The First Witness

When a top Washington Post reporter discovers what he believes is an unauthorized CIA & military mission to destroy Iran's nuclear development sites, he finds himself caught in the middle of a global crisis, international intrigue, & a beautiful & exotic woman he desperately wants to trust. San Diego, California author Todd Easterling, originally discovered by the acclaimed Jay Garon-Brooke Agency of master novelist John Grisham fame, weaves a well-written, character-rich, high concept big story with cinematic potential & a balance of suspense & supporting romantic backdrop.

Shawn Coyne, as Senior Editor at Doubleday/Random House, said of Todd's writing, "This is certainly a thriller that builds to global dimensions & I liked the way Mr. Easterling tackled the plot by having his journalist piece together the clues. The final revelation is also believable & consistent with the pervading paranoia in DC."

The story follows Tom Lassiter in a fast paced race to separate facts from propaganda, & ends in a heart stopping glimpse of the new world we live in & threats posed by rogue states, or leaders, set on nuclear weapons development. Walking a razor-thin line between being seen as either a criminal, if he's wrong, or a hero if he's right, Lassiter takes matters into his own hands & stops at nothing to uncover the truth & try to stop a catastrophe of historic proportions.

On his journey, Lassiter finds friendship and loyalty with his sidekick from The Washington Post, & unexpectedly develops a romantic interest with a British woman while interviewing key players behind the scenes.

The story focuses on uncovering clues, determining who is involved & trying to avoid capture before getting the story out. In the end, Tom Lassiter finds himself & the United States in a mission to fix what he admittedly & inadvertently help set in motion.

The climax of the story is vividly written, quickly paced, & lends itself to motion picture-like uncertainty & twists, with the fate of millions of people on the line, if not the survival of the entire planet. TheFirstWitness.com or ToddEasterling.com

-Mystery, Thriller & Suspense: Techno-Thriller (#1 Best Seller)
-Mystery, Thriller & Suspense: Political (#2)
-Mystery, Thriller & Suspense: Conspiracies (#2)
-Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction: Political (#2)

If you like suspense thrillers & mysteries, & like the following, you should enjoy this novel:
-Stories with motion-picture-type momentum which begin with a fast moving initial event/catalyst, then transition to an investigative sequence, & build to an edge-of-the-seat climax in the second half.
-Plot & character development balanced with ever-increasing fast paced action.
-As in a movie, the reader 'lives' with the characters almost in real-time during a critical few days.
-Topical/current big issues in the news.
-A story with a romantic backdrop to the action, where character development & relationships play key roles in the plot & twists.
-Thrillers with real-world "this could really happen" global consequences.
-CIA/spy, espionage & romantic suspense.
-The First Witness has elements of Harrison Ford on the run in The Fugitive & in Air Force One.

January 29, 2014 (actual news quote): "Tehran has made technical progress in a number of areas -- including uranium enrichment, nuclear reactors, and ballistic missiles -- from which it could draw if it decided to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons," said James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence to the US Senate.