to get involved with her husband Judd’s assignments?

8. Which characters in Minute Zero maintain their identities most easily, both personally and professionally? Is it better to allow the two personas to overlap or to keep them separate?

9. Which partnerships in Minute Zero were the most successful? Which were the most flawed?

10. Does Judd Ryker’s theory about “Minute Zero” hold up in the story? What about in contemporary politics? Are there any events currently that support or contradict Ryker’s hypothesis?


The author is available for Skype sessions to your book club! If interested, please email [e-mail] for more information.

Editorial Reviews

06/22/2015
Moss’s fine second novel of diplomatic intrigue featuring Judd Ryker (after 2014’s The Golden Hour) takes the U.S. State Department troubleshooter to Zimbabwe, to oversee a dicey presidential election. Once on the ground in Harare, Ryker discovers that the country’s entrenched strongman, Winston Tinotenda, is facing Gugu Mutonga, a female opponent who’s surprisingly tough for a foe of Tinotenda’s, and that heavy foreign money is fueling both candidates. With U.S. policy squishy, Ryker eventually determines that the situation is ripe for a concept known as Minute Zero, the idea that after political upheaval, a narrow window opens when power is up for grabs to anyone who can maneuver adroitly. The action moves relentlessly, shifting between Harare and Washington, D.C., and among several well-drawn characters. A former U.S. diplomat in Africa, Moss maintains a high level of authenticity throughout. At times, Ryker comes across as a bit naïve, particularly in dealing with his wife, whom he doesn’t know works for the CIA, but this is a minor flaw. Author tour. Agent: Josh Getzler, HSG Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Judd Ryker series

"From Washington to Bangkok, Harare to Johannesburg, Todd Moss keeps up a break-neck pace in 'Minute Zero,' with startling plot twists, dazzling characters and a peek behind the curtain of diplomacy that is actually fun." —Jonathan Weisman, New York Times correspondent and author of No. 4 Imperial Lane 

“The Golden Hour is a novel that makes your heart race . . . a thriller that weaves diplomacy and national security together with espionage, terrorism, and Washington infighting.”
—The Washington Post
 
“[An] outstanding debut . . . An intriguing cast of morally dubious characters, an intricately constructed plot, and a tantalizing cliffhanger make this thriller a page-turner of the highest order.” —Publishers Weekly

“Moss certainly has the politics and players down. Readers of political and military action novels will appreciate his ultracurrent scenarios and characters, and fans of W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy should know there is a new storyteller on the map.”— Library Journal

“I don’t feature many thrillers in my Top 10. However, when a book has blurbs from James Fallows and Chester Crocker, you know it’s not the same old, same old. Moss knows about ‘the golden hour’ firsthand. Washingtonians of many stripes will find their pulses racing as the diplomat protagonist tangles with intelligence operatives, revolutionaries, and many other villains.” —Washingtonian

“A former diplomat, Moss knows of what he writes. Ranging from Washington to London to the Sahara Desert, the book effortlessly ups the tension while piling on surprises. For those who want to know what it’s like to get caught up in a modern coup, this is a good place to turn. A strong debut about a good man in Africa who gets tested at every turn.”   — Kirkus Reviews
“Read this novel as a window into politics, power and practice at the U.S. Department of State and you’ll find yourself in the middle of troublesome scenes that ring all too true.” —Dallas Morning News

“An exciting, multilayered look at international politics and the people who rule nations.” —Mystery Scene

“Moss takes readers behind the scenes in a very realistic way. Negotiations and developing American policy in light of events, changing policy according to more current intelligence, cooperation and its opposite among various government agencies are all familiar but Moss tells it with authority and immediacy....THE GOLDEN HOUR is a riveting read.” —Deb Shoss, Reviewing The Evidence

From the Publisher

04/01/2015
Having had a Washington Post best seller with his debut, The Golden Hour, Moss—a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs—is down to "minute zero": that crucial point in a country's history when everything is up for grabs. State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is having his minute zero in Zimbabwe, and he hasn't even arrived yet. But a strongman is threatening to tackle the president, which means Judd has an opportunity to push things in the right direction—or die trying.

Library Journal

★ 2015-07-01
State Department crisis expert Judd Ryker is dispatched to Zimbabwe to help manage a potentially explosive election pitting the nation's corrupt six-term president against an outspoken female challenger.Moss' last novel, The Golden Hour (2014), took its title from Ryker's theory that political crises, like medical traumas, can be cured if proper measures are taken during the crucial period following the outbreak of troubles. This time, Ryker is eager to test a related theory that desired results can be brought about by acting forcefully during periods of great uncertainty—in this case between the casting of ballots and the official announcement of election results. State Department officials who scoff at Ryker's "ivory tower ideas" are determined to keep 88-year-old incumbent Winston Tinotenda in power, as bad as he and his scheming right-hand general, Simba Chimurenga, are. Ryker, however, supports the opposition candidate, Gugu Mutonga, a lawyer who seeks justice for the victims of a massacre the army carried out and covered up. Moss, a former diplomat in West Africa, draws from his experience to produce a tense, fast-paced, utterly convincing picture of chaos in the making. That Ryker acts not like a supersleuth but as the former Amherst professor he is makes the book even more persuasive. Another key figure is exiled Ethiopian dictator Solomon Zagwe (based on Mengistu Haile Mariam), who's been given safe harbor by Tinotenda despite perpetrating the Red Fear, which claimed the lives of untold numbers of Ethiopians in the 1970s. A brilliantly orchestrated realpolitik thriller, Moss' second effort is as instructive as it is exciting.

Kirkus Reviews

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