Takeover
by Lisa Black
Forensic scientist Theresa MacLean has been called to the scene to
investigate the murder of Mark Ludlow, a bank examiner with the Federal
Bank. When her fiance Homicide Detective Paul Cleary goes to the bank
as part of this case, in the flash of a moment, armed men take him and
the entire bank hostage. Top notch hostage negotiator Chris Cavanaugh
may brag that he has never lost a hostage yet, but despite his
assurances, the robbers do the unexpected at almost every turn. To make
matters worse, those surrounding the situation seem more focused on
using the case to jockey into a better position in the midst of agency
power struggles. Can Theresa stand by as an idle onlooker, trusting
others to keep her fiance, the one man she truly loves, safe? When the
unexpected happens, Theresa must make personal and professional choices
that might change her life forever. Can her expertise and
self-knowledge prepare her for the unexpected trail the clues take and
the consequences? Was this crime an impulsive act from robbers who had
no clue about the nature of the Federal Bank or is there a clever plot
behind their bumbling actions?
Lisa Black's debut suspense novel TAKEOVER adds new dimensions to the
classic hostage scenario with a gripping mysterious motive and a
protagonist who gives an emotional, personal insight to the characters
on both sides of the hostage negotiations. Although the narration gives
the reader insight into motives and thoughts of several characters, the
reader experiences the main focus of the drama through Theresa's unique
perspective as a police insider, a forensics scientist who has clues
into the case of Mark Ludlow's murder and as someone personally
involved in the hostage crisis through her relationship with one of the
hostages. Against the backdrop of the hostage negotiator, the FBI, the
local police and several characters wanting to use this situation to
make headway in their careers, Theresa must make decisions to stand up
for the human side of the victims. As the minutes count down and the
bank robbers are only too willing to kill without a second thought, not
responding to the psychological analysis that Cavanaugh expects will
tip the scenario to his favor. As clues to the first murder come in,
the strange connections to the case magnify rather than defuse until
the last thrilling moments. Although development of one red herring
might have increased the mystery even more, Lisa Black's TAKEOVER is
nail-biting suspense from start to finish. Even when Theresa takes a
bold, dramatic step out from behind her safety to the middle of the
action, the reactions of the robbers create more questions to the
mystery to the motives and personalities behind the heist. Each step
forward heightens the drama of the shocking final scenes.
TAKEOVER will have readers sitting on pins and needles as each moment
magnifies the complexities of the case. Lisa Black's characterization
and focused accompanying descriptions intensify the suspenseful tension
and emotional connection to the readers. The reader feels the sweat
pouring off Cavanaugh's brow, not just because it happened but because
the preceding scenes create the nerve-racking dilemma he faces.
Likewise, the reader feels the force of Theresa's attachment to Paul
from the first pages to the end. Through her characters and their
attempts to stack the deck in the favor of their individual survival,
Lisa Black poses some interesting philosophical dilemmas about whose
life should come first in hostage situations. Allowing the reader to
see multiple perspectives from the police side to the hostage side,
from the single person to the mother, from the child to the parent, the
characters themselves raise the questions. Not all readers may agree
with the answer Theresa comes to understand or how the annoying
personality of one character tends to negate his perspective.
Nevertheless, unlike many other suspense hostage scenarios, Lisa Black
goes beyond the stereotype to provide a dramatic richness to the
question through Theresa's character and heart-stopping action made
from those choices. Unlike other all-action easily resolved hostage
scenarios, Lisa Black allows the reader to feel the aftereffects of the
hostage drama as Theresa herself changes from the first moment of the
initial case to the last page. Lisa Black's TAKEOVER is fast-paced,
riveting suspense with a gutsy protagonist, bold in her decision to
take matters into her own hands and bold in her insights into the
effects of the case on herself and her family.
Publisher:
William Morrow (August 12, 2008)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
