Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
To Kill the President cover art

To Kill the President

By: Sam Bourne
Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.82

Buy Now for $25.82

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

A blockbuster thriller from number one Sunday Times best-selling author Sam Bourne, in which Maggie Costello uncovers an assassination plot to kill the tyrannical new president.

The unthinkable has happened….

The United States has elected a volatile demagogue as president, backed by his ruthless chief strategist, Crawford 'Mac' McNamara.

When a war of words with the North Korean regime spirals out of control and the president comes perilously close to launching a nuclear attack, it's clear someone has to act, or the world will be reduced to ashes.

Soon Maggie Costello, a seasoned Washington operator and stubbornly principled, discovers an inside plot to kill the president - and faces the ultimate moral dilemma. Should she save the president and leave the free world at the mercy of an increasingly crazed would-be tyrant - or commit treason against her commander in chief and risk plunging the country into a civil war?

©2017 Sam Bourne (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"Bourne has proved he can more than rub shoulders with the likes of John Le Carre and Robert Harris." ( Mirror)
"An intelligent, finely crafted mystery that brilliantly channels the anxieties of our time." ( The New York Times)
"A strikingly fresh thriller…ingeniously realized." ( Sunday Times)

More from the same

What listeners say about To Kill the President

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Exciting

A little flight of fancy which was entirely captivating. The public characters involved matched the real world portrayal of them in the media. You certainly knew who was being discussed. The intrigue was well developed. Loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good story

I struggled a little at first but after the first couple of chapters managed to get into it.
I found the narrator excellent.
Of course, tjis story is relevant given the current president of the United States and one can only hope that he suffers the same fate as the president in this story. however, I would have loved it had the book carried on a little longer and given us some indication of what happened, was the impeachment process successful and what punishment was meted out if and when found guilty.
I enjoyed the character of Maggie although her story became a little bogged down from time to time.
the existence of Rosemary was very interesting and I particularly enjoyed the twist at the end of the story when Maggie visited Stewart again and we discovered she had been talking to him and he was talking to her from his grave.
having given this somewhat cursory critique I have to add that I have always subscribed to the saying that those you can, do and those who cannot become critics.
I have always despised those who refuse to go and see a new play or read a new book simply because some horses rear end of a critic decides whether or not it is good or bad.
Watching a play or reading a book are completely subjective and each person should feel free to decide for themselves.
at least they will have made up their own sinds and not simply accepted the opinion of one of the aforesaid horses Rear ends.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Demented fantasy

Jonathan Freedland, establishment shill that he is, has projected the nightmare fantasy of mainstream liberals that Trump is evil incarnate, and therefore his assassination is justified. Although the hero makes a token effort to stop the assassination, nevertheless the reader/listener is effectively incited to want the killing to succeed, in the way we wish Hitler had been assassinated. Freedland doesn't even try to disguise his presidential character is Trump. The author's political commentary, including his vicious attacks on the anti-war UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is virtually the opposite of Trump but nevertheless also a political outsider, show he is not a normal author, but has an agenda, which is to defend the establishment. Therefore I regard the intention behind this book as dangerous.
That said, it gets humorous in parts. For instance, the assassin reassures himself that only conspiracy nuts will think the assassination is a conspiracy, when in fact that is exactly what it is! Freedland is on record ridiculing JFK conspiracy theorists, yet he can only make his assination story credible by making it a conspiracy.
Otherwise, the narration is excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.