Newton Author Releases Debut Thriller

What if the government made its citizens’ medical information public?

That’s the question tackled in this new thriller, the debut from Newton author H.A. Raynes, called “Nation of Enemies.”

Raynes reads from and signs copies of the new book on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Newtonville Books at 7 p.m.

The book comes out in paper book from HarperCollins this week, and is considered a suspenseful, chilling thriller in the vein of Michael Crichton and James Rollins.

In an unsettlingly realistic near-future Boston setting, the story focuses around an issue in which medical information is encoded on implanted biochips, and follows a Mass General doctor and his family as they navigate this frightening reality.

In an announcement, the synopsis is this: On the eve of the 2032 presidential election, the country is deeply divided and on the brink of civil war. But as the two major political parties face off, innocent Americans are dying at the hands of masked terrorists. When the Liberty Party’s presidential nominee is assassinated in a highly-coordinated, masterful attack, it sets off a chain of events that will change the course of history and leave America’s inalienable rights—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—dangling on the precipice of extinction.

Known as Holly, Raynes was inspired to write “Nation of Enemies” by a family member who was a Titanic survive, and another family member who escaped Poland in WWII.

She used these lessons learned from the past, and combined it with a healthy fear of the modern landscape. Raynes has long written, and has a reputation for “trying anything,” and this includes skydiving, white water rafting and acting.