Spy Thriller E-Book Features National Security Archive

THE NATURE OF THE GAME by bestselling author James Grady places sleuth protagonist amid documents at the Archive

New E-book series includes re-issue of Grady's classic SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR

For more information contact:
Tom Blanton - 202/994-7000
Posted - December 22, 2011

James Grady (b.1949) is the author of screenplays, articles, and over a dozen critically acclaimed thrillers. Born in Shelby, Montana, Grady worked a variety of odd jobs, from hay bucker to gravedigger, before graduating from the University of Montana with a degree in journalism. In 1973, after years of acquiring rejection slips for short stories and poems, Grady sold his first novel: Six Days of the Condor, a sensational besteller which was eventually adapted into a film starring Robert Redford.

After moving to Washington, D.C., Grady worked for a syndicated columnist, investigating everything from espionage to drug trafficking. He quit after four years to focus on his own writing, and has spent the last three decades composing thrillers and screenplays. His body of work has won him France's Grand Prix du Roman Noir, Italy's Raymond Chandler Award, and Japan's Baka-Misu literary prize. Grady's most recent novel is Mad Dogs (2006). He and his wife live in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Washington, DC, December 22, 2011- The new E-Book series by bestselling thriller writer James Grady features the National Security Archive as the scene of a key plot sequence, and also as the location for Grady's video introduction to the series, posted today on the Archive web site at www.nsarchive.org.

The E-Book series includes Grady's classic book SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR - which became the basis for the acclaimed Robert Redford movie that subtracted three days - and the renamed and re-introduced thriller, THE NATURE OF THE GAME, featuring the Archive as a key source for the investigative journalist protagonist. Also included in the series are the new novella, CONDOR.NET, and the short story THIS GIVEN SKY.

Grady filmed his video introduction to the series, published by Open Road Integrated Media, in the Archive documents reading room this fall, and testifies, "The Archive's help and support allowed me to make THE NATURE OF THE GAME more than just another thriller. The Archive's work in revealing truth behind government and political spin is vital for our global culture."

The Nature of the Game

In this classic thriller, presented with a new introduction by the author, a down-and-out ex-CIA operative runs from his former masters and propels us like a bullet through the secret spy history of America.

Jud is not too drunk to recognize the assassin. How the hit man found him in this hard-bitten roadhouse, Jud isn't sure, but he's not going to go down without a fight. His hands shaking too much for close combat, Jud perches himself on the bar's roof and drops on the assassin when he steps into the darkness. Though Jud only meant to stun, the man is dead. Jud doesn't care.

Quitting the CIA has not proven as easy as he hoped. Once one of the Agency's top killers, Jud's skills have been dulled by civilian life, and his only chance is to go into hiding. Before he disappears off the grid, he makes a call to Nick Kelley, a D.C. journalist who is one of the only men Jud can trust. Between the two of them, they have a shot atstopping the rot at the heart of the CIA. That is, if the rot doesn't kill them first.