Sarah Price wants a career in politics. But she has a secret past that won’t stay past, threatening her job on a San Diego congressman’s reelection campaign. Casey Cheng wants a story. An ambitious local television reporter, Casey needs to get her career back on track after being seriously injured in a mass shooting. When she investigates the man who nearly killed her, she finds a connection to a … connection to a group of online harassers called #TrueMen–and realizes her shooter may not be the only killer they have inspired.
Casey’s investigation and Sarah’s secret put them both in the crosshairs of a hate group that targets anyone they’ve deemed to be against their cause, including Sarah’s boss, the congressman. Now Sarah and Casey have a choice to make–do they hide? Or do they fight back?
Praise:
“Riveting thriller…Readers will furiously turn the pages to see how it all ends.”–Publishers Weekly
“An absorbing and apocalyptic vision of American politics that leaves the reader hoping it will never come to this.”–Booklist
“Lisa Brackmann’s Black Swan Risingis a savvy, riveting thriller that’s also deeply human, with characters who are as authentic as they are compelling.”–Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone
“Lisa Brackmann writes with passion, guts, and heart. Black Swan Risingis more than just a thrilling read–it’s also an unflinching examination of the corrosive effects of racism and misogyny on American culture.”–Chris Holm, Anthony Award-winning author of The Killing Kind
“A raw and masterful mystery thriller that explores the real darkness of the human soul.”–Jonathan Maberry, New York Timesbestselling author of Glimpse
“Black Swan Risingis more than the sum of its parts…In this gripping novel, Lisa Brackmann tells not just the harrowing story of two women impacted by a mass shooting but the story of America’s deadly love affair with guns.”–Bryn Greenwood, New York Timesbestselling author of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
“Reading Black Swan Risingis like peering into a dark mirror that perfectly captures the societal turmoil and fractures of our time. Thrilling and provocative, this is Lisa Brackmann at the top of her game.”–Hilary Davidson, Anthony Award-winning author of One Small Sacrifice
“Fierce, fearsome, and distressingly relevant.”–Elizabeth Little, Los Angeles Timesbestselling author of Dear Daughter
“At the intersection of current issues and events, Black Swan Risingis a gripping story that rockets forward with action and suspense.”–Jamie Mason, author of Monday’s Lie
“An important book that looks at where our currently divided political climate could take us, and where it already has.”–Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of The Good Liar
“A smart thriller that captures the heat of our country’s moral and civic battles.”–Kim Fay, author of The Map of Lost Memories
“A terrifying novel that focuses on a political campaign plagued by gun violence and misogyny. It cuts deep in a way that is all too distressingly believable, but Brackmann’s smart prose and winning female protagonists go a long way towards fighting the darkness.”–Steph Cha, author of Dead Soon Enough
“Black Swan Risingis a must-read for everyone who cares about what’s happening in our country.”–Libby Fischer Hellmann, author of Set the Night on Fire
“Reflects the turbulent times of today and, in doing so, provides an entertaining and thought-provoking tale.”–Suspense Magazine
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Chillingly contemporary! (Beware the Internet!) Lisa Brackman never disappoints.
If you want to learn about the inner workings of a political campaign, local TV news, and social media, all wrapped up in a riveting thriller that’s impossible to put down, you will love Black Swan Rising. I did. But this novel is more than just a great story. With her smooth, unflinching prose and three-dimensional characters who are as flawed as they are noble, Lisa Brachman deftly juggles Idealism, rage, despair, and cynicism as they hurtle forward and ultimately converge. Simply put, Black Swan Rising is a must-read for everyone who cares about what’s happening in our country.
A chilling, nuanced, heart-in-your-throat read. Absolutely impossible to put down.
Black Swan Rising by author Lisa Brackmann is like reading an expose’ from today’s headlines. It was a bit scary to know how easily anyone can be the target of cyberbullying and the target of a hate group. I did feel uncomfortable with some of the language in the story. That made it hard for me to read, although I do know there are some people who use these offensive words, I do not want to read them. I almost stopped reading the book because of that but decided to push on through.
Sarah Price works for the campaign of a California senator, and she has a secret in her past which she has tried to put behind her. She receives offensive and harassing emails from an unknown source. She must find out who is doing this and the motive. Could the sender possibly know her secret?
Casey Cheng is a reporter who was shot during a cruel mass shooting in San Diego. As she heals she decides to learn more about this shooter. Hey, if she had to suffer, she might as well get a good story out of it, right? as she digs through information and investigates, there are other events of shootings, or small car bombs, senseless violence directed at what seems to be everyday people. The violence heats up and targets the political committee and the media as the election date nears.
Layers of political agendas, movement of dark money, extremist political language, all intertwine to expose a very dark subject in an very interesting book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Three women are making their way through a man’s world – not just misogynistic but violently so. Sarah Price wants to change the world for the better. She scores a job working for her favorite candidate, hoping someday she’ll be in the room where it happens. Casey Cheng as an ambitious TV news reporter, fighting to break out of the “surfing bulldog” beat. Lindsay Carson is the candidate’s wife, frustrated her marriage has turned into a thankless job. Each anesthetizes themselves in their own way.
As the story’s web tightens around them, each elevates their struggle not just to survive but to thrive in this hostile environment. I was particularly fascinated with how each woman deals with the men in their lives: lovers, coworkers, and archenemies. One of the questions posed is: Does a woman need to run to a man for protection or can she succeed on her own? I, for one, would love to see a sequel in which Lindsay Carson runs for office.
The narration by Christina Delaine is superb. She conjures a staggering number of voices for the characters and when she performed Sarah, she changed the voice depending on the point-of-view character’s impression of Sarah. I’ve never heard that done before and was blown away.
