Countdown (NYPD Negotiators #5)

Following their terrifying ordeal as hostages of domestic terrorists, NYPD Detective Gemma Capello is back in the negotiator chair, while Detective Sean Logan, healed from injuries sustained saving Gemma’s life, has resumed leading an A-Team tactical unit—just in time for their next challenge . . . perfect for fans of James Patterson and David Baldacci.

It’s New Year’s Eve, Manhattan is alight with celebration, and Gemma and Logan are hoping for a relatively normal night amid the revelry. But that hope is shattered by a 911 text from a luxury yacht somewhere in busy New York Harbor. Below deck, a college student working aboard is hiding from a hostage taker. The student reports that the crew was ordered to join the guests. Gunshots followed.

The yacht party, hosted by billionaire venture capitalist Lucas Horner, includes local government officials and some of the city’s wealthiest, most influential people. Gemma and her team hypothesize that Horner, an infamously arrogant hustler, has burned someone financially—someone who now wants revenge.

Once the Aviation Unit identifies the yacht and its location, Logan and his team are transported through the brutal winter waters toward Liberty Island. Gemma finally connects with the hostage taker and learns of a cryptocurrency ransom demand—and a chilling execution plan if it’s not fulfilled by midnight. But Horner is refusing to pay. And Gemma senses things aren’t adding up—because beneath the unnerving scenario lies an even more twisted plan, layers of deceit—and a captor with nothing to lose . . .