Check out “The Secessionist’s Wife,” the new novel by Wolf Bahren that blends espionage, political, international, and journalistic thriller genres

Meet the Author: Wolf Bahren is the pen name used by the writer Kristi Bahrenburg Janzen for her fiction. The Secessionist’s Wife is her third thriller. A lover of spy stories since childhood, she published her first novel, Agents of Suzharia, in 2016, and then Source of Deceit in 2020. Her fiction is a blend of espionage, political, international, and journalistic thriller genres.

She has been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. Currently, she teaches in the University Writing Program at George Washington University in Washington, DC. She began her writing career as a financial news journalist, including for AP-Dow Jones in New York, Germany, and Washington, DC, and then transitioned to freelance writing and editing while her children were growing up. She has a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Cornell and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia. Closely tied to family in Kansas and New York State, she lives in Maryland with her husband and dogs. Learn more: wolfbahren.com

About The Secessionist’s Wife: For journalist Anna Jones of the New York Daily Journal, nothing is more important than finding the truth. So when Fort Riley, Kansas, suffers a terrorist attack, Anna jumps at the chance to see what’s happening at the base. She and her partner Viktor Simonson rush to the heartland to cover the events as they unfold. Once on the ground, they agree to divide and conquer—one will check out the damage at the military installation, the other will attend a press conference with Kansas Governor Marie Danielle Schreiber in the nearby college town of Manhattan. In no time, Anna realizes the attack may not be as cut-and-dried as it appears. She also loses track of Viktor.

Meanwhile, on a farm outside Junction City, housewife Theresa Walkermore is grappling with mysteries of her own. Between her husband Noah’s unexplained absences and middle-of-the-night activities, she’s sure he’s being unfaithful to her again. But as she’s drawn into his world, she fears he’s embroiled in something far worse than adultery.

Sharing the same values and moral strength, Anna and Theresa realize that, together, they may be the only ones capable of stopping a plot that threatens not just Kansas, but the United States itself.

Click here to buy The Secessionist’s Wife.

About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bombe