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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | MYSTERY EWA | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
If you're a security expert, what do you do if your fiancée suddenly goes missing, presumably kidnapped?
If you're Daniel Trent, a highly trained specialist in hostage negotiation, the answer is simple: You find out who took her and you make them talk. But what if your chief suspect is taken as well? How do you get him back quickly--and alive--so you can find out what really happened to your fiancée?
Set in Marseille, Chris Ewan's Dead Line is a fast-paced stand-alone thriller that pitches the reader into Daniel's world, as he tries desperately to secure the release of Jérôme Moreau from a ruthless gang in order to interrogate him on the whereabouts of his fiancée. When things don't go according to plan, Daniel must use all his skills and instincts to find the answers he's looking for, but will he be in time?
Author Notes
CHRIS EWAN, who lives on the Isle of Man, was voted one of America's favorite British authors in a Huffington Post poll. He is the author of the stand-alone thriller, Safe House , which was named by The Telegraph as one of the top ten crime novels to take on vacation, and the Good Thief mystery series. The first in the series, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam, was named one of the "best books for grownups" by Publishers Weekly and AARP The Magazine, and one of the best thrillers of the year by the London Times ; and both his series and stand-alone books have received starred and rave reviews.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Englishman Daniel Trent, the hero of Ewan's unexceptional second standalone (after 2012's Safe House), specializes in the recovery of kidnapping victims. When Trent's fiancee and business partner, Aimee Paget disappears in France, Trent suspects that his client Jerome Moreau is responsible. Trent travels to Marseilles to question Moreau, but while he's tailing his target, armed men in a Land Cruiser force both Trent's Peugeot and Moreau's Mercedes off the road and grab Moreau. After the kidnappers speed off, Trent tells Moreau's "lithe and beautiful" wife, Stephanie, and the suspicious family bodyguard, Alain, both of whom were in the Mercedes, that he was following Moreau to test the adequacy of their security measures. To rescue Aimee, Trent must help secure Moreau's safe release from the thugs who have seized him. Fans of Ewan's Good Thief series may find the arrogant Trent a less sympathetic lead than burglar Charlie Howard. Agent: Vivien Green, Sheil Land Associates (U.K.). (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A savvy security expert tries to deal with a ruthless gang of kidnappers while protecting a deep and damaging secret. Intently watching the activity outside the Marseilles Opera House as the Ballet National performs inside, Daniel Trent witnesses the brutal kidnapping of wealthy Jrme Moreau. When Jerome's bodyguard, Alain, arrives on the scene, Trent steps forward to offer his services. Alain's question is the same as the reader's: What was Trent doing at the crime scene? Trent finesses his answer, but Ewan soon reveals that Trent's beloved fiancee, Aime, has also been kidnapped, almost certainly by Jrme. When Jrme's distraught trophy wife, Stephanie, gives Trent her approval, he's in. She also requests, over Alain's objections, that Jrme's handsome but dissolute son, Philippe, be brought into this inner circle. As the quartet continues to argue like cats in a bag, Trent struggles to keep control. He meets privately with Luc Girard, the rugged investigator who's been trying to find Aime for six weeks without success. Aime appears in short, splintered flashbacks as Trent progressively takes control of the Jrme operation. The seriousness of the kidnappers is established once and for all when Serge, Jrme's chauffeur, turns up dead. Trent lands in the hot seat when Alain, who's been secretly monitoring Girard's movements, asks Trent who Girard is. This character-driven thriller by the author of the breezy Charlie Howard series (The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin, 2013, etc.) maintains a nice sense of pace and tension and has a handful of satisfying twists. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Daniel Trent is a negotiator with a specialized skill set who sells an unusual product. Operating with his business partner and fiancee, Aimee Paget, out of Marseille, he provides K and R (kidnap and ransom) insurance to some of the continent's wealthiest families, who may become victims of this special branch of Euro crime. When Jerome Moreau is snatched just outside his estate, Trent is on the scene not just because Moreau is a new client, but also because Trent thinks Moreau may be complicit in Aimee's disappearance two months earlier. Up against a kidnapping team headed by the ruthless Xavier, Trent's only outside source of help is former cop Luc Girard, who has his own personal reasons for wanting Xavier caught or killed. This adrenaline-fueled, stand-alone thriller is more akin to Ewan's Safe House (2012) than to his Good Thief caper novels, with Daniel Trent a driven protagonist in the Jack Reacher mold. Readers will want to see more of Trent, and this page-turner, full of twists and turns, cries out for a sequel.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
When Daniel Trent's fiancé, Aimee, is kidnapped, Trent prepares to interrogate and torture her suspected captor, gangster Jerome Moreau. But as Trent is about to ambush and seize Moreau, Moreau is abducted by a group of professional kidnappers and Trent must free Moreau in order to find out what happened to Aimee. The plot twists and turns as Trent, a professional hostage negotiator, collects the ransom money demanded by Moreau's brutal captors and negotiates his release. Simon Vance does an excellent job keeping listeners on the edge of their seat. His British and French accents and voice changes make it easy to distinguish among the various characters. Verdict Highly recommended for mystery/thriller fans.-Ilka Gordon, Aaron Garber Lib., Cleveland (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
