A FOREIGN DIGNITARY IS ASSASSINATED DURING A PERFORMANCE OF VERDI'S OTELLO AT THE KENNEDY CENTER.

No one hears the shot.

The U.S. Secretary of State is sitting beside him.

Veteran Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Elliot Jones is called to investigate what should have been an impossible murder. But the evidence quickly points beyond Washington, D.C., revealing an international conspiracy where intelligence agencies, political power, and the global race for energy collide.

As Jones follows the trail across multiple countries, every discovery raises the stakes. Assassinations, espionage, covert operations, and shifting political alliances become pieces of a much larger game, where controlling the world's oil supply could reshape the balance of power and every move comes at a deadly cost.

WINNER OF THE LITERARY GLOBAL INDEPENDENT AUTHOR AWARD FOR BEST POLITICAL THRILLER.

"Layton's meticulous political thriller masterfully balances global threats with personal stakes ... Perfect for fans of intelligent cloak-and-dagger tales." - READERS' FAVORITE

Blending diplomacy, intelligence, and international energy politics, "Otello's Oil" combines the layered intrigue of a classic espionage novel with the pace of a modern thriller. As Elliot Jones uncovers one hidden connection after another, every answer widens the investigation and reveals just how much is at stake.

The first novel in the "Blood & Oil" series, "Otello's Oil" is an international political thriller perfect for readers of Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Mark Greaney, Vince Flynn, and Tom Clancy.