Lisa Brackmann, whose wonderful crime novels have not received anywhere near the credit or the sales they deserve, tops herself (hard to do) with this innovative, up-to-the-moment thriller about two women — one a high-profile television reporter and the other a woman on the run, hiding under a new name and working in a political campaign — whose lives are suddenly threatened by, well, a cloud. It’s an anonymous online sexist lynch mob who call themselves @true Men and who have, shall we say, issues with women who aren’t content in their traditional cages. Imagine being in the sights of a faceless enemy who could be anyone: the guy behind you on the sidewalk, the shape in a dark parking lot, the person who’s knocking on your door, absolutely anyone. There’s a scene in this book that simply terrified me, and nothing at all was happening; it was just two people walking. This is one of the books I’ve recommended repeatedly and bought for/ given to friends over the past year. Timely and terrifying, BLACK SWAN RISING should have been a NY Times best seller, and what a movie it would make.
This is a book for right this moment. Brackmann captures what is dividing America right now and wraps it in a taut thriller that is hard to put down. A great read.
Lisa Brackmann’s Black Swan Rising is a break-neck thriller built around Sarah Price – a political campaign volunteer with a past she’d prefer stays private, Casey Cheng – a local television reporter injured in a mass shooting, and what may or may not be a conspiracy to both destroy a local election and terrorize the city of San Diego. Like the author, both women play every move at the top of their intelligence, navigating the complex and less than ideal world of modern American politics, and the depths of surviving trauma, while managing to triumph over a constant barrage of attacks. While some writers rip plotlines from headlines, Brackmann’s story takes the modern world a terrifying, yet prescient step forward to the natural evolution of today’s alternative fact discourse and its danger to democracy everywhere. Luckily, women like Sarah Price and Casey Cheng are looking out for us. A thoroughly enjoyable, if not far too real, thriller.
I’ve long been a fan of Ms. Brackmann’s book and her latest one, Black Swan Rising, is no exception. I read it straight through, late into the night, not only because of the edge-of-your-seat action, and the compelling storyline, but because it has a “sticky” quality, like being caught in a web, forced to watch an oncoming collision, holding your breath to see what’s going to happen next, wanting to escape, and wholly unable to. Just exactly like the women Ms. Brackmann so deftly and devastatingly portrays in this book.
All three women, Sarah, Casey, and Lindsey, are caught in a web that’s partly of their own making, but made inescapable by the men pulling the strings. Life shouldn’t have to be a pot-holed trap for these women, each just wanting to live her life and succeed in her own way, but for two of them at least, crap happened to them and they unwittingly sprung open a hornet’s nest of hate and violence that swarms inescapably into every corner of their lives. For the congressman’s wife, Lindsey, the tale is a bit different. She opted in to being the wife of a political animal, but the personal costs to her are no less significant.
This book passes the Bechdel Test, which is “a work of fiction that features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man.” But make no mistake. Men are the drivers here. The man Sarah is trying to get elected. The horrific online harassment of women by frustrated, furious men. The men who think rape and execution are the answers to their anger. The men trying to kill them. And if you’re a man, don’t get complacent, no matter how big and strong you are. Bullets don’t discriminate. And no place is safe anymore.
Ms. Brachmann does an outstanding job of telling a story that absolutely could be, sadly, ripped from the headlines of any day right now. She does this expertly, with her usual deft hand, avoiding allowing it to become a screed about politics and gun culture and internet harassment, while at the same time incorporating all those things into a story that is sad and true and horrifying and empowering at the same time. I most enjoyed seeing the strength in these women. Quiet, each in her own fumbling way finding what she needs to make it through another day, to find her courage and strength, and her own voice. This isn’t an easy book to read but I absolutely recommend that you do.
Gritty. Tense. Ugly. Real. BLACK SWAN RISING tackles the hateful truths of today. Written with uncompromising force, Brackmann delivers a timely and riveting thriller.
Black Swan Rising, by Lisa Brackmann, is riveting and the plot just keeps on giving. I could not put the book down and now I want more. The dialog is perfect and so is the action. All characters are full and rich and the dialog and action are both organic, taking the reader on path they could see themselves taking. Reader is engaged and feels stake in outcome.
It is intense. Exciting. Suspenseful. And real.
The descriptions of characters and surroundings in Black Swan Rising are incredible. So well-described that the reader is watching a film in their head as they read. But at the same time, no words are without purpose and the sentences flow so easily. Makes for easy binge reading.
This book is so well-written and it is evident a lot of research went into it. The characters’ work situation and lingo, the headlines ripped from real newspapers, the online interactions are those we all have seen but the research puts it all together with such care. There is no tripping over or skipping descriptions no matter the setting, situation, profession, dialog. All of it is researched for the reader to do less and read easier. No short cuts. Such a pleasure.
Regarding the research. One way this book stands out is that the characters’ language is authentic to their role and the cast is diverse. The darkweb attackers keep their language describing women, for example. The author does not clean that up for the reader. It is appears ripped from the actual forums used by these people, and true to their interactions.
Authenticity is part of what makes this book so chilling and scary. It is already with us. We need to know more and have discussions. That is what the series would bring, in addition to great entertainment.
Notice I have not given what the book is about. Get that from cover of book. I give no spoilers and to talk about nearly anything starts to give away too much. Read the book cover. Get the book. Little cost, big reward. Pass it along to friends and family. It really is a pleasure to read this author’s work.
This book took a very long time to ‘get in to.’ Perhaps it was the subject–elections in San Diego. The characters seemed to be very cardboard and did things that a normal person wouldn’t. Ex: the main candidate beats the living whey out of a guy in a park in full view of cameras and then fully expects everybody to forgive him as he has PTSD–wouldn’t happen. Reading it put me to sleep on at least two instances.