As Deal sits uncomfortably in a Miami hotel, preparing to accept an award whose notoriety he'd just as soon avoid, chaos erupts. A bomb explodes on a plane at Miami International Airport. Then, before Deal's eyes, terrorists interrupt the awards ceremony with machine-gun fire. As the assembled dignitaries fall under a shower of bullets, Deal grabs the ceremony's emcee, LindaBarnes Sheldon, wife of the President, and escapes. But Deal's spontaneous bravery plays into the hand of a suavely masterful madman,and he and the First Lady are taken captive.

In a thrilling plotthat unfolds against the backdrop of a storm-tossed Caribbean, Deal and Linda Sheldon must struggle to escape the clutches of their captor, a onetime U.S. operative in Central America who now harbors a deadly hatred for his former employers. At the same time, Vernon Driscoll, Deal's old friend and ex-Metro-Dade homicide detective, uncovers evidence of unthinkable treachery behind Deal's disappearance, evidence that points to the very highest levels of our government.

Addevotees of Les Standiford's work will expect, "Presidential Deal" excels on several fronts.

Its plotting is both intricate and pyrotechnic, its prose is gritty yet lyrical, and its characters are simultaneously quirky and convincing throughout "Presidential Deal", Standiford shines a piercing light into humanity's deepest realms, where both friendship and betrayal, and cowardice and heroism,are spawned.

Praise for "Deal on Ice"

"In the steamy literary sleaze of South Florida that's home to Elmore Leonard, Paul Levine, James Hall, Edna Buchanan, and Carl Hiaasen, there's no smoother or more substantial crime novelist than Miami's Les Standiford... In the fourth and most sophisticated of his Deal thrillers, Standiford once again packs maximum mayhem per page... but Standiford never stops there, and by now he's expert at elevating thrillers into art." --San Francisco Chronicle (Editor's Recommended Title)

"A tremendously scary and enjoyable ride... will lure a lot of new fans into Standiford's world and will immensely please those who already feel at home there." --Miami Herald

"Excellent... John Deal jumps in with both fists swinging." --Seattle Times

"Florida is a state loaded with talented mystery writers, but Standiford is the best of the lot." --Detroit Free Press

"Fourth and best installment in a first-rate mystery series... Standiford serves up cracker-jack action and memorable characters like the killer Kittles, she in her Minnie Pearle hats, he in polyester, fitting in everywhere--lethally." --Publishers Weekly

"A top-notch thriller." --Chicago Tribune

"Count on Les Standiford to heap on humor and drama in his wonderful novels featuring South Florida antihero John Deal." --Washington Post

"A page-turner... John Deal, in his sixth outing, has never been more engaging, braver, more resourceful... A very good Deal indeed." --Kirkus Reviews

"Standiford again proves he has the right stuff... He builds a tight narrative with credibly flawed characters and a powerful sense of place." --Publishers Weekly Starred Review