Most Popular Books by Ridley Pearson

Seattle police psychologist Daphne Mathews has her hands full with a pregnant, addicted, runaway teenager, a murder victim''s brother whose strange behavior unnerves her, and a deputy sheriff she once treated who''s now stalking her. She''s frightened enough to move in with Detective John LaMoia, a development that doesn''t exactly thrill Lou Boldt, their boss and Daphne''sex-lover. But Lou''s too busy with his own cases to brood over John and Daphne: the recent disappearances of two local women, and the death of Billy Chen, the nephew of Mama Lu, an old friend and a powerful figure in Seattle''s Chinese community, which appeared to be an accident but turns out to have been murder. The only thing the disappearances and murder have in common is location; all three victims were last seen in a part of downtown built over the Underground, a dark and dangerous warren of buildings abandoned after the fire that leveled Seattle more than a hundred years ago. While Seattle''s Underground has been the setting for several mysteries by other authors (Earl Emerson, J.A. Jance), Pearson makes the most of its creepy-crawly atmosphere in a gripping thriller whose solid plotting pulls all of Daphne''s, LaMoia''s, and Boldt''s cases together. It also wisely reconfigures the personal relationships among the three central characters, which bodes well for their future adventures in this long-running series (Middle ofNowhere, The Pied Piper). --Jane Adams

John Knox and Grace Chu, the incomparable duo of the Risk Agent novels, team up again in the latest international thrill ride from New York Times–bestselling author Ridley Pearson. When ex–military contractor John Knox receives a text from partner Grace Chu warning that she fears her cover may have been blown while on assignment, he jumps into action. Knox must locate her overseas handlers, convince them of the threat, and then attempt to retrace the well-hidden steps of a woman who had been attempting to determine how one million euros’ worth of AIDS vaccine disappeared, all while eluding angry poachers on a parallel trail. Corruption isn’t a “problem” in Kenya, it’s the way of doing business. The poaching of ivory from African elephants, driven by insatiable demand from mainland China, fuels constant blood and slaughter. Knox faces police, national rangers, journalists, and safari companies who are each in their own symbiotic relationship with elephants, both good and bad. As the threat from Al-Shaabab militants interferes with his pursuit of Grace, Knox finds himself pitted against the most savage and suicidal fighters in the world. And there’s this woman, Grace, always in his head. His gut. As Grace watches as her civilized self slips away while abandoned in the bush, Knox races against the clock to find her.

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.

The second book in this all new KINGDOM KEEPERS INHERITANCE trilogy follows our young heroes to parks around the world as they work to stop the most villainous villain of all—Ursula—from taking over for good! In this latest book in the series that has sold over a million copies worldwide, Ridley Pearson expands the Kingdom Keepers world in ways no reader—or Disney Parks fan—could have imagined. Home from their adventures abroad in book one, Eli and his friends are safe and sound at Epcot with their families—or are they? When Eli learns that the CEO of the Walt Disney Company has mysteriously done a 180 and ordered Villains Realms to be built in every park across the globe, he and his friends know something is amiss. It turns out that Ursula, the baddest of the big bads, has recruited an evil chemist to recreate Walt''s magical ink, which would allow the Villains to travel between parks and end Disney magic as we know it. With the help of Cinderella''s very own Fairy Godmother—the notorious FGM as she''s known in this world—they set out to stop Ursula—jumping from Epcot to Disneyland to Disneyland Paris, where the ultimate battle between good and evil plays out. Will Eli and his friends prevail, or will the Villains finally have their way?

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.

Three heart-pounding novels by the New York Times–bestselling author: “The best thriller writer on the planet” (Booklist). This volume include three novels filled with twists and turns from the author of such acclaimed suspense novels as White Bone and The Red Room: Probable Cause: Carmel, California is a peaceful tourist haven where James Dewitt is the police force’s only detective. His usual caseload is stolen bicycles and the occasional burglary—but things are about to change with frightening speed. “A natural storyteller . . .He keeps the thread going, twisting the details . . .dancing the forensic shuffle without missing a step.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch Blood of the Albatross: An innocent Seattle sailor is pulled into a dangerous web of espionage in this “enthralling” novel (The San Diego Union-Tribune). “Pearson skillfully spins this thriller with sense-of-place, breakneck pace, and economically drawn, believable characters.” —Library Journal Never Look Back: A Soviet agent has entered the United States—carrying a terrifying weapon—in this “breakneck-action” Cold War adventure (Kirkus Reviews).

In this riveting thriller, 14-year-old Steven "Steel" Trapp sets off with his mom and their dog, Cairo, on a 2-day Amtrak journey to compete in the National Science Competition in Washington, DC. Steel is both blessed and cursed with a remarkable photographic memory--just one look and whatever he sees is imprinted for keeps. Trying to be a good Samaritan on the train, he instead becomes embroiled in an ingenious, international plot of kidnapping and bribery that may have links to terrorists.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THAT?LL LEAVE READERS BREATHLESS. Controversial New York State Attorney General Liz Shaler is announcing her candidacy for president at a high-profile convergence of media heavy-hitters. Also in attendance is an assassin with a brilliant and foolproof 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 . . .

