FBI agent Cliff Knowles investigates a kidnapping, but the report of the crime seems suspicious. Was there really a kidnapping? And, if so, can Agent Knowles rescue the victim in time?

"A wise and thorough investigation." - Lawrence Wright, author ofThe Looming Tower andThe Terror Years Starting in late 2012, Westerners working in Syria -- journalists and aid workers -- began disappearing without a trace. A year later the world learned they had been taken hostage by the Islamic State. Throughout 2014, all the Europeans came home, first the Spanish, then the French, then an Italian, a German, and a Dane. In August 2014, the Islamic State began executing the Americans -- including journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, followed by the British hostages. Joel Simon, who in nearly two decades at the Committee to Protect Journalists has worked on dozens of hostages cases, delves into the heated hostage policy debate. The Europeans paid millions of dollars to a terrorist group to free their hostages. The US and the UK refused to do so, arguing that any ransom would be used to fuel terrorism and would make the crime more attractive, increasing the risk to their citizens.We Want to Negotiate is an exploration of the ethical, legal, and strategic considerations of a bedeviling question: Should governments pay ransom to terrorists?

Edgar Award finalist: When the strange new bus driver passes the last stop, the five teens on board know something’s wrong: “[A] gripping thriller.” —Publishers Weekly Valley Gardens is the last stop on the bus route after school. The neighborhood is known for its wealthy families, perhaps the richest in town. Marianne, Bruce, Glenn, Dexter, and Jesse live in Valley Gardens, and have no trouble guiding the new bus driver to the last stop of the day—but the strange substitute driver keeps driving. Soon the five teenagers are hostages deep in the mountains. Their kidnappers demand stacks of money from their families, even though most of the students aren’t as well off as the abductors assume. Without hope of raising the ransom money, the five teens must find a way out or face terrifying consequences. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lois Duncan including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Eight children from four wealthy families are kidnapped in New York City on New Year's Eve in 1885. Just when the children's parents had given up all hope of ever seeing their children again, they each received a letter from the kidnappers with two demands, which must be met in order to secure the release of their children. The first demand requires a large ransom to be delivered to the kidnappers at a place to be determined. The second demand requires that four Christian men, whom the kidnappers will choose, must deliver the ransom and if it's delivered by anyone else, all the children that were kidnapped will be killed. News of the large ransom spreads quickly throughout the United States, and every outlaw wants to get their hands on it before it gets to the kidnappers. Can the ransom get through to the kidnappers and save the children's lives, or will the kidnappers kill their young captives because the ransom was never delivered to them or was delivered by someone other than the four Christian men that were chosen to deliver it?

As The Healing Crystal Trilogy comes to a close, spring has finally come to the high mountains. As winter releases its grip, the small band of Survin refugees is violently divided. When three unique worlds collide, cultures change forever, as traditions and rituals are swept aside. While faith crumbles for one, another's is renewed. The gulf between these worlds may prove insurmountable. Young Kinter, lost in the shadow of her sister, fights for her own power. As she maneuvers to seize the crystal and displace Kairma as the heir, Kinter's future hangs by a thread. Collin, Kairma's lifelong friend, discovers he may be forever barred from Kairma by the evil carried in her blood unless the power of the Crystal can be realized. Bearing the weight of the most powerful object known to mankind, Kairma has an impossible choice to make: return to Survin in ignorance or dare to trust these powerful strangers. When freedom fighter Rand Solis allies himself with young Kairma, they discover that in order to heal the world, both must make sacrifices-friends, religious beliefs, and political philosophies. Great knowledge comes at great cost to the pair as they learn that a political philosophy may be perfect in a given moment ... but such moments are fleeting. The Healing Crystal Trilogy presents a science fiction epic about lost technology, the morality of power, and the creation of religious and political philosophy.