Synopses & Reviews
In the mountainous north of Spain, on a quiet Sunday morning, a Basque terrorist group kidnaps the country's wealthiest woman after a violent ambush along a winding country road. At the same time, in New York City, a murderous shootout alongside Central Park leaves two dead and Spain's ambassador to the United Nations held hostage. NYPD Detective First Grade Brian McKenna and his partner Cisco Sanchez (the self-described world's greatest detective) are assigned to the Joint Terrorist Task Force. The task force is focused on locating the ambassador, but for McKenna, the investigation becomes urgent when he learns that the kidnapped woman is Carmen de la Cruz, a personal friend.
The search begins for two dangerous cells, one in New York, the other in Spain. McKenna and Sanchez work with the FBI, ATF, and state troopers to comb the city and eventually the state, but in Spain the investigation is stalled-until the two detectives negotiate an unprecedented role in a foreign police matter. When they arrive in Madrid, McKenna and Sanchez are caught in the crossfire of a war between Basque nationalists and the Spanish police themselves. Intercepted cellphone calls lead the partners to resort area of Gibraltar, and a complex of caves beneath the famous rock that might conceal Carmen and her kidnappers.
Combining terrific suspense, only-in-New York characters, and first hand knowledge about how an international terrorist incident is investigated, The Protectors is Dan Mahoney at his best.
Review
"Mahoney...has the procedural elements locked down tight, and in McKenna and Cisco he has created a pair of the most likeable dangerous cops in current crime fiction. The locales--New York City and Spain-are nicely rendered, and the conclusion is both surprising and satisfying."-
Booklist (starred review)
"Mahoney is a retired cop who writes his mysteries with colorful style and dramatic flair." - Publishers Weekly
"Action, suspense, plot twists and innovative police work all come together in this timely thriller."-Publishers Weekly
"A cut above."-Kirkus Reviews
"Complex, authentic...surprising and satisfying." --Booklist (starred review)
Synopsis
Detective Brian McKenna joins the Joint Terrorist Task Force to pursue a terrorist organization which has kidnapped Spain's ambassador to the United Nations from his New York residence. As the NYPD responds, a close friend of McKenna's in Spain is taken in a violent confrontation. It's up to McKenna to find the connection between the two kidnappings.
Synopsis
When Terrorists With Nothing To Lose...
In a dramatic and violent kidnapping, the Spanish ambassador to the U.N. is taken at gunpoint in front of his luxury New York City apartment by a group of professional terrorists. The ambassador's bodyguards are killed, and his wife is threatened before the terrorists escape into the maze of the Big Apple...
Kidnap the Rich and Powerful...
But for veteran NYPD Detective First Grade Brian McKenna and his partner Cisco Sanchez, this is much more than a high profile kidnapping. This case is personal. The same group of terrorists has also taken their friend, Carmen de la Cruz, the wealthiest and most adored woman in Spain. And when a third kidnapping of another Spanish diplomat follows, the pressure mounts and the stakes are raised in this deadly game of hide and seek...
One Cop Must Play By His Own Rules.
To unravel a web of terrorists and save his friend, McKenna must first solve the crime in New York and find the ambassador. But his methodical police work and keen insights into the criminal mind might not be enough. This time McKenna might have to break the very laws he has sworn to protect...
"A cut above." -Kirkus Reviews
"Complex, authentic...surprising and satisfying."--Booklist (starred review)
About the Author
Dan Mahoney was born and raised in New York City. He worked for twenty-five years in the NYPD before retiring as a captain. He is the author of
The Two Chinatowns, Black and White, Once In, Never Out, Hyde, Edge of the City, and Detective First Grade (all available from St. Martin's Press). He lives in New York City.