The Wrong Hostage

Elizabeth Lowell

Judge Grace Silva gets a call from the private school where her son attends in Mexico. Her ex-husband had Lane taken there when he got in trouble at school in San Diego where they live. She is told she has to come down to the school immediately. When she gets there she is grilled over the whereabouts of her ex-husband Ted. She hasn't seen Ted in over six weeks. Then she learns that the Mexican mob is looking for Ted and is using Lane as hostage. If Ted doesn't appear within 48 hours, they will kill Lane.

Grace turns to the one man she believes can save Lane. Joe Faroe has just retired from St. Kilda Consulting. They are a specialized covert group that goes into situations the government can't. Joe's specialty was Mexico and South America. Grace knew Joe many years ago. The two met when Grace turned wild for a short time before her wedding. Joe's memories of Grace are nasty. The last time he saw her he was being dragged off to jail on felony charges. He was sure she turned him in. There's no love lost.

But when Grace contacts St. Kilda to contact him, he comes. He agrees to rescue Lane. Grace accompanies him as he visits Lane at the school. He can tell that it isn't going to be easy. How can a father set up his son as collateral and leave him to men as nasty as the Mexican mob? Joe can't understand. But Grace knows. Lane thought Ted was his dad. Ted knew that someone else was. Grace knows it's Joe. How can she tell him it's his son being held hostage???

St. Kilda Consulting has been featured in most of Elizabeth Lowell's current novels. They are the underground group that rescues hostages, will get involved in almost wars where the government can't, and other covert operations that are in those many shades of gray in politics. Joe Faroe is one of their top agents.

The Wrong Hostage is edgy and sharp. Grace is a strong woman, a federal judge, who fought to get where she is. She sees right and wrong with few shades of gray. Yet when it comes to her son, she is willing to delve into those shades. Joe lives in those shades of gray. And the two have not forgotten their connections all those years ago.

Elizabeth Lowell does a good job of showing Grace's indecisions, her fear, her pain, her feelings of the law and how to deal with her current situation. Her emotions feel real to the reader - Lowell makes The Wrong Hostage believable. And the end is satisfying.

Notice: Graphic violence, Strong sexual content

Always Time to Die
The Wrong Hostage
Innocent as Sin
Blue Smoke and Murder
Death Echo

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