"Minority Report" by Philip K Dick

This is more of a short story than a novel, but was still the base of the Tom Cruise movie. Luckily, the book is quite different from the movie, for the better. There is not emphasis on technology like in the movie, but instead Anderton is the top cop (Police Commissioner) in the city who came up with using deformed mutant pre-cogs to form the pre-crime unit, where crimes are seen before they happen. Anderton is extremely successful with the project, almost cleaning all crime in New York City (the movie is in Washington DC), where the action happens. He gets assigned a "helper" from the headquarters whom Anderton suspects is after his position. Soon Anderton receives a note from the pre-cogs that he is going to kill an army general that he never met.

Anderton tries to find the general, after escaping from his house, thinking his wife is in on the conspiracy. The "helper" becomes the Police Commissioner and there is a search organized to find Anderton. The general finds Anderton and persuades him that indeed there is a conspiracy against him. Anderton goes back to the police station and finds the minority reports on his future murder act, and realizes that all three reports differ. When escaping with a helicopter from the roof he realizes that the three reports are sequential, showing different potential future. He also finds out that the army general organized the whole thing trying to discredit the pre-crime and get more funding for the army.

Anderton goes to a public event for the general the next day and kills him, proving the original majority report right, and sacrificing himself to save pre-crime. He realizes the paradox, that he as a Police Commissioner had access to the future information and thus can modify his actions. This would not be valid for any other person and pre-crime could continue to function properly.