There are twenty-five elite kidnap and ransom (K&R) specialists in the world. Only one is a woman: Thea Paris. And she’s the best in the business.Twenty years ago, a terrified young boy was abducted in the middle of the night by masked intruders while his sister watched, paralyzed with fear. Returned after a harrowing nine months with his captors, Thea’s brother has never been the same.This … same.
This life-shattering experience drove Thea to become what she is today: a world-class freedom broker. Most hostage-recovery work is done at the negotiation table, but when diplomacy fails, Thea leads Quantum Security International’s black-ops team on highly sensitive rescue missions to political hot spots around the globe.
Her childhood nightmare resurfaces when her oil magnate father, Christos Paris, is snatched from his yacht off Santorini on his sixtieth birthday, days away from the biggest deal of his career. The brutal kidnappers left the entire crew slaughtered in their wake, but strangely, there are no ransom demands, no political appeals, no prisoner release requests-just obscure and foreboding texts written in Latin sent from burner phones.
Knowing the survival window for kidnap victims is small, Thea throws herself into the most urgent and challenging rescue mission of her life-but will she be able to prevent this kidnapping from destroying her family for good?
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If you like thrillers then this is a book you need to read! Plus it’s on sale right now – how awesome is that!! I’m so glad I picked this up!
This kidnap-abduction thriller will keep you fascinated from beginning to end. The intrigue will hook you from page one. The characters are deeply drawn. This is my first KJ Howe book, but I am becoming a fan. I definitely recommend this thriller.
This is my first read by this author! Not a book I would normally pick up but I really enjoyed it! It’s an action packed book about Thea Paris who is in the hostage recovery business. When her father is kidnapped right before a huge oil deal, Thea has to use all of her resources to locate her father- and everyone seems to be a suspect! Great thriller and good to find a new author I enjoy reading!
Loved this book, so well written you will not see the twists and turns coming. Thea Paris rescues people who have been kidnapped by the scum of the earth and knows the risks every time her team goes in, when her father is kidnapped its game on. K.J. Howe knows how to write a story that will get you right away and her way with words had me thinking I was watching this as a movie it was so well written. Can not wait to read her next book!
Kick-ass female protagonist. Wide ranging settings. Great action.
Author K.J. Howe hit a homerun with her debut novel, The Freedom Broker. This thriller starts with a big bang, and the intensity just keeps increasing. The story is layered with a variety of characters on several continents with different sub-stories. The complexity makes for a rich, interesting read!
I adored the main character, Thea Paris. She has a fractured childhood due to her mother’s early death and her brother’s kidnapping at the age of twelve. Yet, due to her father’s love and confidence in her, she has grown up to be a strong, successful woman. Thea stands out as she is one of the few lead female characters in this sort of thriller.
Thea’s sidekick, and sometime pain in the side, is Rif. He’s tall, dark and handsome, and he clearly has a thing for Thea given how protective he is of her. He’s not perfect though—sometimes he chooses not to follow her orders.
The Freedom Broker is told from multiple perspectives, which gives the reader a bit more insight than the characters have. I loved the twists and the subsequent family drama. I hope to see more of the secondary character, Gabriella, I future books. She was interesting but not fully developed.
The author’s thorough research, high action plot, and intriguing characters made The Freedom Broker a very engaging read. If high-octane action and mystery are your thing, then this book is for you!
An original, action-packed page-turner that will haunt me for weeks to come.
Brand new to me author K.J. Howe, ticks off the boxes I need in a thriller with The Freedom Broker. A novel premise. A mostly believable story. Tension. Political intrigue. Clues to the perpetrator buried deep, but there. A strong woman doing an excellent job in a mostly male dominated role. A hint of romance.
We’re introduced to Thea Paris and specialist in recovering high power individuals who are kidnapped and ransom is being asked for their safe return. In fact the ‘agency’ she belongs to is called Kidnap and Ransom! Thea heads a team of security experts that so far has been able to recover anyone they’ve gone after. Now she’s tasked with finding and rescuing a family member.
Thea’s father is a shipping tycoon worth billions. He is kidnapped from his yacht and his staff is killed. After Thea’s brother Niko was kidnapped as a child, she is reliving the nightmare from her childhood. Graphic violence, murder, and mayhem ensue.
If you like a good ‘who-done-it’, you need to read this book!
KJ Howe delivers in spades with Freedom Broker, and Thea Paris is one bad-ass protagonist who you always want on your side. The plot is complex, as much a crime mystery as an action thriller. With a long cast of characters, Howe manages to still develop each to make them truly part of the plot, nit just convenient window dressing. In true Hitchcockian style, the ending has a multitude of twists that will certainly surprise and please. This book should be on the must-read list of every thriller/mystery fan!
The amazing thing about this book is that it’s a debut novel. It so smoothly combines the complicated plot and unique and strong characters with a plot full of unpredictable turns, managing to hit every mark spot-on. It’s astounding.
What Lilith Liked: I’m thrilled to find a strong heroine in the thriller genre. Thea Paris, one of only twenty-five elite kidnap and ransom specialists in the world, is determined, focused and flawed. Nothing will keep her from leading her team through a successful mission.
What Lilith Didn’t Like: Not a blessed thing—I’m hooked, and KJ knows it.
Lilith’s Favorite Quote: “Her nerves were tighter than the strings on a Stradivarius.”
In a Nutshell: Lee Child endorses it . . . it doesn’t get any better than that!
Lilith’s Sizzle Meter: Ahem; this is a thriller . . . no steam. 🙂
Fast paced and fascinating to read. Great wordsmith. Highly recommend this book and author.