After her mother’s death during a bank robbery when she was a child, Gemma Capello grew up to become one of the NYPD’s elite hostage negotiators. In a family of cops, there’s rarely a day when a Capello isn’t facing down some form of threat. Still, despite their unpredictable schedules, they always find time for their annual family summer picnic. But this year, a sudden phone call changes everything.
A heavily armed gunman has taken hostages at City Hall. Gemma races downtown to join the rest of the Hostage Negotiation Team as they scramble to identify the captives—fearing the mayor may be among them. But as they scramble for answers and struggle to gain control of the circumstances, it becomes clear that the mayor is at the center of it all, just not in the way they initially believed.
With several lives on the line and a criminal who always seems to be one step ahead, Gemma is the only one able to connect with the suspect. Soon, she finds herself engaging in a battle of wits while enduring a battle of egos in the command center. With time running out and a mastermind who has proven he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants, Gemma risks it all—her career and her life—in a last-ditch effort to save the hostages. Now, she needs to figure out how to save herself . . .
Exit Strategy is the first in Jen J. Danna’s new NYPD Negotiators series. It’s a fast-paced thriller which puts the hammer down from page 1 and doesn’t let up.
The Capellos are a family of first responders – cops, a firefighter, and with Gemma, elite hostage negotiator. The events of Exit Strategy take place over the course of one day in New York, and Danna seems to delight in piling on the pressure and upping the stakes with every turn of the page in this book. I rattled through it in the course of an afternoon, and wasn’t able to put it down until I’d finished.
Great fun, a solidly entertaining thriller, with a great family cast and an engaging plot. Looking forward to seeing Gemma Capello in her next adventures!
Exit Strategy by Jen J. Danna is published by Kensington Books and is out now. Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy to review via NetGalley.
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