Hostage Taker - 9780345531407

From Edgar Award winner Stefanie Pintoff comes the start of an electrifying new thriller series featuring Eve Rossi, head of a secret division of the FBI—one made up of ex-convicts with extraordinary talents, oversized egos, and contempt for the rules. Perfect for readers of Iris Johansen and Catherine Coulter.

TERROR STRIKES AN ICONIC CHURCH—AND BRINGS A CITY TO ITS KNEES.

In the hushed quiet of early morning Manhattan, in front of the towering bronze doors of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, a young woman holds a sign that reads:HELP ME. For one FBI agent, a madman’s terrified hostages, and an entire city, a long and harrowing day is about to unfold.

The hostage taker’s identity is unknown. But he knows who FBI agent Eve Rossi is—and everything about her past. Along with her presence, he demands five witnesses: ordinary people with some hidden connection. Defying her superiors, Eve begins a deadly dance with an adversary whose intentions are surely sinister, whose endgame is anything but certain, and whose cunning keeps him one step ahead at every turn.

As Eve manages a taut hostage situation, she relies on the combined skills of her team—a secret unit inspired by France’s most notorious criminal and made up of ex-convicts with extraordinary talents, oversized egos, and contempt for the rules.

Eve is up against a rapidly ticking clock. But the dangerous man calling the shots has a timetable of his own—and a searing question for his targets: What are you guilty of? As shocking revelations surface, so does another crisis nobody could anticipate—one not even Eve and her team may be able to stop.

Advance praise for Hostage Taker

“The perfect blend: an urban thriller as modern as tomorrow’s New York Times, driven by a two-hundred-year-old idea, with a main character to die for. I hope we see plenty more of Eve Rossi and her team.”—Lee Child, #1New York Times bestselling author of Personal

“A high-velocity roller coaster of a thriller! With her razor-sharp prose and keen ear for cop-and-street-speak, Pintoff ingeniously spins this twist-filled tale of a delicious assortment of good guys with less-than-good pasts, marshaled by one of the most compelling protagonists to come along in years. Heroes don't get any better—or come any more fully formed and richly drawn—than Eve Rossi.”—Jeffery Deaver,New York Times bestselling author of The Skin Collector

“Hostage Taker is a brilliant thriller from a gifted writer. Stefanie Pintoff expands her range with this ambitious and masterfully crafted tale, and the result is a tension-filled tightrope walk of a novel. Stefanie Pintoff is one of the best crime writers at work today.”—Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Wish Me Dead

“Fast-paced . . . an addictive read.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Hostage Taker is one of the most exciting and thoroughly engaging thrillers that I have read in years. Reading this book is like riding a rifle bullet: It starts at full throttle and never slows down. A great start to what promises to be a terrific new series.”—John Gilstrap, New York Times bestselling author of the Jonathan Grave thriller series