The Hostage

In this new thriller from the author of critically acclaimed The Yards, a cop tracks the kidnapped teenage daughter of a wealthy developer in a American Rust Belt town.
A new Nissan plant is coming to the depressed Rust Belt town of Baxter, and Captain Delia Mariola has been busy cleaning up the crime-addled city ever since the deal was announced. But when Elizabeth, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the lead bidder on the construction project, suddenly disappears, and it becomes clear that a professional kidnapping ring may be responsible, Delia realizes that the factory's influx of cash could bring with it an entirely new sort of danger.
Though Elizabeth's abduction was well-planned and bore the mark of an experienced team, her captors could not have anticipated the quick and clever brilliance of the exceptionally smart teen. From the trunk of the car where she is held, Elizabeth devised a clever trick to get cryptic messages to those who love her. The only problem is that the messages might be too cryptic even for their recipients to decipher.
If Delia has any hope of bringing the girl home unharmed, she'll have to crack the code and discover the meaning behind each message. And unless she does it fast, there may be nobody left to save...
Tough, thrilling, and filled with memorable characters, The Hostage is a gritty mystery set in the same hardscrabble town as The Yards.
Reviewers on A.F. Carter:
'A breathless suspenser that's also a painfully acute evocation of the wrong side of the tracks.' Kirkus, on The Yards

'Another impressive effort from Carter.' Publishers Weekly, on The Yards

'A riveting, must read tale of suspense, murder and retribution.' Reed Farrel Coleman on All Of Us