New Releases by Ridley Pearson

The new Risk Agent novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Private security firm Rutherford Risk’s new client is a philanthropist with a headline-making cause: to locate and shut down an Amsterdam-based sweatshop that uses enslaved girls as forced labor. Enter import/export entrepreneur John Knox, with his former combat experience—and forensic accountant Grace Chu, who can trap and trace even the most sensitive financial information. Working through the picturesque streets and canals of Amsterdam, Knox and Grace face Middle Eastern mobsters, the owner of a local brothel and police officers they don’t trust. Pursuing one young girl who holds the key to their investigation, but is either too afraid or in too deep to help them, they encounter the dark side of a secret world where would-be allies are enemies, and the victims themselves don’t want to be saved.

The five Kingdom Keepers and their core friends have uncovered a startling truth: Disney villains Maleficent and the Overtakers are plotting a catastrophic event that could have repercussions far beyond the world of Disney. Aboard the Disney Cruise Line''s inaugural passage through the new Panama Canal, the Keepers and their holograms uncover a puzzle hidden within the pages of a stolen journal. The point of that puzzle will reveal itself in the caves of Aruba, the zip lines of Costa Rica, and the jungles of Mexico. A destructive force, dormant for decades, is about to be unleashed. The five Kingdom Keepers are to be its first victims! Includes a preview chapter from Kingdom Keepers VII - The Insider!

A Chinese National working for an American-owned construction company is grabbed off the streets of Shanghai in broad daylight. His one-man security detail goes missing as well in the start of a brilliant new series.

The Kingdom Keepers have their hands full when, during the inaugural cruise of the Disney ship, Fantasy, to exotic locations, they discover that the Overtakers have infiltrated the cast, stolen a journal that belonged to Walt Disney himself, and plan

Product tampering. Innocent lives. Nice suburban homes. A Seattle food company is victim to an ingenious extortion that has the FBI two steps behind. Seattle''s veteran homicide sergeant, Lou Boldt, and police psychologist Daphne Matthews approach the case from opposite ends: one undearthing micoscopic evidence, the other putting together a chilling psychological profile of a man willing to contaminate and kill if necessary. The cop Daphne Matthews secretly loves is being destroyed by the extortion. Boldt sees his department cracking. As the high-tech manhunt builds to a furious crescendo, Boldt and Matthews are jolted again: the madman they''re hunting may not be working alone . . .

A wave of babynappings has terrified parents from San Diego to Portland. And when the Pied Piper -- named for the penny flute he leaves in the cribs of his victims -- claims his first Seattle infant, the investigation draws in homicide detective Lou Boldt. Assigned temporarily to Intelligence so he can spend more time with his kids while his wife is hospitalized for chemotherapy, Boldt''s role is to keep the FBI out of the Seattle Police Department''s way. But FBI special agent Gary Flemming is a tough adversary -- so tough it almost seems as if he''s intentionally sabotaging the SPD''s investigation. Then the Pied Piper snatches Boldt''s own daughter, promising that unless Boldt throws both the Feds and the SPD off his trail he''ll never see his child again. Caught between his professional obligations and his fear for Sarah''s life, Boldt launches his own private manhunt with the help of John La Moia, his replacement in homicide, and police psychologist Daphne Matthews, his closest friend in the department. They form a sub rosa task force under the noses of the Feds and the SPD, and soon discover how the Piper has managed to stay a step ahead of the police, elude capture, and find his small victims. The chase moves from Seattle to Portland to New Orleans, culminating in a thrilling denouement in the daffodil fields of Washington''s Skagit Valley. Combining strong characterizations with an impressive command of both policing and pacing, Ridley Pearson, author of Chain of Evidence and Beyond Recognition, delivers another sure winner in this outing for Lou Boldt." -- Jane Adams

The tragic bombing of EuroTours Flight 1023 was big news. To FBI Agent Cam Daggett it was more than that. It was personal. His parents and son were on that plane. And for two years he''s been after the killer who did it. All he has to go on is a name: Anthony Kort . . . and the knowledge that Kort is in the United States with a detonator no airport security can detect. HE MUST BE STOPPED. Daggett''s colleagues at the Bureau and his girlfriend tell him his vendetta has become an obsession. They suggest he leave the investigation to other agents, in order to keep it objective. But having painstakingly constructed a portrait of the terrorist, Daggett believes he''s now the only one with any chance of predicting Kort''s next target. A novel of madness and revenge, Hard Fall begs readers to fasten their seatbelts.

