Dead Ringer by Chris Hauty | JFK, Hitmen, and a Race Against Time

Chris Hauty’s Dead Ringer wastes no time plunging readers into a modern-day hunt shaped by the shadows of JFK’s assassination. The story pairs Joe Mingus, a former Secret Service agent with a ruined reputation, and Joseph Verdugo, a sharp Jesuit professor. Together, they start digging into the tangled mess left behind in 1963. Still, every step forward puts them in the crosshairs of a relentless professional killer and a powerful group desperate to keep history’s darkest secrets buried.

Mingus and Verdugo are an odd couple: one battered by regret, the other fueled by intellect and faith. Their uneasy partnership sparks with tension and dry humour, making every setback and breakthrough feel earned. The hitman on their trail isn’t just a backdrop; he’s a constant, menacing presence that keeps the pressure high and the stakes honest.

Dead Ringer isn’t just about conspiracy theories; it’s about the weight of the past, the blurry lines between truth and fiction, and how far we’ll go for redemption. Hauty’s writing is all momentum: lean, sharp, and packed with just enough historical detail to ground the wild ride. Every twist pushes the story deeper, forcing you to wonder what’s fact, what’s fiction, and whether either one matters when survival’s on the line.

Dead Ringer is an addictive and adrenaline-soaked novel. The plot never lets up, the action stays tight, and even the quieter moments crackle with tension. If there’s a flaw, it’s that the maze of conspiracies sometimes threatens to drown out the characters, and a few stretches might feel like they’re spinning their wheels. But for anyone who loves a brilliant, fast-paced thriller with a dose of history and moral ambiguity, Dead Ringer delivers from start to finish.