Deep Fake

In this solid standalone from Larsen (the David Slaton novels), Bryce Ridgeway, a first-term congressman from Virginia, becomes the front-runner for his party’s candidate for president after he tosses a bomb-carrying terrorist off a hotel roof during a political reception in Washington, D.C. Though everyone considers Bryce a hero, his wife, Sarah, begins to worry about little things that don’t seem quite right with her husband, such as increased forgetfulness. The FBI agent who takes charge of the bombing case figures out that the culprit was a 21-year-old Saudi national, but that’s about it. Sarah decides to “investigate” her own husband with her best friend, Claire Hall, who just so happens to have the use of a supercomputer that specializes in data fusion from all over the world. The suspense builds as Sarah and Claire follow a trail of clues that bring them closer and closer to solving the mystery of what’s going on with Bryce, an Army veteran who suffered combat trauma. Fans of the There’s-Something-Wrong-with-the-President (or in this case, almost president) mini genre will find plenty to like. Agent: Susan Gleason, Susan Gleason Literary. (Mar.)