Hardcover
Hardcover
Paperback
Hardcover
Paperback
Hardcover
ISBN: 0316097543
$27.99/U.S.
416 pages
Little, Brown and Company
Paperback
ISBN: 0446571873
$14.99/U.S.
400 pages
Grand Central Publishing
Matthew Bannon, a poor art student living in New York City, finds a duffel bag filled with diamonds during a chaotic attack at Grand Central Station. Plans for a worry-free life with his gorgeous girlfriend Katherine fill his thoughts—until he realizes that he is being hunted, and that whoever is after him won't stop until they have reclaimed the diamonds and exacted their revenge.
The perfect lie
Trailing him is the Ghost, the world's greatest assassin, who has just pulled off his most high-profile hit: killing Walter Zelvas, a top member of the international Diamond Syndicate. There's only one small problem: the diamonds he was supposed to retrieve from Zelvas are missing. Now, the Ghost is on Bannon's trail—but so is a rival assassin who would like nothing more than to make the Ghost disappear forever. From "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) comes a high-speed, high-stakes, winner-take-all thrill ride of adrenaline-fueled suspense.
Hardcover
ISBN: 0316097543
$27.99/U.S.
416 pages
Little, Brown and Company
Paperback
ISBN: 0446571873
$14.99/U.S.
400 pages
Grand Central Publishing
Book One | THE ART STUDENT
Chapter 4
OKAY, LET ME get back to my story about the unexpected treasure trove that I found in locker #925. It was a night I'll never forget, of course. And for the other people in Grand Central Terminal, it was probably their worst nightmare.
I wasn't in New York City on September 11, 2001, but I've lived here long enough to understand the citywide paranoia. It could happen again.
New York is, was, and always will be Ground Zero. Code orange is as lax as we get here. I've seen tanks parked on Wall Street, bomb-sniffing dogs in public buildings, and convoys of cop cars barreling into neighborhoods as part of the NYPD's daily anti-terrorism drills.
So, when the post–rush hour lull at Grand Central is shattered by gunshots and followed by two loud explosions, only one thing comes to mind.
Terrorist attack.
In an instant, the collective paranoia was justified. Mass panic ensued.
The screams echoed off the walls of the marble cavern. The first thing I saw was that nobody ducked for cover. Everybody ran—with visions of the crumbling towers replaying in their heads, I'm sure.
And then I couldn't see a thing. Red smoke filled the building.
I've spent a lot of time in war zones, but this was not my responsibility. I wasn't a first responder.
I ran like the rest of them.
And then I saw it in the smoky haze.
A trail of blood.
Instinctively I followed it. And then I saw him.
He was a big bear of a man, slumped against a bank of lockers in a pool of his own blood—from a gaping wound in his neck.
In all the madness, nobody was paying any attention to him. I knelt at his side.
My knee hit something hard. A gun.
"Get doctor. Stop blood." He gurgled out the words in a thick Russian accent.
But there was no time for a doctor. No time for anything.
Before I could say a word, his eyes rolled back in his head and he exhaled a strained breath. He was dead.
His dark blue suit and the floor around him glistened with blood. It coated the door of the bottom locker closest to him. As I looked up, I saw a wide swath of red where he had leaned against the upper locker and slid to the ground.
Locker #925 was covered in bloody handprints.
And it was open.
Wide open.
Copyright © 2011 by James Patterson
Audiobook (Unabridged CD)
ISBN: 1607884674
$34.98/U.S.
Hachette Audio
Jeff Woodman has narrated numerous audiobooks in many different genres including Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and The Life of Pi. He has also done numerous ESL programs and cartoon voices for Japanese animation. Jeff has appeared in several episodes of Law & Order and various off-Broadway plays.
Jason Culp has been an actor since he was 10 years old. He was featured on television in Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, and in the cult film, Skinheads. He has narrated a number of audiobooks and is completing a memoir.
Clip #1
Hardcover
ISBN: 0316097543
$27.99/U.S.
416 pages
Little, Brown and Company
Paperback
ISBN: 0446571873
$14.99/U.S.
400 pages
Grand Central Publishing
