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The Abduction by James Grippando — book cover
Thrillers, Crimes - Fiction, Occupations - Fiction, Character Types - Fiction

The Abduction

by James Grippando
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Overview

U.S. Attorney General Allison Leahy is the Democrats' best chance for holding on to the Oval Office. But she's running neck and neck with her opponent, Republican Lincoln Howe, a retired four-star general and bona fide African-American hero. Then, days before the election, disaster strikes. Twelve-year-old Kristen Howe, the general's granddaughter, is kidnapped. As the nation's leading law enforcement officer, Allison launches a nationwide manhunt—even as her opponent publicly questions her motives. For Allison, though, finding Kristen isn't about politics. It's a personal crusade that taps into terrifying secrets buried deep within the past—secrets that can shatter all of Allison's hopes, twisting them into a nightmare of lies and the ultimate betrayal.

Synopsis

U.S. Attorney General Allison Leahy is the nation's top law enforcement officer and the Democrtas' best chance for holding on to the Oval Office. But she has powerful competition in Republican Lincoln Howe, a retired fourstar general and bona finde Africa-American hero. They are running neck and neck, and seemingly nothing can break the deadlock.

Then, just days before the election, disaster strikes. Twelve-year-old Kristen Howe, the general's granddaughter, is kidnapped. As attorney general, Allison launched a nationwide manhunt, but her motives come under fire from her opponent. For Allison, though, finding Kristen isn't about politics. Here is a personal crusade that taps into terrifying secrets buried deep within the past—secrets that can shatter all Allison's hopes, twisting them into a nightmare of lies and the ultimate betrayal.

Miami Herald

His best so far...Grippando keeps you guessing.

About the Author, James Grippando

As the old cliché goes, write what you know. Former lawyer James Grippando has certainly taken this bit of wisdom to heart with his mega-successful courtroom thrillers, many of them starring Miami defense attorney Jack Swyteck. Time and again, this bestselling author has proven that he not only knows the law but he knows how to conjure an expertly paced tale of suspense.

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Editorials

Miami Herald

His best so far...Grippando keeps you guessing.

Denver Post

Entertaining...Grippando has produced another exciting and cleverly plotted novel.

Miami Herald

His best so far. . . Grippando keeps you guessing.

Denver Post

Entertaining. . . Grippando has produced another exciting and cleverly plotted novel.

Publishers Weekly

The presidential election of 2000 is coming down to the wire in this disappointing thriller, when Democratic candidate (and attorney general) Allison Leahy blows a solid lead by refusing to answer the question whether she's ever been unfaithful to her husband. Just as Republican candidate Lincoln Howe (read: Colin Powell) is about to pull ahead, his granddaughter is kidnapped. Leahy's own newly adopted baby daughter was the victim of a similar crime eight years earlier. Are the abductions linked? Is someone connected to either of the candidates responsible? Those are the questions that never quite propel Grippando's latest, after The Informant. While that novel had a strong narrative engine fueled by insider information on the FBI, this one never hits second gear. Neither Leahy nor Howe seems a particularly worthy candidate or likable person, and the possible villainsan ex-boyfriend, a pair of conniving campaign managers, Leahy's tough businessman husbandare equally flat and unconvincing. Author tour. (Apr.)

Library Journal

A U.S. attorney general running for president must deal with the kidnapping of an opponent's granddaughter.

Kirkus Reviews

Woman-in-periler in which the second female US attorney general, who also happens to be the first Democratic female presidential candidate, puts her campaign on hold two weeks before Election Day to rescue the kidnapped granddaughter of her Republican adversary. Thriller-machinist Grippando (The Informant, 1996, etc.) takes us back to 1992, when Emily, the adopted baby daughter of his heroine, the have-it-all, never-lost-a-case, unmarried career prosecutor Allison Leahy, is mysteriously spirited away from her Chicago home. Despite the considerable law enforcement resources available to Leahy, Emily's disappearance remains unsolved as, eight years later, the beautiful, courageous, now-married US attorney general and Democratic presidential hopeful blows a televised debate against her rival, the General Lincoln Howe (a thinly fictionalized Colin Powell), and finds herself slipping in the polls. Then, in the last week in October, a pair of cartoonish thugs snatch Howe's granddaughter Kirsten from her public school. Remembering the pain she endured when her own daughter vanished, Leahy decides to duck campaigning and, as head of the FBI, do her job by catching the kidnappers, even if means losing the election. As he's done in previous page-turners, Grippando again reveals too much of his story too soon—here, not only that the kidnapping was politically motivated but that the mastermind behind it all may be too close to Leahy for comfort. Among the usual suspects: Leahy's wet-blanket husband Peter; her torch-carrying ex-lover Mitch O'Brien; her Machiavellian campaign strategist David Wilcox; Howe's even more Machiavellian strategist Buck LaBelle; and a host of unsavory Beltwaytypes. Meantime, Leahy's spunk and gutsy bravado have her dodging bullets and wringing every possible victory from a series of preposterously affected defeats. Corny dialogue, cheesy political stereotypes, and a shrill, headstrong heroine who wouldn't last a minute in a real courtroom, much less the Oval Office. (Author tour)

Book Details

Published
June 28, 2011
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
544
Format
Mass Market Paperback
ISBN
9780062024503

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