When you see Patterson’s name on a front cover, you know what you’re going to get. The Man Booker prize is safe, but that’s hardly the point. The President can’t be found, there’s an international plot involving the terrorist group - The Sons Of Jihad, something sinister codenamed ‘The Dark Ages’, a shadowy female assassin, and a possible traitor within the White House – the pages nearly turn themselves.

Clinton’s involvement has been hyped up, promising insider information. There’s a bit of that, true, but his main contribution seems to be a speech in the mouth of this president which takes swipes at Russian election tampering and calls out for a renewal of the founding fathers’ promises. It could be a lost scene from The West Wing, made all the more fantastical given who currently sits in the big chair.

It all rattles along at a decent clip, although some of the clunky twists and turns are well signposted. Pack alongside the sun cream with confidence.