by Ted Dekker
First published 2012
Danny Hansen sits in his California prison cell, serving fifty years for killing two abusive men. The former vigilante priest has embraced non-violence and learned to survive the brutal prison system through careful maneuvering. His quiet existence shatters when Renee Gilmore receives a package containing a severed finger and threatening demands from an unknown enemy. Danny realizes he must break out to protect the woman he loves. Someone has trapped them both in a deadly contest with impossible rules. If Renee fails her tasks, Danny dies. If Danny cannot reach her in time, Renee dies. The anonymous tormentor promises that two deaths will not satisfy their hunger for revenge. Danny faces a choice between his hard-won peace and the violence he swore to abandon. The prison walls that once contained his guilt now stand between him and saving Renee's life.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity
Setting: California
403 pages · Hardcover · Center Street
Content warnings: violence