Hostage

Hostage - Robert Crais Dennis Rooney and his brother, Kevin, decide at the spur of the moment to rob a convenience store in Bristo Camino, California, with a new friend who was recently released from prison. What was supposed to be a simple robbery goes terribly wrong and is compounded when they take refuge in a suburban home with the residents on premises. Jeff Talley, the chief of police in this quiet community, is a former LAPD SWAT negotiator who took this job as an escape from his stressful past. Now, he's faced with a deadly situation that calls for him to use all of his former training to get the hostages released unharmed. There were quite a few twists and turns in this story that kept me off balance and completely riveted. So many were not as they appeared and the robbers were unpredictable. Tally is a pretty flawed guy who ends up having a personal stake in the outcome. The dynamics between the robbers add another layer of suspense as each has a separate agenda. I normally am attempting to figure out who the real villains are while reading a mystery/suspense but this time I was just trying to keep up with all the emotional and plot shifts. I couldn't put this audiobook down and looked for excuses to drive so I could listen. This is my first book by Crais and it won't be my last. His writing style works really well with the genre, using an economy of words that  effectively tells the story, defines the characters and moves the plot along at a pace that left me breathless. If that's appealing to you, add this book to your shelf.