Can Detective Joe "Dart" Dartelli uncover the truth? Or, more importantly, does he dare? Detective Joe "Dart" Dartelli made one critical mistake in his police career: He chose to ignore a piece of evidence in a case labeled a suicide that might have been a murder. The dead man was himself a vicious woman-killer who more than deserved his fate, but that ignored evidence pointed to Dart''s former mentor, the brilliant forensic specialist Walter Zeller. Now another suicide victim turns up--the body of a wife-beater--and the evidence clearly shows that the death was self-inflicted . . . or does it? Zeller was the best at reading and understanding the forensics of a crime scene--could he have manipulated it? Worse, why has Zeller disappeared? It terrifies Dart to suspect that Zeller is in fact on some twisted vigilante crusade, but Dart also knows that if he''s right, only he can stop it. Chain of Evidence is the intense, heart-pounding story of student versus mentor in the playing field of forensic investigation. Ridley Pearson links computer technology, psychological intensity, and complex questions of police and human ethics to create this breathlessly paced, unputdownable thriller.

Seattle police sergeant Lou Boldt is stunned when the local fire investigator presents him with frightening evidence in a series of fires that have occurred in the Seattle area. These white-hot fires burn so cleanly that even the ash disintegrates--leaving not a trace of its victims or any evidence of criminal activity. Only when Boldt is taunted by someone sending him pieces of melted green plastic--houses from a Monopoly board--does he realize that an arsonist is involving him in a deadly game.

One summer morning while Aidan and Sarah are visiting their grandfather, they discover a secret compartment in his battered wooden desk. Inside is a yellowed envelope that contains a piece of very thin, almost translucent, white paper, on which, handwritten in black ink, are a series of seemingly random lines; among them are what appear to be fragments of letters, but not enough to make sense. At the bottom of the page is a verse about Peter Peter and a reference to a real hotel in London. As it happens, the family is about to embark on a trip to Europe, so the children decide that while in London, they will try to locate the hotel.

For the five teens who modeled as Disney Hologram Imaging hosts, life is beginning to settle down when an intriguing video arrives to Philby''s computer at school. It''s a call for action: the Overtakers, a group of Disney villains, seem to be plotting to attempt a rescue of two of their leaders, both of whom the Disney Imagineers have hidden away somewhere following a violent encounter in Epcot. Includes a preview chapter from Kingdom Keepers V - Shell Game

The Kingdom Keepers mount a search for Wayne, their missing Imagineer mentor, and find themselves fighting for their lives in imaginary worlds that have become real.

A fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold, and the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger.

In this action-packed third installment in the Starcatchers series, Peter and Molly find themselves in the dangerous land of Rundoon, ruled by an evil king who enjoys watching his pet snake consume those who displease him. But that''s just the beginning of problems facing our heroes, who once again find themselves pitted against the evil shadow-creature Lord Ombra in a struggle to save themselves, not to mention the planet

Five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" are pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls.

It begins as a heist in Sun Valley, Idaho-until the local sheriff discovers a more sinister underlying plan. The crime gets more personal. The stakes are raised, and nothing is as it seems.

When the evil Overtakers gain control of a computer server at the Magic Kingdom, allowing them to put the holographic hosts into permanent comas if they should fall asleep, Finn and the others race against time to foil the plan.

Sun Valley sheriff Walt Fleming returns in this high-intensity thriller as he thwarts a plan to steal a rare wine at the annual wine auction. When a bomb detonates just as the auction revs up, the investigation explodes as well, pulling Walt in a dozen different directions.

When an earthquake strikes Neverland Island, things quickly go very wrong. The Lost Boys'' underground hideaway is flooded, forcing them to leave. Meanwhile a mysterious barrel washes ashore and falls into the hands of the pirates. When their leader, Captain Hook, finds out what''s in the barrel, he hatches an evil plan. But worst of all is the change in the mermaids. These once-peaceful friends of the natives have turned violent, using their needle-sharp teeth to attack anybody who goes into the water. When they injure some members of the native Mollusk tribe, the Mollusk leader, Fighting Prawn, feels he has no choice but to fight back. As the warriors prepare to attack, the Lost Boys and the chief''s daughters, Shining Pearl and Little Scallop, set off on a secret mission to try to make peace with the mermaids. Instead they''re captured by the mermaids, and while in captivity they discover the cause of the problem – the Blood Tide, which is poisoning the lagoon and will eventually kill the mermaids. With time running out, they must try to stop the tide and save the mermaids, as well as themselves. But to do so, they must deal with Captain Hook, whose plan threatens to destroy the Mollusk village and change life on Neverland Island forever.

