The Freedom Broker by K J Howe is riveting. I must admit that I don’t read many high-stakes thrillers; some of them can be packed with too much violence. Sometimes though a good story intrigues me enough that regardless of the genre label I’m hooked. That’s the case with this book. K.J. Howe is a three-time Daphne du Maurier Award winner and has led quite a life, which gives her book a real level of authenticity.

While honing her fiction skills, KJ worked as a medical, health, and fitness writer, and she puts that knowledge to use in this novel. The story’s protagonist, Thea Paris, suffers from type 1 diabetes. This means our heroine needs insulin for survival.  

Howe wrote this book after meeting Peter Moore, a British hostage. Moore was held hostage in Iraq for over two and a half years. In 2008, Moore took a three month assignment in Iraq working for the American IT consulting firm BearingPoint. Just a little over two months on the job, he and four British guards were taken hostage. His story influenced Howe to write The Freedom Broker.

In the novel, Christos Paris, an oil magnate has been kidnapped on his sixtieth birthday. His daughter, Thea, a kidnap and ransom specialist, must negotiate a deal for his release. Battling her health limitations and the horrifying memory of her brother’s abduction at an early age, Thea must focus on the situation at hand and analyze all the characters who might be involved. It is a maze she maneuvers magnificently.

K J HoweK J Howe has utilized her references to write an incredible story. Her attention to detail in every scene, whether it be the hostage psychological game, the war torn country, or Thea’s struggle to balance her health and mission, are a compliment to the writing we have to look forward to in the future from this author. Howe has created characters that are human with flaws and that adds the gripping realism to this fictional tale.  

This is Howe’s debut novel and I look forward to reading her next book. Follow her on Twitter @KJHoweAuthor or check out her website at: KJ Howe, International Thriller Author.

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