Baptism
In this high-adrenaline thriller, a London tube train is taken over by religious zealots who want to die and take everyone with them. Tommy and his sister have big plans to kill everyone on board the train by flooding the tunnel, thus creating the titular “baptism.” Ed, the lead negotiator, possesses a unique skill set: he is blind but has the ability to detect deep levels of meaning in the timbre of voice, and what he hears when he talks to Tommy is truly frightening. Even without nuance, the facts are bad enough: Tommy is killing anyone who enters the tunnel, and, with the body count soaring, MI5 has pulled back. Ed is convinced that Tommy’s religious beliefs are stronger than anything a negotiator could offer, so he’s forced to look for another solution. With lots of violence, steadily building tension, and an exciting finale, this one will find eager readers among James Patterson’s fans. --Stacy Alesi