THE PIED PIPER
"Pearson proves once again that he can put together a big-scale big-time police manhunt better than anybody else in the business..." —Kirkus Reviews  READ MORE PRAISE
Who's that knocking at your door? Do you always look? Do you always know?
From best-selling crime writer Ridley Pearson, "a thinking man's Robert Ludlum," "the best thriller writer alive," comes a heart-pounding story of deceit and betrayal featuring Seattle detective Lou Boldt and forensic pathologist Daphne Matthews. The press is calling him the Pied Piper because infants have disappeared from San Diego to Seattle with only a penny flute left in the crib. With all signs pointing to a black market adoption agency, Boldt and Matthews must break the brilliantly conceived network of abductions that has shattered lives and terrorized communities. With few leads and no witnesses, Boldt and Matthews must battle not only the overwhelming odds, but the involvement of federal law enforcement driven by a news-hungry press and nervous politicians. The more deeply they probe, the more elusive the truth seems—evidence is being stalled, paperwork misplaced, witnesses overlooked. Why, when so much is at stake? From bedroom to boardroom, Seattle to New Orleans, The Pied Piper is Ridley Pearson's most ambitious, intriguing, tightly woven story yet, peopled with heartfelt characters and his trademark detailed research. Writing as a new father himself, his "remarkable understanding of the motivations of the criminal mind" is enriched by a deep level of emotional suspense and makes clear why Clive Cussler has described Pearson as "one hell of a writer."
EXCERPT
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Praise for The Pied Piper… "Pearson proves once again that he can put together a big-scale, big-time police manhunt better than anybody else in the business." —Kirkus Reviews "It's twists like this that fuel the rest of the novel as Pearson tightens the screws on Boldt as he tries to find his daughter and prevent another kidnapping.... none of it confusing for first-timers, who may be tempted to pick up earlier novels to see whether they're all this good." —Publishers Weekly "The chilling center of this extraordinary suspense tale is a parent's worst nightmare. Ridley Pearson punches up the terror to new heights with this completely unforgettable thriller." —Romantic Times "I feel that this is the first of his books in which we see a glimpse of Ridley's bare soul, if that isn't too embarrassingly old-fashioned a notion, through the very professional gloss. In this story, one can clearly detect that overpowering urge to expression that is the first cause and final justification of all the arts. The reader's stomach will be duly churned by the crime plot that Mr. Pearson orchestrates so expertly; but the emotional impact of the character development is what ultimately gives this book its tremendous power." —MysteryGuide.com "The action charges from Seattle to Portland to New Orleans in a tightly-woven, roller coaster plot. Pearson, not content to simply weave a page-turning story, fleshes out his characters and makes them come alive." —Roz Shea, BookReporter.com (full review)  |
                                  
  
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