Of course, a novel set in America written by an American, can miss the spot with some readers in other English speaking countries. First, his house is obviously worth several million dollars; Second, the man is dead, dead, dead; Third Nicole finds that the investigator has been stalking her. As her sight adjusted, she looked around and, still seeing no one, fixed her eyes on a gold statue standing on a mahogany table in the center of the room.

So I find that Nancy has done it again and has written another OUTSTANDING read that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. But things get complicated after someone associated with another kidnapping is killed, one of the other victims goes missing, the police get involved, and Nicole’s money drop is not picked up… twice! When one of the riverboat passengers winds up dead, Nicole realizes this assignment was anything but straightforward.I am familiar with “bus spotter”, those guys in the UK who take photographs of buses and coaches but have never come across a “busboy”. Nicole Graves is a new licensed Private Investigator working for a firm that handles cases for corporate clients.

The murder of the firm’s in-house investigator, his mysterious wealth, and his inexplicable bequest make Nicole a target for the police, the paparazzi, and the killer. When the threats get more bold, she realizes if she’s going to be successful in her rescue efforts, she has to make a choice: continue cooperating with the police and risk angering the kidnappers more, or go about this all alone. You’ll want to interview the people in her address book and anyone else who might know about her past. I think Ashley imagined I’d sign off on a big withdrawal if she’d been kidnapped and held for ransom.

As in the lobby, the understated décor amplified the bright hues of the beach, water, and sky visible through the big windows. Her disappearance conveniently occurs at the same time as two other disappearances of wealthy men's wives where ransoms were demanded. For reasons Nicole couldn’t explain, he reminded her of a friendly giraffe—perhaps it was his height and hesitant manner. His reasoning is that if we can track down deadbeats and sift through shell corporations, how much harder can this be? Boring stuff—clothes, diets, makeup, exercise, and household help—they were always hiring each other’s gardeners, handymen, and pool cleaners.

I didn't find this impacted me at all with reading the Ransom, and there was sufficient explanation and detail for the Ransom to stand on it's own. The idea of staying alone in a house where a man was murdered and a woman kidnapped gave Nicole pause.As a wedding gift, Rexton said, I gave them three pieces of art that were worth a good amount of money. Tall, blond, and deeply tanned, he was dressed in a tight white t-shirt that showed off his impressive muscles.