Vampire Apocalypse: Fallout

HOSTAGE ZERO by John Gilstrap

By Derek Gunn

Here's a taster of what I wrote about the new thriller from New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap's latest novel for The Big Thrill, the July edition of the monthly newsletter from The International Thriller Writers Association in my capacity as a contributing editor...

Jonathan "Digger" Grave is a free lance hostage rescue operative. When two teenage boys are inexplicably kidnapped from a Virginia residential school for children of incarcerated parents, Grave and his crew set out to locate the victims and apprehend the abductors.

When Hostage Zero by John Gilstrap came into my mailbox I wondered if I would have the time to read it all in time for this article. Hostage negotiation novels are not my first choice usually so I began it with a little trepidation. This novel was nothing like any hostage negotiation I have ever read before. In fact there was no negotiation at all, only blistering action and a taut plot that keeps you turning the pages. Two days later, and suffering from lack of sleep, I finished the book and immediately ordered the first one in this series, No Mercy. Hostage Zero was nothing like I had expected. The pace is frantic, the characters believable and you will end up shouting encouragement to the good guys as they dole out well-deserved punishment to the bad guys. Read more at the ITW website