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Former United States president Bill Clinton is joining with American writer James Patterson to write a novel.

The book will be called The President is Missing. It is to be released in June 2018.

The new work will be an unusual joint project of publishers Alfred A. Knopf and Little, Brown and Company.

In a statement this week, the publishers called the book a combination of “intrigue, suspense and behind-the-scenes global drama from the highest corridors of power. It will be informed by details that only a president can know.”

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intrigue：['ɪn'triɡ]

n. 阴谋；诡计；复杂的事；私通

vt. 用诡计取得；激起...的兴趣

vi. 私通；密谋

suspense：[sə'spɛns]

n. 悬念；悬疑；焦虑；悬而不决

In the statement, Clinton said “working on a book about a sitting president -- drawing on what I know about the job, life in the White House, and the way Washington works -- has been a lot of fun.”

In a statement, Patterson called working with the former president “the highlight” of his career. He added “I’m a storyteller, and President Clinton’s insight has allowed us to tell a really interesting one. It’s a rare combination -- readers will be drawn to the suspense, of course, but they’ll also be given an inside look into what it’s like to be president.”

Patterson has written a large number of best-selling novels with other people, including his son Jack.

Former presidents rarely write novels. But Jimmy Carter, who was president from 1977 to 1981, published the historical novel The Hornet’s Nest in 2003.

And Margaret Truman, the daughter of former president Harry Truman, had a successful career as a writer. She wrote a series of mysteries. Her father served as president from 1945 to 1953.

I’m Marsha James.

Smita Nordwall wrote this story for TingVOA.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.