Book summary

Ed McBain takes a break from his 87th Precinct series with this standalone thriller. Alice Glendenning is going through a decidedly rough patch. Her beloved husband Eddie drowned eight months ago in a boating accident. She's nearly broke, and the insurance company has so far failed to pay up the double indemnity claim of $250,000 on her husband's policy. But her difficult situation becomes impossible when Alice's two children are abducted and the kidnappers demand the insurance money she still hasn't received as ransom. Soon Alice's house is swarming with cops, the FBI, and various well- and poorly-intentioned people interested in both the case and the money. When the combined (and somewhat conflicting) efforts of this crowd do nothing to recover Alice's children, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands.

Media reviews

"...[P]ure pleasure....The procedural king makes the whole caper look so easy you wonder why all suspense novels aren't this slick." (starred review)