“Will leave you dying to know more.” —Rick Riordan, author of the #1 bestselling Percy Jackson series The New York Times bestselling author of the Peter and the Starcatcher and Kingdom Keepers series, Ridley Pearson, brings us the second riveting tale in the Lock and Key trilogy. This bravely reimagined origin story of the rivalry of literature’s most famous enemies—Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty—is told from the perspective of James’s observant little sister, Moira. At the thrilling conclusion to book one, we left off with James and Moira’s father dying horribly and unexpectedly. Now the search is on to find out whatreallyhappened to their father. Did he fall or was he pushed? Sherlock, James, and Moira reluctantly partner up, trusting no one, not even each other, as they uncover a secret sect, a rare jewel, and a sordid history. Blood is spilled, trusts broken, and friendships lost in this story of how one simple mistake cost Father his life and James his heart, and sent the Moriartys spiraling ever downward. It’s a highly original and satisfying take on the Sherlock Holmes series as only master of suspense Ridley Pearson could envision. As Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, says, “This tale will change the way you see Sherlock Holmes and leave you dying to know more.”

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.

The final title in the original KINGDOM KEEPERS series is back with an all new look and new content! The Kingdom Keepers’ senior year in high school is almost over. For more than three years, things have been quiet. Their battles are long behind them, they agree, the threat to the Disney realm silenced–albeit at great cost. But inside the catacombs of the Aztec temple where Finn Whitman faced down his nemesis, the monstrous Chernabog, a new threat brews. Deception and betrayal rock the Kingdom Keepers as the merciless group of Disney villains known as the Overtakers stage an unexpected comeback. But a discovery by the Keepers provides them with one hope of victory—a lost icon. It was believed to be gone forever. The Keepers have one last chance to preserve the heart of the Kingdom—Disneyland—from a terrifying destruction decades in the making.

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

The New York Times bestselling author of the Peter and the Starcatcher and Kingdom Keepers series, Ridley Pearson, brings us the stirring digital prequel to the Lock and Key series, which reimagines the origins of the rivalry between Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty. In The Gadwall Incident, readers get a glimpse into James’s life a mere twenty-four hours before the tipping point—before life as he knows it changes irrevocably and his childhood slips into the shadows. Readers will come to know the dangers that surround the Moriartys before James and Moria are sent off to the hallowed halls of Baskerville Academy, where they first meet the insufferable, inexhaustible Sherlock Holmes. It’s a tale full of intrigue and false starts and daring getaways, one that will leave readers desperate to know what''s next.

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.

With the adventures set forth in the first books now behind them, Kingdom Keepers 3: Disney In Shadow follows the five teens, Finn, Philby, Willa, Charlene, and Maybeck as they search to find Wayne, their mentor and head Imagineer who has mysteriously gone missing. Concerned Wayne has been abducted by the Overtakers—Disney villains, who along with other Disney characters, take over the parks when the turnstiles stop spinning, and want desperately to steer the parks to a far darker place—the five kids pick up a major clue from a close friend, Jess, whose dreams (nightmares, really) often accurately predict the future. The very few clues from Jess''s dream lead the kids into Disney''s Hollywood Studios and Epcot--through imaginary worlds that become real, by imaginary kids who are real. Each clue seems tied to the last, and with the stakes growing ever higher, what starts out as a puzzle ends up as a fight for their lives. Through a transparent paper box, a quest for a sword, rides on Soarin'' and Maelstrom, life-and-death encounters with giant snakes, and a devious Maleficent, the Kingdom Keepers not only begin to decipher deeper meanings to the clues, but discover new truths about themselves and their ever-growing friendships.

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

Shattered...by a mindless act of violence that changed his life forever, James Dewitt decided to become a cop. Shackled...by a web of red tape and corruption, Dewitt now fights desperately to solve a string of murders cleverly staged to look like suicides. Submerged...in the deranged world of the psychopathic mind, Dewitt struggles to outwit the killer-the man they call the "trapper"-before it''s too late...and to use every fingerprint and every fiber-and every last ounce of his strength-to escape the ultimate evil.

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.

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.

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.

“Outstanding . . . An attention to forensic and procedural detail unmatched outside of Ed McBain’s best . . . A read-through-the-night story” (Kirkus Reviews). Police Sgt. Lou Boldt heads a special task force within Seattle’s homicide bureau. His job: find and stop the Cross Killer, a twisted, perverse serial murderer who has eluded police for six months and paralyzed the city. But when a body washes up on the shore of Puget Sound, Boldt thinks the killer has finally made a mistake. This body shows some of the work of the Cross Killer—but a job badly botched. Did this woman die while trying to escape? Did she knowingly jump in the water to preserve a clue? And is she now desperately trying to tell Boldt something? With the help of the alluring Daphne Matthews, a police psychologist, Boldt must piece together the complex puzzle. From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Chris Klick series and the Walt Fleming series, this thriller reveals “an authentic feeling for police investigation and forensic medicine, and a remarkable insight and understanding of the motivations of the criminal mind” (Publishers Weekly). “Pearson has done well at putting together the grueling steps in an investigation . . . His characters are believable, and it’s an enjoyable entertainment.” —Chicago Tribune

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.

