Chris Jordan Taken

Taken

Chris Jordan

Mira, Jul 2006, $21.95

ISBN: 0778322939

In Fairfax, Connecticut, widow Kate Bickford watches her eleven years old son Tomas stroke the winning hit in a Little League game. Afterward he goes to purchase a sundae while his mom goes to their minivan to wait for him. Her child never shows up. When a few minutes pass and no one knows where he went, a stunned Kate heads home assuming a communication mix-up, but Tommy is not who greets her.

Inside her home waiting for her is Tommy's kidnapper, former Special Ops officer Steve Cutter, who coldly explains how to get her son back before he departs. Complicating matters for the frantic mother is Cutter has left her a mess in her basement freezer; the murdered corpse of Sheriff Fred Corso, the coach of Tommy's baseball team. The police believe Kate killed Fred in a probable lovers' quarrel and do little to search for Tommy as they do not believe her that her son is in trouble. Kate knows she needs professional help on her two-front war. She retains attorney Maria Savalo to deal with the cops and child abduction recovery expert Randall Shane to deal with Cutter; she needs both to rescue Tommy.

Chris Jordon pens a tense character driven chilling tale that grips the audience from the moment that Kate meets Cutter who has already TAKEN her son, invaded her home, and murdered the sheriff. Readers initially believe that the kidnapper is only after some easy money and willing to kill to obtain it, but soon realize that his motive is much stronger and deeper than cash. Though the behavior of law enforcement seems odd with the alerts on child abductions, fans will consider this one of the short list novels for thriller of the year.

Harriet Klausner