Fatal Exchange

Emily Hunt might come from a family of cops, but she never goes looking for an adrenaline rush. She lives the quiet--well, relatively quiet--life of a teacher and thrives on making a difference in the lives of her students. But she'll have to draw on a well of strength and savvy she didn't know she had as student Rafael Cerda takes her class hostage for ransom money to save his brother's life. Undercover cop Mason Taylor has been working with Rafael to find his brother and bring the cartel thugs who hold him to justice. Can he talk Rafael down from his impulsive actions? And is there something more sinister at work here than he realizes? Fatal Exchange draws readers into a complex matrix of intertwining lives and unraveling secrets, where every answer creates more questions. Romantic suspense fans will hardly want to come up for air.

Includes an excerpt from Book two in the Fatal series: Fatal deception.

Writers of fiction have always confronted topics of crime and punishment. This age-old fascination with crime on the part of both authors and readers is not surprising, given that criminal justice touches on so many political and psychological themes essential to literature, and comes equipped with a trial process that contains its own dramatic structure. This volume explores this profound and enduring literary engagement with crime, investigation, and criminal justice. The collected essays explore three themes that connect the world of law with that of fiction. First, defining and punishing crime is one of the fundamental purposes of government, along with the protection of victims by the prevention of crime. And yet criminal punishment remains one of the most abused and terrifying forms of political power. Second, crime is intensely psychological and therefore an important subject by which a writer can develop and explore character. A third connection between criminal justice and fiction involves the inherently dramatic nature of the legal system itself, particularly the trial. Moreover, the ongoing public conversation about crime and punishment suggests that the time is ripe for collaboration between law and literature in this troubled domain. The essays in this collection span a wide array of genres, including tragic drama, science fiction, lyric poetry, autobiography, and mystery novels. The works discussed include works as old as fifth-century BCE Greek tragedy and as recent as contemporary novels, memoirs, and mystery novels. The cumulative result is arresting: there are "killer wives" and crimes against trees; a government bureaucrat who sends political adversaries to their death for treason before falling to the same fate himself; a convicted murderer who doesn't die when hanged; a psychopathogical collector whose quite sane kidnapping victim nevertheless also collects; Justice Thomas' reading and misreading of Bigger Thomas; a man who forgives his son's murderer and one who cannot forgive his wife's non-existent adultery; fictional detectives who draw on historical analysis to solve murders. These essays begin a conversation, and they illustrate the great depth and power of crime in literature.

For 19-year-old Christy Hadden, it's life as usual as a spy, only this time in Paris, France. Her mission: retrieve a flash drive containing evidence that a high public official is working to destroy Paris. Pretty standard, until someone steals the drive from her. Forced to abandon her position protecting the informant, she goes after the thief, but returns empty handed--only to find her informant dead.Christy's failure taints her reputation at Division and the director has lost all faith in her. But Christy isn't one to slink into the shadows. Alone and disgraced, she decides to track down the drive and solve the murder, not only to redeem herself as a spy, but to give meaning to her informant's sacrifice, and perhaps even save Paris.Suspenseful, with the right amount of romance, and awash with action, Fatal Exchange will send you on a thrill ride that will be hard to forget.

Emily Hunt might come from a family of cops, but she never goes looking for an adrenaline rush. She lives the quiet--well, relatively quiet--life of a teacher and thrives on making a difference in the lives of her students. But she'll have to draw on a well of strength and savvy she didn't know she had as student Rafael Cerda takes her class hostage for ransom money to save his brother's life. Undercover cop Mason Taylor has been working with Rafael to find his brother and bring the cartel thugs who hold him to justice. Can he talk Rafael down from his impulsive actions? And is there something more sinister at work here than he realizes? Fatal Exchange draws readers into a complex matrix of intertwining lives and unraveling secrets, where every answer creates more questions. Romantic suspense fans will hardly want to come up for air.

God called Samuel to be his prophet during a time of crisis in Israel's history, a time when His chosen people had turned away from Him and were defiantly going their own way. Using the obvious parallels in today's world, noted scholar and teacher Henry Blackaby shows readers how God works in and through those he choses. God spoke to Samuel again and again, shaping him through trials and tragedies Dr. Blackaby calls "defining moments." By studying Samuel's life, readers learn to recognize their own defining moments, and see how moments often defined in crises are simply the voice of God, calling us to His purpose.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.