WINNER of the Best First Novel 2018 Award at the International Thriller Writers Awards.The first in a brand new series featuring Thea Paris, a kidnap and ransom specialist. Lee Child calls THE FREEDOM BROKER a ‘superb thriller’, Lisa Gardner says it’s ‘clever and gritty’ and Peter James calls it ‘spellbinding’. If you like the thrillers of James Patterson and Lee Child, or are a fan of Jason … Bourne, you will love this. At eight years old, Thea Paris watched her brother being snatched from his bed.Her inability to save him has haunted both their lives ever since.Twenty years later, the unthinkable happens when her billionaire father is abducted.But this time, she is prepared.Now, Thea is at the top of her game as a freedom broker, negotiating for the release of kidnap victims around the world.And she has only one objective:Find him or die trying…
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Thea Paris is The Freedom Broker in K.J. Howe’s new kidnap-and-ransom thriller novel. Ripped from the headlines, this evil crime of kidnapping has become a dark, international financial exploitation. The protagonist in this fast-paced, forceful novel is one of the good guys who fight for captured victims. In addition to incredible actions scenes, and tense strategic maneuvering, this novel reveals the physical and mental injuries inflicted on kidnapping on the victim, as well as their family and friends. The story emphasizes the harrowing fears of death, of suffering, of helplessness, and even more deeply-ingrained intangibles.
Jump straight into action right from page one, as Thea Paris and her team are dropped into Nigeria at night on a clandestine mission to free a kidnapped petroleum engineer worker in a camp where she is held captive for a $3 million ransom. Danger is everywhere on these missions, “If the mission failed, no one would retrieve her body. She’d be left to rot in the jungle unidentified and forgotten.” High stakes for all involved. And this is just the beginning of this story.
Thea Paris vowed to become The Freedom Broker after her brother, 12 years old at the time, had been kidnapped and returned many months later. The impact of this abduction left lasting scars on her brother Nikos and his family and friends. The tragedy altered lives; just look at how it impacted Thea’s choice in her adult lifetime work.
Now Thea and her family have no idea what lies ahead. Ironically, Thea can’t stop the dramatic kidnapping of her father, Christos Paris, on the verge of his 60th birthday. Now the time is ticking to try to find him and to try and save him, if he isn’t already dead. The author creates a suspect-rich story for the reader to ponder.
Author K. J. Howe is a three-time Daphne du Maurier writing award winner and is the executive director of ThrillerFest, the annual conference of International Thriller Writers. She enjoys travel very much, and treats her readers to some incredible and exotic destinations as settings in her book. She became fascinated by the kidnap-and-ransom world after meeting Peter Moore, a British computer consultant who became the longest-held hostage in Iraq and the only person to survive of the five men who were taken on that day. Reading through the acknowledgements for her book, you’ll see how very well researched this fictional thriller is.
Join Thea Paris and her team as they fight in dire situations to save kidnap victims from dangerous, diabolical schemers. It’s a glimpse into what can happen in our real world.
And if you want to hear more from the author, listen to Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with K. J. Howe
I spied K.J. Howe on Twitter when Andrews & Wilson tagged me about my review of Collateral. I was so intrigued by the idea of a female K&R specialist that I rearranged my (insanely long) TBR and jumped right in to The Freedom Broker.
Like all my favorite thrillers, Howe opens this book with action and doesn’t let go. Thea Paris is a fantastic lead character – strong, intelligent, capable, and yet with believable human flaws. By making Thea a Type 1 diabetic, Howe introduced an interesting facet to both Thea’s personal and professional life. (As someone living with a T1, it’s obvious Howe did her research.)
Personally, I’m not a big fan of flashback scenes – and there were quite a few both with internal musings and mysterious letters – but Howe artfully used them to create fantastic pacing and unique suspense aspects.
This is a HUGE cast of characters, geopolitical intrigue, action, suspense, and mystery that I didn’t want to put down. I wish that Gabrielle would have been a bit more dynamic and found her “one-night rule” comments overly repetitive. That said, I found all the other characters well developed – even if hated – and was impressed with how the various events were brought together. Thea’s complicated relationships with her brother, her father, and Rif added realistic depth.
While satisfying, the ending left me wanting to continue reading about this world. I’ve already grabbed a copy of Skyjack and am looking forward to more adventures with Thea, Rif, and the rest of Quantum International Security.