The Paine Society

Jade Harrington #4

by J.L. Brown

An FBI political thriller with a powerful female lead from award-winning author J. L. Brown. The Paine Society picks up where The Divide left off.

After surviving an assassination attempt, President Whitney Fairchild prepares to retaliate against Russia for a deadly terrorist attack on American soil—even as her personal life collapses in scandal and betrayal.

FBI Special Agent Jade Harrington is back on duty after recovering from a gunshot wound, determined to capture Devon Mattix, the Bureau’s most-wanted fugitive. But when someone close to Jade is murdered, a case she thought was closed explodes back to life—and leads her straight into the shadowy world of The Paine Society, a mysterious network manipulating power at the highest levels of government.

An audacious crime forces Jade and the president together again. As the body count rises and the stakes grow deadly, Jade must risk everything to stop a hidden enemy before the next attack succeeds.

Because someone is watching.
Someone is planning.
And someone intends to reshape the world.

422 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2026

About the author

J. L. Brown (also writing as Julie L. Brown) writes gripping political thrillers featuring FBI Agent Jade Harrington and powerful historical fiction exploring perseverance, freedom, and legacy.

She is the award-winning author of the Jade Harrington series, which include the novels, The Paine Society, The Divide, Rule of Law, and Don’t Speak, and the short story, “Few Are Chosen.” She is also the author of the historical fiction, Bend, Don’t Break (IPPY Book Awards Gold Medal Winner for Historical Fiction, Winner of the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Historical Fiction, Shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize, Finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award for African American fiction), the alternative-history novel, No One Will Save Us (Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Fantasy, National Indie Excellence Book Award Finalist for African American fiction). Her books have been praised by Kirkus Reviews, the Midwest Book Review, and the Seattle Book Review.

Julie earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine. She resides with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where she is working on her next novel.


You can find her on:
Website: www.julielbrown.com
Instagram: @julielbrownwrites

Sign up for my newsletter, here: https://bit.ly/JLBNews

Reviews

[Alice Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're in the mood for a gripping political thriller, look no further. I was immediately absorbed by this fast-paced story. Highly recommended.

― Alice Blanchard, award-winning author of "Magnitude" and "It's Me Violet"

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you LibraryThing, J.L. Brown and JAB Press for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

As always, I feel it is and honor to be selected and given the opportunity to review books. Nine times out of ten the books are interesting to read and some not so much. This one falls into the "not so much" category.

The book started off with a "BANG", literally. Ok, this may be my kind of book. Then it was all downhill from there. I barely made it through three chapters. I'm sorry, but DNF (Did Not Finish). Of all the books I have received over the years this is only the second one I could not finish.

It really isn't fun to read a book when the author seems to think we need to know about their political views. I just want to read a good story, be lost in the story and be taken away from today's problems unless I choose to read about the problems.

I first got an inkling there was going to be an issue with this book when I read in chapter one where the main character is walking down the hall past former directors who were of a particular gender and race. Then there was mention of a possible gay hook-up, a jab at gun control, the mention of a mass shooting where the shooter was supposedly a specific gender (yes, one of two) and race. And then shipping off this particular gender and race to parts unknown! That's when I had enough.

It's a shame because I was looking forward to reading this book. It sounded right up my alley. To the point I bought two of the three other books this author wrote. Guess I wasted my money, but I won't be wasting my time.

So, this is where you (the reader of reviews) get to bash me as a racist, NAZI, etc..... Really, I'm not. I just like a story where the author keeps their political views (whether Democrat or Republican) out of the story. I don't like any author who rags on any race i.e., Black, White, Brown, Yellow, or from Mars). The ethnicity of the author has nothing to do with my review either. I've read books by many different nationalities.

Hey, I'm just glad I live in a country where I can put in my tw0 cents worth.

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I'll probably update this review a few times as I get my words right, but wow! I recommend this book to readers who enjoy political thrillers and thrillers in general.

@julielbrownwrites writing is so incredible! I was sucked into this and couldn't put it down even if I wanted to (which I didn't). Coming from someone who hasn't read the books that precede this one, I still followed Jade just fine. I was fully invested in this story. The foreshadowing is great. The twists and turns are thrilling! And don't even get me started on that ending! I audibly gasped!

"Wouldn't most lesbians follow you to the ends of the earth?"

I must pick up the rest of this series! Julie, this was such a refreshing read! It takes a lot for ME to enjoy a thriller, let alone a politically influenced thriller so you have accomplished something extraordinary! Again, thank you for the signed copy of this amazing book!

#ThePaineSociety #NewRelease #thriller #politicalthriller #suspense

[M Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I jumped into The Paine Society without reading the previous Jade Harrington books and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to follow. While I think reading the earlier books would provide more context for the characters and ongoing storylines, this one worked well as a standalone thriller.

