WINNER of the Best First Novel 2018 Award at the International Thriller Writers Awards.

The first in a brand new series featuring Thea Paris, a kidnap and ransom specialist. Lee Child calls THE FREEDOM BROKER a 'superb thriller', Lisa Gardner says it's 'clever and gritty' and Peter James calls it 'spellbinding'. If you like the thrillers of James Patterson and Lee Child, or are a fan of Jason Bourne, you will love this.

At eight years old, Thea Paris watched her brother being snatched from his bed.

Her inability to save him has haunted both their lives ever since.

Twenty years later, the unthinkable happens when her billionaire father is abducted.

But this time, she is prepared.

Now, Thea is at the top of her game as a freedom broker, negotiating for the release of kidnap victims around the world.

And she has only one objective:

Find him or die trying...

"THE FREEDOM BROKER is a blisteringly original, superbly crafted thriller that promises to be one of the major debuts of 2017. K. J. Howe's gut-wrenching foray into the world of hostage negotiation turned upside down propels her straight into the league of Linda Fairstein, Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Scottoline, and Karin Slaughter, thanks to a tale framed by an emotional complexity and structural elegance both rare for the genre. As riveting as it is bracing, this is reading entertainment at its absolute best" - Providence Journal

"Gripping action and thrills make this an amazing page-turner. It's hard to believe this is her first novel" - Asian Times

"Thea, a trained kidnap-buster, heiress and - an original touch - diabetic, rolls with the punches of a plot involving a made-up African country, drug cartels, arms dealers, oil reserves, Chinese business interests and, of course, a kidnapping. A second prodigious female agent, from the US government, further energises the action" - Sunday Times Crime Club

"A breathtakingly fast story" - Daily Mail