Desperate Measures

Title: Desperate Measures
Series:
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 416
Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Audible

Synopsis

Famous for his suspenseful fiction that delivers sheer emotional power, David Morrell, the bestselling author of First Blood, The Brotherhood of the Rose, The Fifth Profession, and Assumed Identity, here presents a mesmerizing novel of intrigue and high-action thrills. Fallen star journalist Matt Pittman holds a gun in his hand, ready to commit suicide until he's abruptly interrupted by a phone call and a bizarre assignment: to write the obituary of a man who is not yet dead. Suddenly, clinging desperately to a life he was so recently eager to discard, Matt finds himself both a murder suspect by the police and a target for murder by invisible assassins.

Praise

“Best-selling author Morrell is at the top of his craft. The in-depth characterization, believable and unpredictable plot developments, and psychological depths of this thriller will draw all readers.”
—Library Journal 

“Utterly gripping, as swift as a runaway train, full of excitement and emotion. The story combines terrific suspense with a subtle and powerful exploration of the effects of loss and unresolved grief. An exceptional thriller.”
—Dean Koontz 

“David Morrell’s best thriller yet, and that is no small statement.”
—Larry King

Backstory

I love describing this book. A suicidal obituary writer for a dying newspaper is given the assignment of writing an obituary for a famous diplomat who is not yet dead. (Most obituaries for famous people are written beforehand.) In the process of researching the obituary, the reporter comes across information that puts the diplomat in danger and in fact causes the man's death. Now the killers are after the reporter, but because he's suicidal, he almost welcomes the attacks until he final angrily decides, "I want my death to me my own idea." The subtext of this novel is, by contrast, painful for me to describe. The hero is in despair because of the death of his son from bone cancer. In actuality, my own son died from the same bone cancer, and a lot of the emotion in this book comes from my own grief. The Grand Counselors in this novel are modeled on an actual group known as The Wise Men, who (although not elected) controlled U.S. government policy for decades.