James Patterson has become the world’s top-selling author by creating a winning literary formula and sticking to it. This involves high-octane storytelling emphasized by short cliff-hanging chapters and action-filled plots that grab readers’ interest and don’t let go.

BILLION-DOLLAR RANSOM, which Patterson has written with two-time Edgar-nominated author Duane Swierczynski, is no exception. A highly skilled and trained team, using the numbers One to Five for their code names, has pulled off three simultaneous kidnappings --- each involving a member or members of multi-billionaire Randolph Schroeder’s family.

"Patterson and Swierczynski do a masterful job of creating enough suspense and red herrings to keep readers far from the truth until all is revealed in the closing chapters."

When their leader, One, outlines the full plan, as well as the unprecedented demand for a billion-dollar ransom, he knows that this mission will place them ahead of the most well-known abductions in history, which includes names like Getty, Hearst and Lindbergh. Two kidnaps Randolph’s wife, Boo, from a salon where she has an appointment. Three and Four hold up the motorcoach carrying their young children, Cal and Finney. Five has to travel the farthest as he captures Randolph's estranged son, Tyler, who is on vacation in Mexico with his movie-star girlfriend, Cassandra. All three kidnappings happen at 3:14pm, and the separate locations are meant to keep both law enforcement and Randolph out of the loop until it is too late.

Once everything is confirmed and reported, the Mayor of Los Angeles orders the LAPD to put together a task force to run the show, led by Special Agent Nicole “Nicky” Gordon and LAPD Detective Mike Hardy. Just as they are holding their first meeting to plan their attack, the group is infiltrated by two men from Capital, a company that manages security and more for Randolph. He has made it clear that since his family and money are on the line, it will be his men --- James Haller and Virgil Tighe --- taking charge, and the task force will follow their lead.

Naturally, this is meant to cause problems. The first issue arises when the initial suspect who might have been able to help them, an ex-con named Rubin Padilla, is shot and killed by Capital’s men when they go to his apartment. Nicky had been aware of some smaller kidnappings that took place in the California area and discovers that Rubin had been a watchman on one of these. She is positive that this is the same group being led by One and that they were using these lower-level missions as practice for the big billion-dollar haul.

It becomes obvious that there could be one or more moles within Nicky’s team or the mayor’s office, and there is even some speculation that Randolph could be behind everything. There has been no love lost between him and Tyler, who he does not want running the family business under any circmstances. Randolph could benefit from eliminating his son from the picture while also receiving a healthy bump from the insurance policy on a billion-dollar ransom payment.

Patterson and Swierczynski do a masterful job of creating enough suspense and red herrings to keep readers far from the truth until all is revealed in the closing chapters. BILLION-DOLLAR RANSOM is a fun ride and a perfect way to kick off your fall reading.