Exit Strategy

May 25, 2020
This energetic series launch from Danna (No Man’s Land as Sara Driscoll) introduces NYPD Det. Gemma Capello, who specializes in hostage situations. Her Italian American cop family includes her widowed police chief father and four brothers who work for the NYPD. They’re all enjoying a holiday
meal at the Capello home in Brooklyn when a call comes in from an officer in Lower Manhattan: a gunman may have taken the mayor hostage along with several other people. Gemma and her cop brothers rush to the scene, where she soon proves her mettle by establishing a phone bond with the suspect, who wants the city’s stop-and-frisk policy rescinded, and offering herself as a hostage to free the others. Meanwhile, she fends off a SWAT team leader eager to make an assault. Convincing descriptions of New York City neighborhoods and police tactics, along with flashbacks full of Italian family lore, compensate for some stilted dialogue and heavy-handed action. Fans of contemporary police procedurals will hope to see a lot more of the capable Gemma. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency.

June 12, 2020

Even when she's out with friends, NYPD Detective Gemma Capella, a hostage negotiator, steps in to save others. Her family serves New York. Gemma's father and three brothers are police officers, while a fourth is with the fire department. They set aside one day a year for a family picnic, but when cell phones ring, it's a city crisis. Gemma is selected to help with a man who has taken over City Hall. She and the negotiating team do their part, but when the mayor, with his own agenda, destroys their plans, Gemma sees only one way out. As a young girl, she was a hostage in a robbery when her mother was shot. Now, she goes rogue to deal with the hostage taker. It's a carefully mapped chase through the city as Gemma negotiates with a man who has no options. VERDICT As Sara Driscoll, Danna is the coauthor of the "FBI K-9" mysteries and the "Abbott and Lowell" forensic mysteries. She kicks off her first solo effort, the "NYPD Negotiators" series, with a compelling, dramatic story while using the protagonist's family background as motivation. Readers who love the TV show Blue Bloods, with its family of cops, will relish this launch.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.