cover image Touch & Go

Touch & Go

Lisa Gardner. Dutton, $26.95 (400p) ISBN 978-0-525-95307-4

This no-holds-barred stand-alone from Thriller Award–winner Gardner opens with the brutally efficient kidnapping of the Denbe family—father Justin, wife Libby, and 15-year-old daughter Ashlyn—from their exclusive Back Bay townhouse. Law enforcement officials who get quickly involved include corporate investigator Tessa Leoni (from 2011’s Love You More) and series lead Boston Det. Sgt. D.D. Warren (Catch Me, etc.). When the trail leads out of state, New Hampshire county cop Wyatt Foster and FBI special agent Nicole Adams get on the case. Gardner effectively alternates between the physical and emotional disintegration of the family under the pressure of their captivity and the efforts of Leoni and company to dig into the secrets of Denbe Construction, its key employees, and its finances, as well as to locate the Denbes. The suspense builds as the action races to a spectacular conclusion and the unmasking of the plot’s mastermind. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)