When Mississippi Congressman T.J. Samuels becomes dissatisfied with the direction in which the federal government is moving, he runs for President. He has one main goal, to shrink the size of government and bring the national debt under control. But, little did he know what was in store for him during his first days in office. A smallpox epidemic is launched by undocumented immigrants, while Russian ICBMs are placed in Venezuela. Along with that, he is threatened with foreclosure of a massive loan by the Chinese. Soon things go from bad to worse with military actions all over the globe. He is also challenged by secret organizations and must resort to naval blockades and the use of laser weapons. Then, there’s the new uses of nuclear weapons against the United States and Israel. And, all of this in the first six months of his presidency. As his support starts to dwindle, he must decide who the real enemy is before it’s too late.

Usually I shy away from political thrillers since I find them most boring. In this case, I’m glad I didn’t. The Cost of Freedom is completely different from most books of that genre. I found the author used excellent characterization and a riveting plot to move the story along at a very rapid pace and to keep the suspense escalating. I thoroughly enjoyed the build-up to what I anticipated to be an exciting climax. Unfortunately, I was disappointed when the story ended very abruptly, leaving just too much of a cliffhanger. Overall though, a well written tale.

T.J. has only one simple goal: to become president of the United States. When he achieves that goal he determines to be the best president yet and to bring the United States back from its current turmoil. He’s certain he can succeed, but an outbreak of smallpox may just be the start of something far more dangerous and far more deadly. Of course, T.J. isn’t the only important character in this book. This is actually Don’s story as he supports and encourages T.J. as his Chief of Staff. But can either of them succeed in running the country while also saving it from episode after episode of potential terrorism? The Cost of Freedom is going to be steeper than either of them realized.

The Cost of Freedom is definitely an interesting take on terrorism and the way to go about saving the country. T.J. and Don are both very relatable characters and they draw you into this story. They react to events the way anyone would, but of course they have far more at stake if their decisions are the wrong ones. They are responsible for the fate of the free world and that makes everything much more difficult for them. It also makes the things they do that much more interesting to read. This is a book that makes you think because it really could happen in the world as we know it. What would we do if everything changed abruptly and there was no way to stop it or control it? That’s exactly what Michael Skeen wants to know.