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.

Steven "Steel" Trapp has been placed in an East Coast boarding school for gifted kids by his FBI agent father. He soon discovers that there''s a clubby element of the faculty and upper classmen that is very secretive and protective. To his surprise, his friend Kaileigh arrives at the school, and it isn''t long before the two realize that this is not your normal boarding school. It seems a select few students are recruited, while still minors, to serve as special "translators" for the US Government.

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

A Soviet agent has entered the United States—carrying a terrifying weapon—in this Cold War thriller by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author . . . Agent Andy Clayton has been inactive for eighteen months, kept under tight surveillance at his home in Washington D.C. Now he is needed—Leonid Borikowski, code name Dragonfly, has been seen entering the United States, and Clayton is the only man who may be able to find and stop him. For Clayton, it’s more than a routine assignment. He knows Dragonfly, has faced him before, and he wants him. His interest is as personal as it is professional: He wants revenge on the foreign agent who killed his twin brother. But there is much that Clayton doesn''t know. He doesn''t know that Borikowski is carrying perhaps the most important, and dangerous, biological discovery the world has ever known. He doesn''t know that the microbe is in a suitcase armed with a device that will explode if Borikowski is harmed. And he doesn''t know about the Soviet intelligence project code-named Bookends—a project that will not be complete until Andy meets the same fate as his brother. The chase will take him across the United States and Canada, putting himself, the woman he loves, and thousands of innocent people in jeopardy…

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.

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 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!

An innocent Seattle sailor is pulled into a dangerous web of espionage in this thriller that “is almost impossible to put the book down” (The Oregonian). In this “enthralling” thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author, Jay Becker, an overworked, underpaid musician, is trying to earn some extra cash by giving sailing lessons on Puget Sound (The San Diego Union-Tribune). When a mysterious woman named Marlene hires him for what appears to be a simple expedition, he has no idea that he will be drawn into a plot that involves the CIA, the FBI, and a kaleidoscope of spy, counterspy; cross, double-cross—with the lives of himself, the woman he loves, and his best friend hanging in the balance . . . “Pearson skillfully spins this thriller with sense-of-place, breakneck pace, and economically drawn, believable characters.” —Library Journal

With the defeat of the Overtakers behind them, the five teenagers known as the Kingdom Keepers should be celebrating. By all accounts they saved Disneyland from certain destruction. Why then did their mentor leave one last puzzle for them to decipher? The Keepers must solve a puzzle of the past, or be crushed under an evil that makes the Overtakers seem like gentle souls.

The “remarkable” first novel in the series starring an ex-musician and amateur sleuth in beautiful, rural Idaho, by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author (Kirkus Reviews). Chris Klick wants to get far away from his past in the fast-paced West Coast music industry. But trouble seems to find him even in the peaceful environs of Idaho. When a woman named Nicole Russell tells the amateur sleuth about her missing husband, missing Labrador, and missing fifty-thousand dollars, Klick’s suddenly up to his ears in mystery. Aided by his best friend, former basketball star Lyel, Klick pursues Nicole’s husband, dog, and lost cash in corrupt Snow Lake. But helping Nicole recover her money may mean losing everything . . . Originally published under the name Wendell McCall, this is the debut novel in the series featuring Chris Klick, full of wit, grit, and adventure.

“Will leave you dying to know more.”—Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series The New York Times bestselling author of the Peter and the Starcatchers and Kingdom Keepers series, Ridley Pearson, brings us the riveting first tale of the Lock and Key trilogy about the origins of the rivalry between literature’s most famous enemies—Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty, told from the perspective of James’s observant little sister, Moria. Before James grew up to be a ruthless, remorseless villain, he was a curious boy from Boston, with a penchant for trouble and an acid tongue. Thrown into a boarding school against his wishes, James winds up rooming with a most unlikely companion: a lanky British know-it-all named Sherlock Holmes (“Lock” to his friends). An heirloom Bible, donated by the Moriarty family more than a hundred years ago, has gone missing, and it doesn’t take long for the two to find themselves embroiled in the school-wide scandal. The school is on lockdown until it’s found, strange clues keep finding their way to James, and a secret society lurks behind it all. It’s a brave new reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes series as only master of suspense Ridley Pearson could envision. As Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, says, “This tale will change the way you see Sherlock Holmes and leave you dying to know more.”

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

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.

Umberto Alvarez is a grieving man whose quest is to bring down the railroad company he blames for the death of his wife and children three years earlier - no matter who gets in the way. Peter Tyler is an ex-cop looking to redeem himself after being suspended from the force. Now an investigator with the National Transportations Safety Board, he will stop at nothing to catch the elusive Alvarez. But the case is more complicated than it seems. As Tyler''s investigation proceeds, it becomes apparent that Alvarez is no terrorist - in fact, the more Tyler investigates, the closer he comes to the real truth. Packed with action, laced with romance, brimming with heart-stopping suspense, and marked by the intelligence and humility that make Ridley Pearson''s novels stand apart from others in the genre, Parallel Lies will cause listeners to agree that he is "the best damn thriller writer on the planet" (Booklist).