On Venice’s popular Lido beach, a man is found lying on the shore, his throat slit and his tongue viciously torn out, and his face covered by an unusual antique mask. Superiors inside the Venice Carabinieri have finally given Captain Kat Tapo permission to run her first murder case. But when she learns that the mask is a Masonic “hoodwink” --- and that the circumstances of the man’s death are eerily similar to the Masonic punishment for betrayal --- she suspects that her appointment has darker implications.

THE ABDUCTION is the heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled follow-up to Jonathan Holt’s highly acclaimed international thriller, THE ABOMINATION --- a modern tale of mystery, treachery and intrigue that moves between the physical and virtual worlds of Venice, Italy, blurring the boundary between dark fantasy and terrifying reality.

By the stunning white dome of one of Venice’s grandest landmarks, a body with two slugs in the back of the head has been pulled from the icy waters. The victim is a woman, dressed in the sacred robes of a Catholic priest --- a desecration that becomes known as the Abomination. Working her first murder case, Captain Kat Tapo embarks on a trail that proves as elusive and complicated as the city’s labyrinthine backstreets.