The Negotiator

Dee Henderson

Kate O'Malley is a hostage negotiator for the Chicago Police Department. She is called in to negotiate a bank hostage situation. The man is threatening to blow up the bank and has dynomite strapped to his body. He is angry and frustrated because the bank foreclosed on his home. He feels like he has nothing left. She doesn't realize that there is an FBI special agent hiding in the bank as well. Dave Richman was there doing personal business when the hold-up man came into the bank.

Once Dave reveals himself, he and Kate start talking across the room - he in signs and signals, she in the stories she is using to diffuse the situation. She finally is able to talk the man out of his plans. He didn't have to use force on the man.

The two are very different. She has experienced and seen too much in her life to trust anyone easily except her adopted brothers and sisters. Dave has also seen too many bad scenes in his life, but he has a faith and confidence to be loving and accepting. The two are drawn to each other despite their differences.

When Kate is named in a telephone bomb threat, things turn nasty quickly. The terrorist then blows up an airplane with over 200 people aboard. Now Dave is assigned to protect her as they try to discover who bombed the plane and how she may be involved. Through him and through the bizarre situation, she learns more about herself than she would have guessed the day she walked into the bank to talk a would-be bomber down.

In The Negotiator, Dee Henderson has written a good Christian romantic suspense novel that can match mainstream romantic suspense novels. The characters are intriguing, the situation tense, and the mystery an interesting challenge (I did peg it correctly; it was because I've read enough of this genre to make a good educated guess). I enjoyed the pacing, being pulled right on through.

Christianity is one theme of the novel, although not the only or major theme. I liked the apologetics used. Henderson doesn't try to use Christianity to make all the trouble go away or seem less hurtful. She faces serious questions head on, like "Why would God allow over 200 people die when a plane is bombed?"

I'm looking forward to reading more of the novels in the O'Malley series, to include all the brothers and sisters who grew into responsible adults after meeting in an orphanage when they were all unhappy, disgruntled children. The Negotiator is a good book. Enjoy.

The Negotiator
The Guardian
The Truth Seeker
The Protector
The Healer
The Rescuer

Thr3e by Ted Dekker