The Bid

December 12, 2016
In Magson’s pedestrian sequel to 2016’s The Locker, James Chadwick, a British business consultant with a passion for radio-controlled planes, has taken out a policy from Cruxys Solutions, a London-based private insurance and security company that provides special services to people in dangerous professions. When Chadwick goes missing on a trip to New York, Ruth Gonzales, an investigator for Cruxys Solutions, pays a call on his wife, Elizabeth, at the couple’s Chelsea townhouse. Elizabeth refuses to believe that anything serious has happened to him. “He’s a business consultant,” she says. “The worst he could suffer would be a paper cut or a missed call.” Little does she know. Ruth flies to Newark airport, where she’s met by her American counterpart, Andy Vaslik, formerly of Homeland Security. Soon Ruth and Andy are up to their necks in terrorist plots, conflicts with the FBI, and a conspiracy to kill the U.S. president. The first two-thirds of the book consists mostly of interviews with various people about Chadwick’s disappearance; the last section is filled with gunfights, car chases, and other stock thriller elements.

December 1, 2016
In the second in the Cruxys Solutions series, globetrotting investigators Ruth Gonzales and Andy Vaslik (who were introduced in the widely praised The Locker, 2016) are in the U.S., looking into the disappearance of one of the world's top experts on military drones. Meanwhile, the missing man is rather upset to find himself being held captive in a small room by people who, he's assured, have some nasty things in store for him if he won't do exactly what they say. As we follow these two alternating plot threads, we gradually put together a picture of a terrorist plot that could spell disaster for the U.S. The question, of course, is whether Gonzales and Vaslik can beat the clock and stop the villains. With some intriguing characters (especially private-security experts Gonzales and Vaslika nice mix of superheroes and regular folks); some snappy writing; and a timely story, the novel should find a large and enthusiastic audience among fans of Daniel Silva and Alex Berenson. Devotees of the author's Harry Tate novels should have no trouble switching over to this new series, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2016
With the stakes high and time running out, two security experts try to piece together the last hours of a missing client.An unidentified prisoner finds himself trapped in a room described as a box within a box. Meanwhile, investigators Ruth Gonzalez and Andy Vaslik of Cruxys Solutions take a meeting with Londoner Elizabeth Chadwick, whose husband, James, unbeknownst to her, has taken out an unusual insurance policy. If the policyholder is not heard from within five days, Cruxys issues a code red and begins a search. Elizabeth claims ignorance of any danger in James' work. Also in the mix is Iraq War vet Tommy-Lee Roddick, who's guarding the unidentified prisoner and already suspicious about the legitimacy of the contractors who've hired him. The story weaves together these multiple strands as Ruth and Andy inch closer to Chadwick's location and learn more about him. Tommy-Lee is torn when his employers, who call themselves Paul and Bill, instruct him to water-board the prisoner. Ruth and Andy make slow progress, encountering obstacles at every turn. In Newark, Chadwick's "friend" Valerie DiPalma reveals that Chadwick was doing sensitive work on the development of drones. Later, Valerie finds a hidden bit of info that leads Ruth and Andy to a major break in the case. Much of the pleasure in reading this tangled yarn from the prolific Magson (Hard Cover, 2016, etc.) comes from putting the pieces together along with his pair of sleuths. Though the story unfolds predictably, they have nice chemistry and banter with aplomb.

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