Dead Ringer is an imaginative contemporary look at the shocking assassination of President John F. Kennedy that took place in Dallas in 1963. Former Secret Service agent, Joe Mingus, after serving a prison sentence for lying to federal investigators is now scraping by as a strip club bouncer in Baltimore. A old colleague stops by the club unwittingly passing on upsetting news that Joe’s former lover and federal archivist, Olivia Heller, is dead under suspicious circumstances. Meanwhile history professor at Georgetown, Jesuit brother Juan Verdugo, a JFK assassination scholar receives a delayed video from Olivia informing Juan that her death is likely related to shocking information she found in the archives about JFK’s death. A couple of days later Joe Mingus receives a similar video from Olivia pleading with him to protect Professor Verdugo if he chooses to follow the information Olivia uncovered. He does and Juan and Joe reluctantly team up. They are a true odd couple.

So begins an action-filled travelogue in Joe’s old Thunderbird as they move across parts of the US and Mexico City following hidden clue after clue while dodging assassin Miguel Santos, one of the most merciless killers I have encountered in years of reading thrillers. The organization funding the assassin, an ultra-conservative group of Catholics (think Mass in Latin) is a worldwide body called the Movement. Around for decades the group is made up of very wealthy religious zealots who are well placed in high government positions and captains of industry operating vast business empires. Their immediate goal is to stop Verdugo and Mingus from finding the truth about JFK’s death, who funded it, and why. And destroy the damning documents that the two have found.

The author does a solid job of providing details about the JFK assassination while describing Lee Harvey Oswald’s movements leading up to the final moment. Hauty offers up many conspiracy theories along the way that he deftly debunks keeping the reader in suspense as to what might have been the real story—fictionally of course. He draws his characters so that we are rooting for Joe and Juan while hoping the multiple killers paid to track them down are met with failure. The white hats and black hats are clearly drawn right up until the last page. One white hat provides a twist most readers will never anticipate. Chris Hauty continues to provide readers with excellent thrillers—pick up his Hayley Chill series if you haven’t read them—that leave the reader wanting more. Dead Ringer is a top-notch thriller.

Dead Ringer seems almost like taking a history course of one of the most important events in the twentieth century. I vividly recall that day at age 19 when I heard the unbelievable news. Ironically I was waiting for an American history class to begin and the teacher, a retired marine sergeant who was tough as nails, walked into the classroom with tears in her eyes and canceled class. We all walked out in silence wondering what the future held now that the most charismatic president of our young lives was dead.

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this outstanding publication.

Dead Ringer will scratch the conspiracy theory itch that resides inside all of us with a Da Vinci Code-esque quest for the truth with no less than history, cabals and zealous assassins standing in the way. Chris Hauty has crafted a tale that blurs the lines between fact and fiction, adding fuel to the already decades-long smoldering fire of speculation regarding what happened at Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963.

There are many conspiracy theories about who killed JFK. Now, an unlikely pair – a disgraced former Secret Service agent and a Jesuit professor – are thrust together by the murder of a mutual acquaintance who’s dying act was to ask them to finish her investigation into JFK’s death. Sending them on the hunt for evidence long ago hidden that can only be discovered by those who can decipher the riddles and codes that protect the potentially explosive information. But the pair are not the only ones on the hunt. A nefarious cabal will do anything to keep the truth from coming out…including dispatching assassins to take out anyone who gets too close to figuring out who was really behind the JFK hit. It’s a race between the forces of good and evil…with a bombshell revelation waiting to be discovered.

Hauty once again shows his masterful skill at taking readers on a journey of discovery through the blending of authentic events with imaginative storytelling that makes you wonder what’s real versus what’s fantasy. It’s done in such a way that everything feels plausible, including the trademark Hauty gigantic twist. Keeping readers guessing and thinking, forming our own theories and predictions along the way.

The vehicle for this adventure is strong but flawed characters grappling with their parts in this grandiose odyssey. And along the way they must overcome many roadblocks – including those who believe they serve a higher purpose which gives them a mandate to do whatever it takes to thwart their adversaries. Resulting in testing our would-be heroes’ resolve and courage to continue when giving up and saving themselves would be the wise and easy decision. But their commitment to the mission comes first and, in the end, they are rewarded with revelations about what happened in the past…as well as revealing the strength of their own character and purpose as they find redemption.

