From Edgar Award winner Stefanie Pintoff comes the start of an electrifying new thriller series featuring Eve Rossi, head of a secret division of the FBI—one made up of ex-convicts with extraordinary talents, oversized egos, and contempt for the rules. Perfect for readers of Iris Johansen and Catherine Coulter.<br><b></b><br><b>TERROR STRIKES AN ICONIC CHURCH—AND BRINGS A CITY TO ITS KNEES.</b><br><br>In the hushed quiet of early morning Manhattan, in front of the towering bronze doors of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, a young woman holds a sign that reads:<i>HELP ME</i>. For one FBI agent, a madman’s terrified hostages, and an entire city, a long and harrowing day is about to unfold.<br><br>The hostage taker’s identity is unknown. But he knows who FBI agent Eve Rossi is—and everything about her past. Along with her presence, he demands five witnesses: ordinary people with some hidden connection. Defying her superiors, Eve begins a deadly dance with an adversary whose intentions are surely sinister, whose endgame is anything but certain, and whose cunning keeps him one step ahead at every turn.<br><br>As Eve manages a taut hostage situation, she relies on the combined skills of her team—a secret unit inspired by France’s most notorious criminal and made up of ex-convicts with extraordinary talents, oversized egos, and contempt for the rules.<br><br>Eve is up against a rapidly ticking clock. But the dangerous man calling the shots has a timetable of his own—and a searing question for his targets: What are you guilty of? As shocking revelations surface, so does another crisis nobody could anticipate—one not even Eve and her team may be able to stop.<br><br><b>Advance praise for <i>Hostage Taker</i></b><br><b><i></i></b><br>“The perfect blend: an urban thriller as modern as tomorrow’s <i>New York Times</i>, driven by a two-hundred-year-old idea, with a main character to die for. I hope we see plenty more of Eve Rossi and her team.”<b>—Lee Child, #1<i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Personal</i></b><br><br>“A high-velocity roller coaster of a thriller! With her razor-sharp prose and keen ear for cop-and-street-speak, Pintoff ingeniously spins this twist-filled tale of a delicious assortment of good guys with less-than-good pasts, marshaled by one of the most compelling protagonists to come along in years. Heroes don't get any better—or come any more fully formed and richly drawn—than Eve Rossi.”<b>—Jeffery Deaver,<i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The Skin Collector</i></b><br><i></i><br>“<i>Hostage Taker</i> is a brilliant thriller from a gifted writer. Stefanie Pintoff expands her range with this ambitious and masterfully crafted tale, and the result is a tension-filled tightrope walk of a novel. Stefanie Pintoff is one of the best crime writers at work today.”<b>—Michael Koryta, <i>New York Times </i>bestselling author of<i> Those Who Wish Me Dead</i></b><br><i></i><br>“Fast-paced . . . an addictive read.”<b><i>—Kirkus Reviews</i></b><br><i></i><br>“<i>Hostage Taker</i> is one of the most exciting and thoroughly engaging thrillers that I have read in years. Reading this book is like riding a rifle bullet: It starts at full throttle and never slows down. A great start to what promises to be a terrific new series.”<b>—John Gilstrap, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of the Jonathan Grave thriller series</b>