Government Conspiracy Thrillers

A small town driven to madness... Something is very wrong in the small town of Blatchford, Pennsylvania. Previously law abiding citizens are being driven to extreme acts of paranoid violence and even murder. Is it just a rash of unusual crimes, or is there a more sinister explanation? Classified Universal Special Projects specialist Colum O’Shea and ex-FBI agent turned CUSP operative Shelby Beck are sent there to find out. What they find in the small rural town is even more baffling and dangerous than either of them could imagine . . . The question is, can they stop it before more people ...

Michael Shermer presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories—who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Trust in conspiracy theories, he writes, cuts across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status—and even political affiliation. One reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspiratorial. But Shermer reveals that other factors are also in play: anxiety and a sense of loss of control, as well as certain personality traits.

In the shadows of power, one woman’s quiet resolve will determine the fate of a nation. Samantha Bradley, a seasoned Nevada attorney, is plucked from the dusty battles of the American West and thrust into the maelstrom of Washington, D.C. Tasked with uncovering a scandal that could shatter the foundations of government itself, Samantha becomes Special Counsel—a role that demands not only legal brilliance but also the courage to stand against the city’s oldest and most ruthless alliances. As she navigates the marble halls of power, Samantha faces off against well-heeled lawyers, ...

Deep in the wilds of Siberia, a woman is on the run, pursued by a man harbouring secrets - a man intent on killing her. Half a world away, James Reece is recovering from brain surgery in the Montana wilderness, slowly putting his life back together with the help of investigative journalist Katie Buranek and his longtime friend and SEAL teammate Raife Hastings.

On an otherwise normal morning, former Special Forces operative Sam Dryden is the target of an unsuccessful attempted abduction. Using his attacker's cell phone, he learns that another person, a woman named Danica Ellis, is also being targeted. Dryden arrives just in time to save Danica from the assault team sent after her. But neither of them recognizes the other or has any idea why they are being targeted. The only clue is a heavily redacted, official-looking document given to Danica by her stepfather before he was killed.

Sam Dryden lives quietly in a small coastal town in Southern California, buying and fixing up old houses. It's good physical work that he's come to love. But his peaceful life is shattered when he gets a phone call from an old friend in trouble. A phone call that pulls Dryden into the middle of a situation that's as violent as it is baffling.

2022 Winner - American Fiction Award for Medical Thrillers 2022 Finalist - American Fiction Award for Political Thrillers National Indie Excellence Award Finalist in two categories: Political Thrillers and Medical Thrillers “Since finishing Escaping Mercy I have been left with a feeling of emptiness that only brilliant novels succeed in achieving when they end. Polakoff has been undoubtedly successful in creating an immersive storyline with likeable characters, and placing me into a world I thoroughly enjoyed reading.” Leigh – Reedsy Discovery. "The book itself is a marvelous work ...

In 2007, a short blogpost by Gawker Media outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private. This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker and its bankruptcy. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental - it had been masterminded by Thiel.

It's a beautiful summer night in Portland, Oregon. Ami Vergano, a young attorney and single mother, arrives at her son Ryan's little league game with their tenant and new friend, Dan Morelli. When the assistant coach calls in sick, Morelli seems happy to help out. But then one player roughly blocks another and a fight erupts. Before the game ends, Ami witnesses violence that shocks and horrifies her and makes her question everything she thought she knew about Morelli.

Sam Dryden, retired special forces, lives a quiet life in a small town on the coast of Southern California. While out on a run in the middle of the night, a young girl runs into him on the seaside boardwalk. Barefoot and terrified, she's running from a group of heavily armed men with one clear goal - to kill the fleeing child. After Dryden helps her evade her pursuers, he learns that the 11-year-old, for as long as she can remember, has been kept in a secret prison by forces within the government. But she doesn't know much beyond her own name, Rachel.

In the bustling heart of Sydney, where the iconic harbour ferry connects the city's shores, Detective Sergeant Natalie Campbell is called to investigate when a body is pulled from the water - an apparent suicide that doesn't add up. What begins as a straightforward drowning soon reveals something far darker lurking beneath the surface of Sydney's corporate world. When the victim is identified as David Garton, a quiet accountant whose meticulous nature led him to discover financial irregularities at his shipping company, Natalie must navigate both the complex currents of Sydney Harbour and ...