Dead Ringer is a fantastic historical fiction account of one of the biggest events in US history. It’s sure to be a hit with history buffs, conspiracy nuts and anyone who likes a good, fast-paced story that distorts the border between the believable and the imagined.

I received an early copy of Dead Ringer from NetGalley.
This was a great book that kept me guessing throughout.
Although it starts in the 1960s, the rest of the story is current. We see death and Joe Mingus is quickly pulled into a life or death protection detail he was not prepared for.
A disgraced USSS agent, Joe is asked to protect Juan Verdugo who is hiding and running for his life.
Both of them are unwittingly thrown into a search for the truth behind the JFK assassination.
The story includes bits of trivia surrounding the assassination as they search in a Da Vinci Code style hunt for clues and more information.
Traveling across a couple of countries, they are running from a killer bent on stopping them, while trying to find these clues.
Great characters, with a story that blends fact and fiction. I did love that past events in US history were brought into this story. Very enjoyable.
As with all Chris Hauty books, you will love this one.

I first found Chris Hauty’s writing when he was nominated for the 2021 Barry Award for Best First Novel for Deep State. This novel was the first of 5 political thriller books in a series starring Haley Chill, a black former soldier, now White House intern, who uncovers a conspiracy to kill the president. I have found each of the 5 Haley Chill books great suspense and intelligent prose. Dead Ringer is Hauty’s first stand-alone novel, after a career in screenwriting.
In Dead Ringer, Joe Mingus, a former Secret Service officer who was booted out of the service for disgraceful behavior and now works as a bouncer for a strip club, does a favor for a murdered former lover and ends up trying to reveal the truth behind the assignation of John Kennedy in 1962! This is a must read for history buffs who have heard all the conspiracy stories about Nov. 22, 1962, and what really happened that day in Dallas. Hauty educates the reader on all the outstanding evidence that questions if the Warren Report really gave us the correct solution to the Kennedy murder and does so all within a chase-thriller.
Hauty’s heroes, Mingus and a Jesuit priest named Joseph Verdugo, follow clues around the country while a professional hit man seeks to kill them for uncovering a long-standing conspiracy. The clues involve knowledge the Jesuit has concerning the Kennedy assignation, and Mingus decides to serve Verdugo as a protector while the hunt is on.
Hauty writes an intelligent, exciting thriller. The What-If factor is fun to play with as you read the novel, but the chase across the US following Kennedy/Oswald historical facts is the heart of the novel. So whether you’ve heard the conspiracy stories or not, I think you will find Dead Ringer a deftly moving story, leading to a shockingly twisted ending.
My rating: 5 of 5
This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. Dead Ringer will be published on Dec. 2, 2025.

After coursing through the travails of an incursion underwater to retake an impregnable fortress held by an elite team of U.S. Marines in possession of 81 hostages and 15 guided rockets armed with V.X. poison gas, a newly preggers GF, a crusty former SAS captain, bureaucracy, Fibbies and thermite plasma, Stanley Goodspeed departed THE ROCK with body and spirit intact. Following a piece of advice from the man formerly in her Majesty's employ that points to Fort Fort Walton, Kansas, the chemical superfreak is in possession of US state secrets at the end of the 1996 box office hit, among them the real perpetrators of the JFK assassination. Fictionally, of course. Chris Hauty, the intrigue-master who rocked the world with DEEP STATE, returns with a novel like nitroglycerin--Who killed Kennedy, who benefited and who had the power to cover it up? From DC, to Dallas, to New Orleans and Mexico City, DEAD RINGER is a shocking, entertaining and fresh Thriller take on the greatest conspiracy in US History; an investigation with America's fate at stake.

Aptly timed for publication during the year that witnessed the election of the first American Pope, DEAD RINGER revisits John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. president and first Catholic to rule the Oval Office. Shining a light on the US Secret Service's (USSS) most ignominious failure, DEAD RINGER looks into the true circumstances of ending Kennedy's presidency by extralegal means. Obviously, it's a doomsday scenario for certain politicos, power brokers and aspirants to the most powerful office in the world. Operating behind the scenes, as it were, 'The Movement' is most interested in letting sleeping dogs lie and keeping old secrets buried. Incidentally, they're not a Swiss watch aficionado group but a gaggle of orthodox, ultra conservative Catholics in the US looking to bring America into the Golden Age. Or thereabouts. An inexplicable concept like 'La Onda' from BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT, the Movement, or el Yunque (the anvil), is run by a pious and self-righteous leader with rosary from a long dead pope and a preference for sending a Cuban assassin who is just as scary and ice cold as Anton Chigurh to do the necessary dirty work. In true buddy movie fashion, DEAD RINGER puts a duo in the path of America's "prosperity", pairing a LEO washout yet still hard ass with a Jesuit sidekick who's a massive JFK expert, a religious nut and sports serious love for history.

