This morning, our first featured book in our book spotlight, is The Freedom Broker by author, K.J. Howe. Check out this thriller, learn a little about the author, and enter for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post.
TheFreedom Broker
byKJ Howe
Genre:Thriller
KIDNAP& RANSOM
IN-DEPTHRESEARCH FOR CANADIAN AUTHOR’S DEBUT INTERNATIONAL THRILLER
There aretwenty-five elite kidnap negotiators in the world. Only one is awoman. And she’s the best in the business. Meet Thea Paris in THEFREEDOM BROKER.
Withover 40,000 reported kidnappings every year—whichtranslates to five people every hour—theworld of kidnap and ransom is taking on a newsworthy role across theglobe. Displaced military and police in third world countries have noway to put food on the table, but they do have security skills, sothey have turned to kidnapping as a way of making a living. Also,terrorists are using kidnapping as a fundraising enterprise, fillingtheir coffers with over 125 million dollars since 2009. Kidnappersused to only abduct high net-worth individuals and executives ofmulti-national organizations. Not anymore. Journalists, aid workers,and family members of executives have now become high value targets.
Kidnappingis a growing international crisis. What tools do we have to fightagainst this increasing threat? There are twenty-five elite kidnapnegotiators who travel to the globe’s hotspots to bring hostageshome, through negotiation or recovery, and they are called responseconsultants or freedombrokers.Local to Toronto, author K.J. Howe has immersed herself in the worldof kidnapping for the last three years, interviewing kidnapnegotiators, former hostages, kidnap and ransom insurance executives,hostage reintegration experts, psychiatrists specializing in thecaptive’s mindset, and the Special Forces soldiers who deliverransoms and execute rescues.
Howe’sresearch culminates into her debut thriller, THEFREEDOM BROKER,published by the Hachette Book Group under the Quercus imprint in theUS, Canada, U.K. and many foreign territories. The book has reachedattention North America wide, and has led to reviewers such as #1NYT Bestseller James Patterson callingit “fact and fiction at its best.”
K.J. Howe’s novel hasreceived positive and international acclaim from some of NorthAmerica’s most influential mediums and authors including:
TIMEMagazine calledthe book a “Dark Delight.”
#1NYT Bestseller Lee Child endorsesthe book: “Razor sharp and full of you-are-there authenticity—asuperb thriller.”
NYTBestseller Linwood Barclay shares, “Breathlessaction, great characters, and convincing details make Howe’s debuta surefire rocket to the top of the lists.”
InThe ProvidenceJournal,USA Today Bestselling author Jon Land reviews, “TheFreedom Broker is a blisteringly original, superbly crafted thrillerthat promises to be one of the major debuts of 2017. K.J. Howe’sgut-wrenching foray into the world of hostage negotiation turnedupside down propels her straight into the league of Linda Fairstein,Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Scottoline, and Karin Slaughter, thanks to atale framed by an emotional complexity and structural elegance bothrare for the genre. As riveting as it is bracing, this is readingentertainment at its absolute best.”
Bornin Toronto, Canada, K.J. enjoyed a nomadic lifestyle during her earlyyears, living in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean,which gave her an insider’s view into many different cultures.While abroad, she read every book she could find, which triggered inher a desire to create her own stories.
Sheattended Salzburg International Preparatory School, Neuchâtel JuniorCollege, and Albert College before earning a Specialists Degree inBusiness from the University of Toronto. K.J. found success in thecorporate world, but her passion for travel, adventure, and storiesdrew her back to school where she earned a Masters in Writing PopularFiction from Seton Hill University. She also won several writingawards, including three Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence inMystery and Suspense.
Whilehoning her fiction skills, K.J. worked as a medical, health, andfitness writer. She then became involved with the InternationalThriller Writers as the executive director of ThrillerFest, theorganization’s annual conference held every July in New York City.
Inpreparation for writing THE FREEDOM BROKER series, which focuses onelite kidnap negotiator Thea Paris, K.J. spent extensive timeresearching the dark world of kidnapping. She has interviewed formerhostages, negotiators, hostage reintegration experts, Special Forcesoperatives, and K&R insurance executives.
K.J.is an avid tennis player, cyclist, and swimmer. Travel and adventurestill rank high on her priority list. She has had the pleasure ofriding racing camels in Jordan, surfing in Hawaii, zip lining in theCosta Rican jungle, diving alongside Great White Sharks in SouthAfrica, studying modern combat in the Arizona desert, andworking with elephants in Botswana. Home is in Toronto, Canada, butshe is often missing in action.
K.J.Howe is available for interviews and appearances along withpresentations about kidnapping and travel safety. For mediaappearances, interviews, speaking engagements, and/or book reviewrequests please contact mickey.creativeedge@gmail.com by email or byphone at 403.464.6925.
Followthe tour HEREfor exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