When a skier goes missing from a Sun Valley mountaintop, Sheriff Walt Fleming''s crack search and rescue team becomes a target. Waist-deep in snow and neck-deep in lies, Walt suspects that people of great wealth and power-including a former state senator-want to keep him where he started: out in the cold.

In this riveting and adventure-packed follow-up to Peter and the Starcatchers, we discover Peter leaving the relative safety of Mollusk Island—along with his trusted companion Tinker Bell—for the cold, damp streets of London. On a difficult journey across the sea, he and Tink discover the dark and deadly, slithering part-man/part-creature Lord Ombra. It seems that the dreaded Ombra has a variety of mysterious powers including the ability to make shadows disappear. When Peter reaches London, he sets out to find the indomitable Molly. Together they must combat Ombra’s terrible forces to both protect the Starcatchers and the treasured starstuff and most importantly to rescue Molly’s mother from the clutches of evil. Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have done it again—written a compulsively readable, impossible-to-put-down tale that will delight readers of all ages.

While Peter is away from the island, James and the other Lost Boys discover a mysterious cave. Shining Pearl and her sister Little Scallop warn the boys that the cave is a dangerous place, inhabited by a creature known as the Goat Taker—a beast so scary that even the Mollusk tribe fears it. But the boys can’t resist trying to discover the cave’s secrets. When the first of those secrets turns out to be a tantalizing hint of a famous haunted treasure, Captain Hook and his band of cutthroat pirates quickly join the hunt. Before long the children are fleeing for their lives in a dark and deadly underground labyrinth…and their only hope of escape is to solve the mystery of the Cave of the Dark Wind.

When Surf the mermaid is captured by the evil Captain Crookshank and his crew, her friends enlist James, one of the Lost Boys, to help rescue her.

A spellbinding thriller pitting a U.S. federal marshal against the mob''s most resourceful killer--in a race to save the woman he loves Six years ago, witness protection marshal Roland Larson did the unthinkable: He fell in love with a protected witness, Hope Stevens, whose testimony was to put away prominent members of the Romero crime family. When Hope''s plan to "cut and run" is interrupted by both the government and the mob, she disappears into a new identity, taking with her not only her testimony but also a secret never shared with Larson. Larson, who has been looking for her ever since, is put back on her trail when the Romeros intercept the master WITSEC list from the Justice Department and Hope is believed to be among the first protected witnesses targeted for execution. In a series of terrifying encounters, Larson matches wits with a brutally ingenious killer whose sole target is Hope Stevens. For Larson, the stakes couldn''t be higher--he must find Hope in order to protect her and simultaneously prevent the mob from auctioning off the master witness protection list--an act that will put seven thousand innocent, and not-so-innocent, lives in jeopardy. Taut and edge-of-the-seat compelling, Cut and Run is a unique thriller that skillfully blends romance and suspense--Ridley Pearson at his heart-pounding best.

Years ago, Lou Boldt''s wife Liz had an affair with David Hayes, a young computer specialist at the bank where she is an executive. When Liz ended the relationship after reconciling with Lou, Hayes engaged in a daring embezzlement scheme. Now, years later, Hayes is trying to retrieve the money he hid for the Russian mob and contacts Liz to try to gain access to the bank''s mainframe. Liz is torn between wanting to protect the bank and needing to protect her family. Boldt, ripped apart by the discovery of his wife''s possible blackmail, must skate a delicate line between his incompatible roles as determined detective and jealous husband if he is to find the money while exposing and stopping Hayes. Intensely involving and revealing new aspects of Boldt''s emotional makeup never before seen, The Body of David Hayes is Ridley''s most gripping and engaging thriller yet.

