Hostage Zero

A mysterious kidnapping kicks off ”a roller-coaster ride of adrenaline-inducing plot twists” in this thriller by the New York Times bestselling author (Publishers Weekly, starred review). With his elite team of agents at Security Solutions, hostage rescue expert Jonathan Grave goes where the government can't. Now he’s been called in to locate two teenage boys who have been kidnapped from a residential high school in Virginia. But tracking them down is just the beginning. To keep them and his covert team alive, Grave plunges into the heart of an ugly secret whose insidious path reaches from one of the world's most remote places into the highest corridors of power. And he must defeat enemies who are willing to kill to keep the truth from being revealed.

Only 200 people have ever been in Christopher Whitcomb's elite branch of the F.B.I. The Hostage Rescue Team is its most highly trained and specialized squadron -- equivalent to the Navy's Seals and the Army's Delta Force -- charged with terrorist capture, hostage situations, and other large-scale emergencies in the U.S. and around the world. Whitcomb is the first HRT member ever to write about his experience. With breathtaking immediacy, Whitcomb describes the brutal training, the weapons and tactics, and the unbreakable camaraderie of the HRT. In short order, after joining HRT in 1991, Whitcomb was sent on missions to Ruby Ridge and Waco, and his frank assessment of those missions is must reading for anyone interested in modern law enforcement. Only rarely does a writer this accomplished have a life this dramatic. Cold Zero is a book of rare action and emotion, and one that introduces a remarkable new writer to the world.

An innocent boy is on the run from the law and a ruthless assassin in the New York Times bestselling author’s “heart-pounding tale of suspense” (People). After a guard is murdered at a juvenile detention center and one of the inmates is found missing, it appears that Nathan Bailey has graduated from car thief to cold-blooded killer. Now the subject of a nationwide manhunt, Nathan is the most wanted fugitive in America—and only twelve years old. But Nathan is also the target of another kind of hunt. After escaping his corrupt uncle and killing that guard in self-defense, he has more to fear than legal prosecution. He’s also the target of a savage hit man. To survive he has only himself, his smarts, and his honesty to depend on. But will that be enough as he takes on a world of violence beyond his comprehension? "Fast, intriguing . . . a clever plot with enough menace to keep readers on the edge of their seats." —Boston Herald

A hostage rescue specialist is on the trail of a homegrown terrorist organization in this thriller by the New York Times bestselling author. When a cult-like paramilitary group decides to make its deadly presence known, the first victims are random. Ordinary citizens going about their lives in Washington, D.C., are suddenly fired upon at rush hour by unseen assassins. Caught in the crossfire of one of the attacks, rescue specialist Jonathan Grave spies a gunman getting away—with a mother and her young son as hostages. To free them, Grave and his Security Solutions team must enter the dark heart of a nationwide conspiracy. But their search goes beyond the frenzied schemes of a madman's deadly ambitions. This time, it reaches all the way to the highest levels of power…

​My name is Timberly Day. I don’t drink, but I do know things. I know the heart beats over 100,000 times per day. I know for every one second, lightning strikes the Earth 100 times. I also know that Jaxon King—the bloody tosser!—is a muddler. A manipulator. A liar. A con, a thief...and a closet nerd. He’s as beautiful as innocence, as harmless as a feather. Except, it’s all an illusion. I see him and I see lies. I smell him and I taste deceit. And still—fool that I am—I rush in. His eyes are like ice. His tongue is like fire. His lies are white, but his touch is red hot. I had the chance to run. I didn’t. Now, I am a part of the game. And the only way to win...is to give in. KEYWORDS: Con artist, hidden identity, long con, nerdy romance, action and adventure, romantic comedy, geek romance

This book is about the role of negotiation in resolving terrorist barricade hostage crises. What lessons can be learned from past deadly incidents so that crisis negotiators and decision makers can act with greater effectiveness in the future? What are the lessons the terrorists are learning and how will they affect the dynamics of future incidents? What can we learn about the terrorist threat, and about preventing the escalation of future terrorist hostage-taking situations? While there are many trained crisis negotiators around the world, almost none of them has ever had contact with a terrorist hostage-taking incident. Further, the entire training program of most hostage negotiators focuses on resolving crises that do not take into consideration issues such as ideology, religion, or the differing sets of strategic objectives and mindsets of ideological hostage takers. This is especially true with regard to the terrorists of the new breed, who have become less discriminate, more lethal, and more willing to execute hostages and die during the incident. Further, many of the paradigms and presumptions upon which the contemporary practice of crisis negotiation is based do not reflect the reality of the new terrorists. The main focus of this book is on the detailed reconstruction and analysis of the two most high-profile cases in recent years, the Moscow theater and the Beslan school hostage crises, with a clear purpose of drawing lessons for hostage negotiation strategies in the future. This is an issue of top priority. Terrorist manuals from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq reveal that terrorist organizations are very closely observing and analyzing the lessons learned from these two incidents, suggesting that we are likely to see this type of new terrorist hostage taking involving large numbers of suicide fighters and executions of hostages at some point in the future. This raises a wide array of questions about appropriate responses and negotiation strategies. From the first glance, it is clear that we are not prepared.

A seemingly random act of violence leads a rescue specialist to uncover a terrorist conspiracy in this thriller by the New York Times bestselling author. It begins with a shocking act of vengeance. Barista Ethan Falk chases a customer into the parking lot and kills him. He tells police that years ago the older man abducted and tortured him. Then Ethan's story takes an even stranger turn: he says he was rescued by a guy named Scorpion. Of course, there is no record of either the kidnapping or the rescue, because Scorpion--Jonathan Grave--operates outside the law and leaves no evidence. Now Grave must find a way to defend the young man without blowing his cover. And the task takes on new urgency when he learns the dead man was connected to an ongoing terrorist plot against America. It's up to Grave and his team to stop it. But first they must rescue Ethan Falk—a second time.

Part Five of the Suspenseful Five-Part E-Serial Novel! Fasten Your Seatbelts In the explosive conclusion of John Gilstrap's five-part novel, the high-speed pursuit of two fugitive lovers kicks into overdrive--on the ultimate collison course with destiny . . . After plotting their escape, evading the police, and witnessing a murder, Nicki and Brad have reached the end of the line--and there's nowhere left to hide . . . Holed up in a house in a North Carolina fishing village, they've run out of time, run out of luck, and run out of options. All they've got are a couple of hostages . . . Two innocent people--a feisty senior and her grandson--are the bargaining chips Alex needs to buy more time. But Nicki can't wait any longer. Her life is in jeopardy, and her father is desperate enough to do anything to save her. Deputy Sheriff Darla Sweet is finding evidence that could change everything for the young lovers. But when every second counts, the only real justice comes in a hail of bullets. . . "Gilstrap is a master of action and drama."--Gayle Lynds "When you pick up a Gilstrap novel, one thing is always true--you are going to be entertained at a high rate of speed."--Suspense Magazine "One of the best thriller writers."--Genre Go Round Includes a preview chapter from John Gilstrap's next thriller, Friendly Fire