The Protectors (Det. Brian McKenna Novels) - Hardcover

Mahoney, Dan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312284500 ISBN 13: 9780312284503

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2002

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

High Praise For the Novels of Dan Mahoney

The Protectors:
"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

The Two Chinatowns:
"The Two Chinatowns has clearly been written by an author with real procedural experience...The main virtue of Mr. Mahoney's fine detective story is the strength of the illusion it sustains that things could have happened almost the way they happen in this book."-Richard Bernstein, The New York Times Book Daily

"Mahoney...knows the nuts and bolts of a sweeping multijurisdictional police operation. He is also able to portray complex, believable characters struggling mightily with their own muddled lives. Fans of William Caunitz, Robert Daley, and Ed McBain will savor this top-drawer procedural."-Wes Lukowsky, Booklist

"A complex plot is no deterrent to enjoyment of Mahoney's ambitious thriller...Mahoney's characters are always solid, and this tale is almost a primer on Chinese community dynamics. He pulls no punches and speeds to a perfect ending."-Publishers Weekly

Black and White:
"Mahoney gives compulsive procedural buffs exactly what they crave."- The New York Times Book Review

"Black and White is as gripping a novel about a police investigation as you can get...a top-notch thriller."-Chicago Tribune

"Few authors map the political minefields faced by cops on a high-profile case with more realism than Mahoney...a brilliantly twisted plot."- Publishers Weekly

"Exact and fascinating."-Kirkus Reviews

"Compelling, graphic."-Booklist

"Mahoney does a great job of showing us an insider's view of a cop's world."-Denver Rocky Mountian News

"Mahoney...draws on his 25 years as a cop to provide blow-by-blow description of how homicide detectives do their job."-The Free-Lance Star

"Suspenseful...graphic details...the finale is a shocker."-The Sunday Oklahoman

Once In, Never Out:
"Mahoney doesn't sell his readers short. He keeps the action moving."-Chicago Tribune

"Mahoney...knows the drill on conducting a manhunt...and he takes us through the crime-scene photos, the morgue visits, the criminal profiling, the computer searches, and all the rest of it with scientific precision and absolute authenticity."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"Gripping...With absorbing exotic background and richly developed characters, Mahoney...delivers an unusual procedural that rises far above the genre norm."-Publishers Weekly

"Succeeds wonderfully...A superb effort from an emerging master of the genre."-Kirkus Reviews

"A nonstop roller-coaster ride of a thriller...Fast-paced and lean."-The Irish Echo

From the Back Cover

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 this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312284500
• ISBN 13: 9780312284503
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352