On the Line-S. J. Rozan

On the Line
S. J. Rozan
Minotaur, Sep 28 2010, $24.99
ISBN: 9780312544492

In New York City, private investigator Bill Smith receives a call from the cell phone of his partner Lydia Chin. However, she is not the voice on the other end; instead an unknown person claims to have abducted Lydia. Believing initially this is a sick prank; Bill knows Lydia has been kidnapped when she briefly gets on the phone.

The culprit gives Bill twelve hours to save her life and the sleuth must adhere to the rules of the game, which include no cops and subject to change at the whim of the perpetrator. Bill scrambles to save the life of his partner, but NYPD suspects him of at least with one homicide during the hunt. He obtains needed assistance from Lydia's cyber guru cousin Linus Wong and her best friend police detective Mary Kee, but the psychopath owns the cat and mouse game as Lydia is the cheese.

Mindful of the John Cena movie Twelve Rounds, On the Line is a fast-paced exhilarating thriller in which the predator makes and breaks and changes the rules turning the desperate hero into a puppet on a string. Loaded with action, readers will enjoy John’s frantic tour of New York as time is running out for Lydia.

Harriet Klausner