Penzler Pick, June 2001: Ridley Pearson, who has written 14 previous books, many of them featuring his Seattle cop Lou Boldt, ups the ante in his latest thriller. Northern Union Railroad has been experiencing a series of accidents with their freight trains, but it is not until they find a freight car covered with blood that they call in outside help. Peter Tyler used to be a cop, until he nearly beat a black man to death and lost his badge. When he gets a second chance via an old friend at the National Transportation Safety Board, he drives a convertible through a snowstorm with the top down (he suffers from claustrophobia) to view the freight car. He arrives at the scene to discover that he will have to deal with Northern Union''s own security officer, Nell Priest, a black woman who already knows Tyler''s history. Meanwhile, Umberto Alvarez, the train wrecker, is systematically working his way towards his ultimate wreck, Northern''s F.A.S.T. train, due to make its maiden run from New York to Washington, D.C. Alvarez lost his wife and children when their car stalled between the gates at a crossing and were crushed by one of Northern''s trains. Although Northern Union was cleared of all responsibility and Alvarez''s wife was found negligent, he doesn''t think that''s so. As Peter Tyler''s investigation proceeds, he begins to come to the same conclusion. Closing in on Alvarez, he tries to interview the crossing guard who was on duty the day the wreck occurred. On arriving at the man''s apartment, he finds the man bludgeoned to death--with the same stick with which Tyler beat the black man all that time ago. It''s time to get paranoid. Who at Northern is covering up and what role does Nell play in all this? As always in a Ridley Pearson thriller, the action doesn''t stop until the final page. --Otto Penzler

Lieutenant Lou Boldt, the Seattle cop who stars in Ridley Pearson''s deservedly popular series, is a sharp and touching figure--perhaps the most believable police officer in current fiction. Early in this ninth book about his public and private life, Lou has to put on a bullet-resistant vest to lead a raid against some dangerous criminals. "The vest was not physically heavy, but its presence was," Pearson tells us. It meant battle; it meant risk. For Boldt, a vest was a symbol of youth. It had been well over a year since he had worn one. Ironically, as he approached the hangar''s north door at a light run behind his own four heavily armored ERT personnel, he caught himself worrying about his hands, not his life. He didn''t want to smash up his piano hands in some close quarters skirmish. . . . Boldt plays jazz piano one night a week in a local bar, and despite his concern for his hands, he takes every opportunity he can to get away from his desk and into the streets. But money pressures, caused by his wife''s recent illness, also make him think about the possibility of a better-paying job in the private sector. Meanwhile, some extremely ruthless people are murdering illegal Chinese immigrant women and leaving their bodies buried in newly dug graves. An ambitious local TV journalist named Stevie McNeal and the young Chinese woman she thinks of as her "Little Sister" risk their lives to investigate the killings, while Boldt and his team round up a most unusual array of suspects. This combination of hard-edged realism and softer sentiment has become Pearson''s trademark, and once again it works smoothly. --Dick Adler

Known for his meticulous, fascinating research, as well as his ability to create exciting plot twists that inevitably, a month or two later, seem to have anticipated real-life headlines, Ridley Pearson has genered praise as a "master" of the suspense novel. In Middle of Nowhere, the "Blu Flu" has struck the Seattle Police force and a majority of the officers are on a unofficial strike, with the exception of a few, including Detective Lou Boldt, who is committed to the job. When a string of robberies and the brutal assault of a female cop rock the city, the pressure of isolation threatens Boldt''s psyche and his marriage. With the help of psychologist Daphne Matthews and Sergeant John LaMoia, Boldt is able to make progress on both the assault and the robberies, but things soon spin out of control, and Bodt''s refusal to drop the case puts his own life at risk. Filled with the fast-paced, spiraling action that has made Pearson''s previous novels "irresistable" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) works of suspense that "grip the imagination" (People magazine), this offering from "the best thriller writer alive" (Booklist) is certain to keep the reader breathless.

An unofficial strike is stretching the Seattle police force to breaking point. Detective Lou Boldt is committed to remaining on the job come what may, but when the city is hit by a string of robberies and the brutal near-murder of a female cop, the mounting pressures start to threaten his marriage and his mental equilibrium. With the help of two of the few colleagues still working, he makes slow progress towards cracking the case, but things begin to spin out of control when he is pressured to drop his line of investigation, and it becomes clear that his life is in danger if he refuses. Working with police psychologist Daphne Matthews, he gradually begins to unravel a mystery which connects the robberies, the assault, and the crippling strike. Filled with the fast-paced storytelling which has characterized Ridley Pearson''s novels, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE is the book destined to propel him on to the bestseller lists.

Writers and rock music critics describe their experiences touring with the rock band they formed to raise money for charity