The Washington Decree

It would have been much more pleasant to read this newly translated book when it was originally published in Denmark in 2006, so I could have tut-tut-ed over how ridiculous the plot was. Now, it seems all too realistic, depressing and frightening, and reminds one that it is possible things could even get worse in the United States.

The novel begins in 1992 when Bruce Jansen, the Governor of Virginia, suggested a new geography quiz show he would help fund. The winners would get to accompany him, his staff, and an official Chinese delegation on a trip to China. Those on the trip included single mother Rosalie Lee, who won first prize; a small-town sheriff, T. Perkins, who came in second; and in third place, 14-year-old Dorothy “Doggie” show more Rogers. Others on the trip included Jansen’s wife Caroll, his right hand man Thomas Sunderland, NBC journalist John Bugatti, Jansen's secretary, and her son, Wesley Barefoot. Disaster struck however, when an assassin killed Caroll Jansen.

Bugatti, trying to comfort Doggie, told her:

“Listen, Doggie, what happened will bind us all closer together. Because of what we’ve experienced today, we belong together from now on. All of us: you and me and T. Perkins and Rosalie Lee and Wesley. Do you understand?”

The story then advances sixteen years, to 2008, and indeed, the little group has all stayed together in a way, or at least stayed in touch with one another. Doggie and Wesley worked for Jansen on his successful presidential campaign. Thomas Sunderland acted as Jansen’s campaign manager. Then improbably, tragedy struck yet again. The night of the presidential victory, while celebrating at a hotel owned by Doggie’s father, Jansen’s beautiful and very pregnant second wife Mimi was shot and killed. Doggie’s father was arrested and put on death row.

Other horrific acts of gun violence around the nation convinced the new president that radical action was needed. When the story picks up a year later in 2009, Jansen, via “The Washington Decree” has declared a “state of emergency,” emasculating Congress, curtailing the press and the legal system, and establishing “a new form of law and order in American society.”

As Wesley, now the president’s press secretary, ruefully saw it, these changes restricting citizens’ freedoms constituted “a frontal attack on practically the entire Bill of Rights.” It was all deemed necessary however, for "national security." Violent attacks continued, with members of the very top levels of the government as victims. Some of those attacks were committed by the paramilitary organizations that were springing up with renewed energy across the country, but others were apparently the acts of lone domestic terrorists and snipers. No one was safe, whether children or the elderly. Checkpoints and roadblocks were everywhere. Surveillance at all levels was instituted. No one felt free to dissent, especially those inside the White House.

T. Perkins didn’t understand the logic of what was happening, and thought:

“But what the hell difference did it make, whether they understood or not? No one had any say in the matter as long as the President, the National Security Council, Homeland Security - and thereby also FEMA - agreed and had control over the generals so the National Guard and military could keep the country in a vise of emergency laws.”

And therein lay the crux of the problem for the country.

Doggie mused:

“…even though people were united in their horror at what was taking place in their beloved country, things were moving so fast that notions of solidarity quickly yielded to the primal instinct of self-preservation.”

As the story advances to a thrilling denouement, full of twists and turns, no one knows whom to trust, who is safe, and who will survive.

Discussion: One can’t help thinking of the horror of this story when one wakes up to tweets from President Trump, such as on May 4, 2018, reading: “Democrats and liberals in Congress want to disarm law-abiding Americans at the same time they are releasing dangerous criminal aliens and savage gang members onto our streets. Politicians who put criminal aliens before American Citizens should be voted out of office!” [This is coupled with new efforts to restrict the vote and to oppose limits on partisan redistricting abuses.]

One can only hope some people in power read this, and consider it a cautionary tale to help them find the courage to put the rule of law over the rule of party.

Evaluation: While some of the twists seemed apparent, that still didn’t diminish the exciting tension and readability of the story, especially when the pace picks up toward the end. show less

SWEDISH REVIEW

Låt tänka sig att en världens mäktigaste män, efter att ha minst sin fru, skulle få för sig att genomdriva kontroversiella reformer, som innebär hårdare lagar, genom att t.ex. det skulle vara förbjudet att äga ammunition och att fångar som skulle avrättas inte längre hade en rättighet att förhala eller överklaga beslutet det utan att alla som stod på listan att avrättas skulle göras det, med en avrättning om dagen. Låt säga att denna man är USA's president som såg sin gravida fru bli skjuten till döds, och har nu fått nog och har satt ner sin fot för att med hårda lagar stoppa våldet. Hur ska man stoppa en man som har så stor makt, där alla som sätter sig emot Washingtondekretet plötsligt show more dör, eller mystiskt ändrar sig?

