NCW Libraries

Taken hostage by a failed bank robber while attending an open house, eight anxiety-prone strangers--including a redemption-seeking bank director, two couples who would fix their marriages, and a plucky octogenarian--discover their unexpected common traits. Viewing an apartment normally doesn't turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that: a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage....

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Winner of the Orange Prize • National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • New York Times Readers' Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century

"Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." —Washington Post Book World

New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett's spellbinding novel about love and

...

Needing money to cover his wife's medical bills, a decorated veteran teams up with his adoptive brother to steal $32 million from a Los Angeles bank. However, when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate thieves hijack an ambulance that's carrying a severely wounded cop and an EMT worker. Caught in a high-speed chase, the two siblings must figure out a way to outrun the law while keeping their hostages alive.

A volatile, ravaged community wages war against a corrupt government to protect their land from being destroyed by excessive oil drilling and spills. To seek justice a rebel organization kidnaps an American oil executive and demands that his corporation end the destruction. Tensions quickly rise that turn a hostage situation into an all out explosive attack.

It takes only a moment for our world to be turned upside down. Clayton's commitment to a life of serving others is tested when a weekend in Mexico with friends turns into a nightmare. Kidnapped and held hostage for ransom, he endures suffering and abuse. Can his strong faith lead him to freedom and hope where none has been known before?

Escaped killers led flee a Nevada prison to the ghost town of Yucca Flats, even though a nuclear blast is set to detonate there at 6 a.m. the following morning. Drawing a hapless group of passersby into their circle of desperation, the killers hold court over a night of suspense and terror.

Will is finally a full-fledged Ranger with his own fief to look after. The fief seems boring until Lord Syron, master of a castle far in the north, is struck down by a mysterious illness. Joined by his friend Alyss, Will is suddenly thrown headfirst into an extraordinary adventure, investigating fears of sorcery and trying to determine who is loyal to Lord Syron. As Will battles growing hysteria, traitors, and, most of all, time, Alyss is taken hostage,...

'They're killing him bit by bit!' Flamboyant, flame-haired 70-plus Augusta Bertram has opened a package containing a finger that recently belonged to her years-ago lover. The victim's kidnappers continue mailing expendable body parts, and Augusta enlists the aid of her stuffy nephew in a mad to-the-rescue adventure across Europe in pursuit of $100,000 in ransom money. The scramble to save a life just might also liberate the nephew's life-starved soul....

"High school is over, but Nora O'Malley's life isn't, which is weird now that her murderous stepdad Raymond is free. Determined to enjoy summer before her (possibly) imminent demise, Nora plans a ten day backpacking trip with Iris and Wes. Her plans hit a snag when Wes's girlfriend tags along. Amanda is nice, so it's not a huge issue--until she gets taken. Or rather, mistaken...for Nora. All because of a borrowed flannel.Now Raymond has a hostage....

"A claustrophobic thriller set over twenty hours on one airplane flight, with the heart-stopping tension of The Last Flight and the wrenching emotional intensity of Room, Hostage takes us on board the inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney. Mina is trying to focus on her job as a flight attendant, not the problems of her five-year-old daughter back home, or the fissures in her marriage. But the plane has barely taken off when Mina receives...