A King's Ransom

April 16, 2001
Attorney-turned-novelist Grippando's (Under Cover of Darkness; Found Money) sixth effort kicks off when Matthew Rey, a Florida fisherman with a partnership in a Nicaraguan seafood operation, is kidnapped while on business in Colombia by a group of Marxist guerrillas led by a sadistic soldier named Joaquín. Matthew is dragged off to the mountains and his son, Nick, a young Florida lawyer, receives a ransom demand and tries to get his father back through official channels. Bad move: it turns out Matthew and his partner, Guillermo Cruz, are under suspicion of running drugs. Nick also learns that Matthew had kidnap-and-ransom insurance for the precise amount demanded by Joaquín. To make matters worse, the insurance provider is a client of Nick's law firm, and refuses to pay the claim, accusing Nick and Matthew of conspiracy and fraud. Nick is legally outmaneuvered by his boss—scheming senior partner Duncan Fitz—and booted out of the firm. Broke, desperate and under suspicion of several felonies, he receives help from beautiful kidnapping negotiator Alex Cabrera and his ex-fiancée, Jenna, who's also a lawyer. Naturally, he finds himself torn between his lost love and his growing affection for the mysterious Alex. Meanwhile, Matthew is a helpless witness to scenes of gang rape, torture and murder perpetrated by Joaquín and his thugs. Outflanked and running out of time, Nick delves into his father's business dealings and slowly uncovers a massive conspiracy. Grippando's experience as a trial lawyer shows in his depiction of Nick's frantic legal moves to clear his family's name; his extensive research into the kidnapping industry currently thriving in Latin America adds a harrowing dose of realism to a taut, well-constructed page-turner that seems destined for the big screen. Agents, Richard and Artie Pine. National advertising; six-city author tour.

April 15, 2001
Once again, former trial lawyer Grippando crafts a thriller around a hot-button topic. When lawyer Nick Rey's father is kidnapped during a business trip to Colombia, it's up to Nick to save him. The chain of events designed to make the task as difficult as possible queues up behind him Nick must battle his own law firm, the insurance company, the outrageously unhelpful FBI, and a group of merciless guerillas who refuse to budge from their ransom demands. His only allies are his ex-fianc e, Jenna, who's still struggling with her feelings for Nick, and Alex, a kidnap insurance broker still dealing with issues from her Colombian childhood. The fast pace and occasionally surprising twists help to compensate for the characters' utter lack of complexity, and Nick is an easy hero to root for. Although this effort falls short of his last novel (Under Cover of Darkness), Grippando skillfully weaves together a chain of unlikely events, creating a page-turner that will assuredly be popular in public libraries. Craig Shufelt, Lane P.L., Fairfield, OH

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2001
Like his previous offerings, Grippando's sixth novel, which involves a man's attempts to free his kidnapped father, is a well-thought-out thriller. Nick Rey, the Miami lawyer who narrates the novel, is a generally engaging character, resourceful and lifelike. His father, a professional fisherman kidnapped for his insurance policy (or so it seems), is a strong man who captures our interest from the moment we lay eyes on him. And the plot, which sends Nick Rey deep into something that strongly resembles a conspiracy, is convoluted without being overly labyrinthine. The author's fans and readers who appreciate an intelligent thriller will be well pleased. All that said, however, it must also be noted that the book is less captivating, less turn-the-pages-as-fast-as-you-can as Grippando's five previous novels, all commercial successes. It lacks their hard-edged feel, their speeding-train pacing. The first-person narration is sluggish, sometimes awkward, as though the author had committed Nick Rey to paper before the character had found his own voice. We like him, but we also feel that he wasn't quite ready to make his appearance. Compared to the author's earlier work, this new novel is not quite a complete success.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2000
The publisher keeps building this chill-a-minute author, whose latest work concerns a young man fighting to save his father.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.