David Baldacci’s new thriller, True Blue, is due out in October. It features Mason “Mace” Perry, an ex-DC cop who was framed for a crime and sent to prison for two years. Mason is now out of prison and trying to become a “true blue” again. A vindictive district attorney wants Mace back in prison.

If you like fast-paced plots, double crosses, political intrigue, and government corruption, here are some other authors to try:

Jeffrey Archer

Archer was born, raised, and still lives in Great Britain. He was a member of Parliament from 1969-1974 when he resigned in scandal. Archer became a writer to make money when he was on the verge of bankruptcy. There is a direct relationship between Archer’s plots and his own life. His most recent works include Paths of Glory, A Prisoner of Birth, and False Impression.

William Bernhardt

William Bernhardt is an attorney who became a successful author with his Ben Kincaid series. He is also a publisher with his growing HAWK Publishing Broup which he founded after leaving the practice of law to become a full-time writer. The fictional Ben Kincaid, like Bernhardt, is a Tulsa attorney. Bernhardt places a premium on plot twists, politcal intrigue, and impossible-to-win cases, just the things that make Kincaid want to get involved. Try reading Capitol Conspiracy or Capitol Threat.

Stephen Cannell

Stephen J. Cannell, the bestselling author of twelve novels, has made a name for himself as one of television’s most prolific purveyors of escapist programming. His success has been based on creating shows featuring a mixture of action, quirky characters, and disdain for authority. Among his hits have been The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, and Wiseguy. During the 1990′s, Cannell challenged himself in a new genre by becoming a novelist. Cannell proved his ability in his new role as novelist by producing a successful string of action thrillers including The Devil’s Workshop and King Con. He also began a series featiuring Los Angeles policeman Shane Scully. The Scully series includes Three Shirt Deal, White Sister, Cold Hit, Vertical Coffin, Hollywood Tough, The Viking Funeral, The Tin Collectors, and the latest installment, On the Grind. Cannell’s latest stand alone novel, At First Sight: A Novel of Obsession, was released in July 2008.

James Grippando

Crime and suspense author James Grippando was a trial lawyer and partner at one of Florida’s leading law firms before bringing his knowledge of crime to writing novels. Intent to Kill features Ryan James, a minor league baseball player turned sports radio host after the accidental death of his wife. James receives an anonymous tip that his wife was actually murdered. Grippando writes about the manipulative and many-layered world of politics in The Abduction. A serial killer is pursued by rookie FBI agent Andie Henning in Under Cover of Darkness. In The Pardon, Jack Swyteck, a brilliant young defense attorney and estranged son of Governor Harry Swyteck, a proponent of the death penalty, gets a confessed killer off on a technicality. Swyteck then finds himself framed for murder. There are seven more books in the Swyteck series.

Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer is the author of bestselling political thrillers including The First Counsel and The Zero Game, as well as an innovative comic book series which includes Green Arrow: The Archer’s Quest and Identity Crisis. While attending Columbia University Law School, Meltzer penned his debut novel, The Tenth Justice. The work, dubbed a
crafty legal thriller” by a Publishers Weekly reviewer, is set in Washington, DC and centers around the novice career of Ben Addison, a Yale Law School graduate who works as a clerk for a Supreme Court justice. During his first six months on the job, Addison makes the ethical error of divulging the confidential outcome of a case to a bogus source. A presidential aide uncovers a terrifying conspiracy in The Book of Fate, a dark tale of ex-presidents, assassination, Masonic intrigue, and a 200-year-old secret code invented by Thomas Jefferson.