Malcolm's analytical mind has to find his childhood friend Nova Wallace and help her decipher the Grey Book's riddles, revealing shocking truths and some of America's greatest secrets. As the clock ticks, Malcolm and Nova search worldwide to find the Grey Book and prevent its secrets from falling in the wrong hands...

The legend is real, and it's watching. In Point Pleasant, a terrifying red-eyed creature stalks the night, heralding a dark conspiracy and an unthinkable disaster. When the infamous Mothman begins to terrorize the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, local deputy Joe Larkin and determined journalist Mary Kline are drawn into a deepening mystery. Their investigation into the red-eyed, winged creature uncovers a sinister government conspiracy stretching back decades, involving secret projects like Project Valkyrie and Project Chiron. They face chilling encounters with the enigmatic ...

The discovery of a deadly virus being smuggled across the border pits FBI Special Agent James Mason and his strike force against an unknown adversary hell-bent on humanity’s destruction. In a desperate effort to contain the pathogen, they launch a predawn raid, only to find that their enemy knows they’re coming...and it’s not about to be taken alive. An explosion rips through the building, killing the majority of Mason’s team, including his partner and mentor.

The United States isn’t the place it used to be. While a mysterious deadly fog imprisons people in their homes, a group of billionaire investors take over the country and run it as a private organization. All Eliza Daniels ever wanted was a simple life, but circumstances seem to conspire against her. As a member of the media before it was disbanded, she suddenly finds herself with information that could save the country. But, with her best friend missing, a complacent society, and people who can’t be trusted running the new United States Operation Divisions, she doesn’t have the ...

God Dust is book 2 in the riveting Broken Cure series How did the New Madrid earthquake of 1811 provide the world's most powerful and dangerous cure ever discovered? Six months ago, Alex Winthrop MD and research scientist Olivia Nilsson Ph.D. were entangled in an international plot that almost got them killed. CIA operatives spared their lives— for a price. In exchange for freedom and silence, they must conduct research sanctioned by the DOD. When Alex is assigned to a covert military nanorobotics lab, he wants out. But Olivia is immersed in her work, and her desire to flee has faded. She...

The Restoration Initiative promised salvation, but beneath their pristine Safe Zones, they’re waging a war against humanity itself. For Dr. Geoffrey Belmont, a gifted surgeon forced into their deadly experiments, survival hinges on uncovering their darkest secrets—and keeping his own humanity intact. When Geoffrey is thrown into Site 5, a hospital twisted into a battlefield, he faces horrors beyond comprehension: the infected roam the halls, patients turned into mindless predators, and the Initiative's sinister T2 soldiers hiding in plain sight. To survive, he must form fragile ...

In the serene, upper-class suburb of Oakwood Hills, the 1950s picture-perfect life is shattered by a mysterious explosion at a nearby military base. Official reports claim it was a controlled test gone awry, but the residents of Oakwood Hills soon realize the true horror that has been unleashed. As a shadowy figure begins to haunt their homes, fear and paranoia seep into the community, bringing hallucinations, inexplicable illnesses, and a breakdown of social order. Margaret Lane, a determined housewife, finds herself at the heart of the mystery. Her once-idyllic life is turned upside down ...

Extraterrestrials finally show their faces. Can one investigator use their technology to stop WWIII from destroying humanity? Dallas, 2072. Jack Slater has been piecing together evidence of alien visits for years. So as the head of a fully funded UFO research team, he’s excited to give an interview to a cute journalist about his unusual job. But when a real-life spaceship appears outside his window and beams in a powerful probe, only his split-second action saves them from an unknown threat. Believing the vessel may have been trying to issue a warning, Jack searches for more clues to the ...

When you're an outlaw hoping for a pardon, and the emperor personally sends a note requesting that your team kidnap him, you make plans to comply, even if it'll involve infiltrating a train full of soldiers, bodyguards, and spies loyal to a nefarious business coalition that has numerous reasons to hate you.