The First Witness

Book excerpt: Emmy award winner Todd Easterling, who has worked with HBO and was discovered by the Garon-Brooke Literary Agency of John Grisham fame, aims at the suspense-thriller genre with The First Witness, a CIA conspiracy story reminiscent of books by Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, David Baldacci, and James Patterson. When a top Washington Post reporter discovers what he believes is an unauthorized CIA and military mission, he finds himself caught in the middle of a global crisis, international intrigue, and enamored with a beautiful and exotic woman he desperately wants to trust. Shawn Coyne, as Senior Editor at Doubleday/Random House, said of Todd's writing, "This is certainly a thriller that builds to global dimensions and I liked the way Mr. Easterling tackled the plot by having his journalist piece together the clues. The final revelation is also believable and consistent with the pervading paranoia in DC."The story follows Tom Lassiter in a fast-paced race to separate facts from propaganda, and ends in a heart-stopping glimpse of the new world we live in.