The story moved quickly and kept me turning pages with its mix of political intrigue, conspiracy, and suspense. There were a few themes explored throughout the story that didn't fully resonate with me, but they didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

The cliffhanger ending had me wanting the next book right away, while also making me curious to go back and read the earlier books in the series. If you enjoy fast paced political thrillers with high stakes and plenty of twists, this one is worth picking up.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immediately after finishing the third book in this series I picked up book four. Jade Harrington is a character I really enjoy reading about and honestly can't get enough of.

This book continues some of the storylines in book three. We see Jade and her team investigate the Paine Society and tensions run high at times. Pat became one of my favorite characters in book three and I am glad she had a sizeable role in this book.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book and each surprised me. I feel like this book both wrapped up the series but also left things open to continue the series. I would definitely be happy to see a fifth book. I'm sure there are many cases for Jade and team to solve and politics are always politicking in DC.

So J.L. Brown, if you happen to read reviews just know that we want and need more Jade Harrington!!!

[John Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Paine Society by J. L. Brown is a good political conspiracy story with plenty of corruption, murder, and interesting characters. It is a kind of alternative/future political state where the U.S. government is primarily controlled by women. There are plenty of twists and turns as FBI agent Jade Harrington tries to solve several murders of wealthy individuals, theft of fortunes from others, and changing alliances within the government and FBI. Throw intrigue into Supreme Court appointees and deaths of Supreme Court justices; this is a good political novel.

The only problem I had with the novel was that it is the fourth novel in the series and it took a while to understand all of the relationships and prior events that are part of the plot lines and twists. I would strongly recommend reading the other novels in the series in order first to better appreciate this book.

[Audi · Rating 5 out of 5]

J. L. Brown, whew....She's done it again! The MATRIARCHY! Who runs the world? GIRLS!! Bravo!! It's what this world needs in ths moment.

The Paine Society by J.L. Brown is such a gripping political thriller. The suspense, betrayal, and power moves keep you locked in from beginning to end. Jade Harrington comes back strong, smart, and fearless, and the twists and emotional depth throughout the story keep you hooked. If you love FBI thrillers mixed with political drama and nonstop tension, this book definitely delivers.

[J.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers of the Jade Harrington series have been waiting a while for this one. I appreciate their patience while I attained my MFA in creative writing and completed two standalone novels, Bend, Don't Break and No One Will Save Us. Writing about Whitney, Jade, and her team was like coming home. I hope you enjoy it.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by J.L. Brown and by the time I got to the middle I had bought the first 3 to read also. It has everything you want in a political thriller. When I got to the halfway point I couldn't put it down until I finished. And the ending was definitely jaw dropping. I can't wait for number 5. A very good read.

[L.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the premise and the story, but the storytelling was more drawn out than it should have been. Too many characters -- many of which served not even an ancillary purpose. Not enough true character development to make me want to read more of the series.

[Jjean · Rating 4 out of 5]

True political thriller - read as a stand alone and had no problems understanding - well written characters - who can be trusted and who can't - why the murdering and who is manipulating at the highest levels - many questions about the "Paine" - ending still left me with questions????

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story, but I felt there were too many characters. I had to go back and forth to figure out who was who. Otherwise, a seemingly easy read. If you like political thrillers, you might like The Paine Society. Thank you to librarything.com and the publisher for a copy of this book.

[nx74defiant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jade Harrington is a lesbian FBI agent. This is a very political novel. It is fourth in the series. So, it felt like to really understand the relationship it would help to have read the prior books.

[Brookity Dendinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt distracted and disconnected to the main plot of the book due to a few issues.

One of which being the portrayal of racism being heavily one sided victimizing blacks.
Example from chapter three.

"There's been another mass shooting," Sasha said. Whitney exhaled as the ever-present feeling of sadness and futility overwhelmed her. Mass shootings were now a daily occurrence in the United States; sometimes, more than one occurred on the same day. She removed her progressive glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Where?". "A high school in Mississippi." "How many?" Twenty-six students, three teachers, and a guidance counselor died. At least thirty people were injured. The perpetrator used an automatic rifle." Whitney redonned her glasses. "Is he alive or dead?" "Dead. Self-inflicted gunshot wound." "A white male acting alone?" Sasha nodded. "Before shooting, he yelled, 'I'm taking America back!'" "Where to, I wonder. Were the victims people of color?" "A few, but it appeared he fired indiscriminately. We won't know for sure until the investigation is complete." Whitney sighed. "When will it end?" Sasha rested her forearm on the desk. Whitney stared at her chief of staff until she removed her arm. "When we make it end," Sasha said. "We need to stop domestic white terrorism."

This is just one of many examples of unnecessary racism present in this book.
The color of the victims is irrelevant to how terrible and devastating a school shooting or any loss of life is.

Part of my frustration came from feeling that the book treated some racial generalizations as acceptable because they were aimed in one direction rather than another.
I see this as an unfortunate double standard.

Also the amount of LGBT characters in this book, not only felt unnatural and forced, but I feel it also is irrelevant and adds nothing to the plot whatsoever.