Washingtondekretet, är en intressant och välskriven politisk thriller. En kompakt bok på över 600 sidor om hur även ett demokratiskt land som USA kan korrumperas om nu någon med tillräckligt med makt och pengar skulle vilja det. Boken är 10 år gammal men känns väldigt aktuell, speciellt när man tänker sig USA idag som står inför ett nyval där Donald Trump kan bli nästa president eller när man ser på vad som händer i Turkiet. Washingtondekretet må vara fiktion, men jag kan lätt tänka mig att det skulle inte vara svårt för en man, med storhetsvansinne att få ett demokratiskt land att bli mer en diktatoriskt stat.

Men man märker snart i boken att någonting inte stämmer och det tröjer inte längre förren det uppstår spännande vändningar och avslöjanden i boken och några människor, som Doggie Rogers, inser snart att det pågår saker bakom kulisserna som de i sina vildaste fantasier inte hade räknat med.

Spännande läsning, dock kände jag ibland att jag skulle vilja skynda på handlingen en aning då vissa delar av boken var lite mindre intressant att läsa än andra delar. Men i stort sett var boken mycket bra och jag älskade slutet!

Tack Albert Bonniers förlag för recensionsexememplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Imagine that one of the world's most powerful men, after losing his wife, would enforce controversial reforms that would mean tougher laws that for instance forbids people to own ammunition. And, prisoners that are locked up for executions would not have any rights to delay or appeal the verdict. Instead, one prisoner on death row would be executed every day. And, the newspapers would be censored. What if this man was the president of the United States and that he saw his pregnant wife get shot to death? And, now he has had enough and has decided to stop all the violence. How, do you stop a man that has so much power that if anyone is against the Washington decree is killed or mysteriously change his mind?

The Washington Decree is a very interesting and well-written political thriller. It's a compact book of over 600 pages about how a democratic country like the US can be corrupted if somebody with enough power and money has the willpower to do it. The book may be 10 years old, but it feels very much up-to-date when you think about the fact that the US will soon choose a new president and one of the candidates is Donald Trump (sorry my American friends, but this is something I just can't fathom) or just look at Turkey. The Washington decree may be fiction, but it would not be hard for a man, with delusions of grandeur to turn a democratic land into a dictatorial state.

But not everything is that simple in the The Washington decree. There are some twist and turns and some people, like Doggie Rogers, soon realize that perhaps there is more going on behind the scenes, then they could imagine in their wildest dreams.

The book was thrilling to read, although I sometimes felt an urge for the story to pick up the pace when some part of the book felt less interesting to read than other parts. But, the book was still very good and I loved the ending!

Thanks to Albert Bonniers förlag for the review copy! show less

Virginia governor Bruce Jansen takes a diverse group on a trip to China during which an assassin kills his wife, Carroll. Sixteen years later, Jansen has remarried and he is campaigning for president. Tragedy strikes on the night of his victory and, as he takes his place as president of the nation, he soon declares a state of emergency via his “Washington Decree.” Although these changes restrict freedom and deny citizens most of the rights granted in the Bill of Rights, they’re judged necessary for national security. The president’s implemented policies create chaos throughout the country and, as catastrophes escalate, panic grows and the nation teeters on the edge of complete and final destruction.

Some of the characters in this show more narrative are well-drawn while others seem more stereotypical. The suspense builds as Jansen spirals out of control, but the narrative suffers from too much extraneous material and far too many pages. Nevertheless, it’s an intriguing political thriller that is guaranteed to make readers think. show less

I did not enjoy this novel at all. Too many unbelievable acts, complete lack of reality in what Congress, the Secret Service, and the country would do to stop an out-of-control Presidential administration. One example: in what world would an administration allow the daughter of the man suspected of ordering the killing the President's wife continue to work closely with the President in the White House? And that's just one example. The book is full of them. And the ending is so obvious! I rarely say that I regret reading a book, but in this case, it's true.

A prophetic book, originally published in 2006, Adler-Olsen writes about a United States President, who after seeing his pregnant wife killed on election night, decided to take on the gun lobby not by banning guns, but by making ammunition wildly expensive and having stockpiles illegal. Surrounded by cabinet members and Congressional leadership who have been victimized, laws are easily passed, especially when opposition is eliminated, such as the free press. The central characters are White House staffers, who fear for their lives, forced to work with fringe characters and old friends to expose the truth. Not as good as the Department Q/Carl Morck series: this book suffers from letting the readers learn the truth and then telling them show more what they've already learned. show less

A fiction novel which is all to believable. Guaranteed to scare the socks of anyone who is paying attention to what is happening in the United States. Jussi Adler-Olsen is one of the best international crime writers out there. This standalone book, while not the quality of his "Department Q" series, is still worth reading. Fast-paced, believable characters drawn large, and a killer ending. Review based on digital copy received from First to Read.

Dark thriller about the US going from a democracy to autocracy.