A Better World

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to so many people it’s embarrassing.

Scott Miller and Jon Cassir are the finest agents in the business, and it’s an honor to have them watching my back.

The entire team at Thomas & Mercer is extraordinary. My FF Alison Dasho performed a masterful edit with a baby in her belly. Alan Turkus expertly took the reins when said baby insisted on coming out. Jacque Ben-Zekry will soon rule the world. Gracie Doyle is the Queen of PR. Danielle Marshall is a mysterious genius. Daphne Durham is unbeatable for bourbon-tinged book talk. Jeff Belle is the original class act. Thanks also to Andy Bartlett, Terry Goodman, Paul Morrissey, and Tiffany Pokorny.

I’m grateful to Alex Hedlund, Palak Patel, Joe Roth, and Julius Onah for their dedication to not simply making a movie, but making a great one. Thanks also to David Koepp for a rock-star script.

Robert Yalden, formerly of the Secret Service, helped me with the details of the White House and provided a frightening perspective on cyber-security.

Huge gratitude to my high school buddy Dr. Yuval Raz for figuring out how abnorms work on a genetic level, not to mention bringing Cooper back from the dead. Any errors, inaccuracies, or wild flights of fancy are mine.

Jeroen ten Berge knocked the cover out of the park, again. Thanks for never settling.

Joe Buice drew the flyer for Ringo’s Army-Navy found early in the story, and Nick Robert designed the poster for (Ab)Normal. Both did it for no other reason than they like the book, and that’s just about the coolest thing ever.

Thanks to all the friends and family who read the draft and gave me notes, especially Darwyn Jones and Michael Cook, gentlemen and scholars.

Marjorie Braman’s editorial pass offered exceptional insight into all the things I could do better. Jessica Fogleman caught all the things I’d screwed up.

My boys Sean Chercover and Blake Crouch were instrumental every step of the way. It’s not just that without them this book would be worse—it’s that it might well not be at all. Thanks also to Gillian Flynn for a ton of support.

Thank you, dear reader, for rolling the dice on my novel. I hope I didn’t let you down.

My family means everything to me. Thank you Sakeys 1.0, also known as my mother, Sally; my father, Tony; and my brother, Matt.

Jossie, you’re the best thing I’ve ever cocreated. I’m wildly proud of you, and I love you so much it makes me dizzy.

Finally, g.g.: my partner, my wife, my life. I love you.