"Littell's is one of the most talented, most original voices in American fiction today,
period."--Washington Post

"Littell's latest brainy thriller probes very near the heart of the time-worn conflict over a land made
and kept holy through regular libations of martyrs' blood....Must reading for fans of high-end thrillers."
--Booklist

An Israeli government minister is assassinated in the home of his mistress. Days later, a Mossad
officer leads his final raid, killing a Hamas leader in his bed and barely escaping with his life. The
action moves into the near future, when world leaders, united under the leadership of a visionary
female president of the United States, broker a major compromise between Israel and the Palestinian
authority. Their hope is to snuff out the violent flashpoint that fuels global terrorism. It seems to work
until a well known fundamentalist rabbi is taken hostage by a legendary Palestinian terrorist.

Ferociously suspenseful, and brilliantly topical, Vicious Circle brilliantly breaks down an entire
culture of violence into the corrupted consciences that embody it.