Bagman
Jay MacLarty
Pocket, Aug 2004, $6.99, 400 pp.
ISBN: 0743464907

Though pregnant (and divorced), Dr. Kyra Rynerson-Saladino visits the Galapagos Island archipelago to honor her retiring mentor septuagenarian Elsworth Marshall. However, one of the donors Peruvian land owner Luis Acosto needs help for his four year old daughter who was bitten by a bushmaster snake. Elsworth gets Kyra, who flew her own plane here to take father and child to a hospital. En route, Luis abducts Kyra, daughter of the wealthy billionaire Big Jake.

Though estranged from his daughter because of his leaving her mom years ago, Jake is desperate to bring his beloved child home safely. He hires a reluctant "birthday boy" Simon "Bagman" Leonidovich to "pay" the kidnappers. However, the South American abduction expert Leo Geske paints quite a dangerous picture depending on who snatched Kyra as kidnappings have become a major enterprise in South America. As Simon begins the extraction, he realizes a member of Big Jake's inner circle is partnering with the kidnapper; he just prays that it is not Caitlin Wells, who he is falling in love with.

BAGMAN is an engaging thriller that hooks the reader the moment that Kyra realizes she has been abducted until the final confrontations as Simon is not sure whether Geske or Caitlin is the partner. Though "Luis" is too stereotyped as a cruel abusive South American kidnapper and no information surfaces on the child once the seizure occurs, fans will enjoy the heart pumping thriller. Jay MacLarty delivers a fast-paced winner that will send fans seeking Simon's previous appearance as THE COURIER.

Harriet Klausner