December 14, 2020
In bestseller Johansen and son’s engrossing eighth novel featuring FBI consultant Kendra Michaels (after 2020’s Hindsight), Kendra investigates the kidnapping of superstar singer Delilah Winter from the Hollywood Bowl during a performance. When the kidnappers demand a ransom of $20 million, dating-site billionaire Noah Calderon, who was once in a relationship with Delilah, agrees to provide the money, and Department of Justice black ops expert Adam Lynch, who has a complicated relationship with Kendra from Hindsight, is tapped to deliver it. When the delivery is aborted, the kidnappers demand an additional $5 million and ask Kendra’s friend Jessie Mercado, Delilah’s former security director, to make the delivery. Meanwhile, the FBI, Kendra, and Lynch tirelessly search for clues to the kidnappers’ identities. Kendra has ample opportunity to display her keen deductive skills as the suspenseful plot builds to an explosive finale. Series fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency.
December 1, 2020
Once-blind Dr. Kendra Michaels and private eye Jessie Mercado investigate the kidnapping of the world's most valuable young woman. With the possible exception of Dr. Allison Walker, who's tired of hosting her high-profile, paparazzi-rich visits to the Woodward Academy for the Physically Disabled, everyone loves superstar singer Delilah Winter. Her popularity is so immense that Jessie, who headed Dee's security team before she decided that the star needed a friend more than she needed another employee beholden to her, is surprised that Dee's scored her and Kendra a pair of tickets to her sold-out concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The two friends agree that it's a wonderful event, but it ends with a crash when Dee disappears before she can sing an encore and the two bodyguards who are supposed to be protecting her are found dead. The women instantly snap to attention and give chase, but the kidnappers are too quick and too clever for them, and Dee is spirited away and held for a ransom of $20 million, a sum it probably took her several months to earn. Luckily, nobody has to raid her bank account, because her ex-boyfriend, billionaire social network developer Noah Calderon, first offers a reward of $5 million for her safe return, then volunteers to underwrite the entire ransom, since he's probably made that much since breakfast. The first lovingly detailed ransom drop goes unexpectedly awry, but given the scant investment the Johansens invite readers to make in the new characters, the regulars, or the cookie-cutter suspense, it's hard to imagine anyone except the heroines losing any sleep over the second. A thrill-free actioner that's the perfect gift for friends who've been warned about their high blood pressure.
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December 1, 2020
When pop superstar Delilah Wilson fails to appear on stage for her encores at the Hollywood Bowl, Kendra Michaels and her friend and sometimes colleague, private security expert Jesse Mercado, are in the audience to witness the chaos and confusion. Rushing backstage, their FBI crime-solving credentials and reputations for rapid analysis at the ready, Kendra and Jesse discover the dead bodies of Dee's bodyguards and irrefutable evidence that Dee has been kidnapped. Michaels' favorite FBI agents weigh in on the case, including on-again, off-again lover Adam Lynch. When the eye-popping ransom demand arrives, billionaire Silicon Valley titan Noah Calderon provides the funding. Once romantically involved with Dee, Cameron's generous offer puts him at the center of the investigation in more ways than one. Blazing gun battles, electrifying car chases, and menacing hostage manipulation imbue Team Johansen's latest installment in the Kendra Michaels series with a thrilling blend of physical and psychological tension that showcases the fierce intelligence, grit, and determination of their female protagonists.
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