After a service future shattered by blind career allegiance and a too-deep looking into the bottle, Joseph 'Joe' Mingus, convict, 6'3", 225 lbs of hard eyed discouragement IS security inside a B-more striptease establishment, and, incidentally, a former USSS agent. Like THE LAST BOYSCOUT's Joe Hallenbeck, also former Secret Service, rap music makes Mingus scream in pain. He's a man with a serious bread addiction. The baked kind, that is, and he's got the sourdough starter nicknamed Calvin to prove it. With a face of 'don't give a damn', he's a man of anonymity, by preference and choice. Clean and sober for all but a flare of the Lord's nostril, Mingus also mirrors the laconic, stoic demeanor and predatory vigilance of Steve McQueen's BULLIT. Betrothed with a religious nut on a CELESTINE PROPHECY like scavenger-hunt clue-chase, Mingus at the wheel of his near and dear '67 Thunderbird coupe is the resistance's only hope. What could go wrong? For a former federale and a good-natured bible thumper, a surprisingly rich chaos ensues that is a thriller fan's hellscape, technicolor havoc of the highest quality that shines with interpersonal chemistry and hilarious dialogue.

Sharing the curious name choice of the Medico-Psych-Horror film DEAD RINGERS and its TV series remake, DEAD RINGER probably wanted to avoid the German sounding moniker Doppelganger as well as avoid cutting into DePalma's territory of BODY DOUBLE. Despite the serious title, DEAD RINGER deserves kudos for Chris Hauty's comic sense and ability to make fun of his own books and giving a shoutout to Hayley Chill, the heroine of said series. Including funny morsels like the 13th Step, apiphobia, 'the franchising of America, and that New Orleans has more guns than denizens, DEAD RINGER also reminds that the United States of the 1960s no longer exists and that the only thing you'll learn in the narrative is that you know nothing. And that's probably the most powerful lesson there is. As such, DEAD RINGER is a tale of second chances, redemption, mystery and the healing of America's heart and psyche and is as American as the blues, as American as apple pie. Thus, ask not what you can read for yourself. Ask what you can read from Chris Hauty: DEAD RINGER--a dead ringer for thriller of the year.

A really good book that gets moving once you hit the conspiracy. I liked the cat and mouse game between the two groups. I wish Mingus and his backstory was fleshed out a bit more, but it didn't slow me down that much either. The use of JFK was a good base for the story but I feel it wasn't as effective since he was president 60 years ago. Putting aside that, it was a really good book that kept me guessing and I liked the Lee Harvey Oswald nuggets sprinkled in. I like how this author moves his stories along and hope to read more in the future.

Dead Ringer. Really. Author Chris Hauty takes his time setting the story, meaning that the first third is one big yawn. The characters he introduces are all odd, but no more so than the two leads. One is a virginal Jesuit brother with an interest in the JFK assassination, the other is a former Secret Service agent who went to prison and is now a strip club bouncer. Much of their interaction is just painful to read.
And on to the JFK story. Hauty bounces around the globe looking for cryptic messages hidden years ago. But at least the story now has some interest. With so many JFK books out there, one wonders why Hauty chose this topic. It's already been beaten to death. There is a twiist at the end that might have you gasping. It's pretty outrageous. All that said, I will still read the next Chris Hauty novel.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed DEAD RINGER. I can't remember the last time I read a novel that was such... well, just pure fun.

Okay, maybe there were some parts of the narrative that were a little silly, and maybe the prose was occasionally not as smooth and fluid as one might like, but that really didn't make a bit of difference. Chris Hauty's imagination has taken every Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory you have ever heard and baked them up together into an absolutely wonderful cake of contemporary fiction.

I loved every minute I spent reading DEAD RINGER. And isn't that pretty much the point of reading fiction in the first place?