Near the start of Edgar-winner Pintoff's uneven second Eve Rossi novel (after 2015's Hostage Taker), New York City Police Commissioner Logan Donovan is assaulted amid preparations for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Donovan's 13-year-old daughter, Allie, disappears in the ensuing riot. Police find Allie's cell phone on a subway platform, the timer counting down to the parade's scheduled conclusion and the home screen bearing an image of the missing girl together with the message: "How far will you go to save her?" Donovan tasks FBI special agent Evangeline Rossi and her Vidocq team of "ex-cons and barely reformed thugs," who solve crimes using nontraditional methods, with locating Allie and bringing her kidnapper to justice. What begins as a high-octane thriller falls prey to choppy pacing, ill-defined stakes, and a convoluted denouement. Early scenes spotlighting police brutality are edgy, affecting, and create the expectation of a tale with a social conscience; Pintoff never seriously revisits the topic, though, and two-dimensional characters further diminish the book's emotional heft. Agent: David Hale Smith, DHS Literary. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In her second outing (after Hostage Taker), Special Agent Eve Rossi is once again up against impossible odds. On the night before the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, police commissioner Logan Donovan is shot at a balloon-filling event on the Upper West Side. When the scene calms down, it is discovered that Donovan's daughter has been kidnapped and the abductor has nearly unattainable demands. Eve and her unconventional Vidocq Team (former convicts, mostly) enter a race against the clock to find Allie and stop what could be a catastrophic attack on the parade itself. Though this thriller starts off with a literal bang, the action slows down as Pintoff reintroduces her series characters, using classified files and news reports to flesh out their backstories. And even when the action begins to ramp up again, the choppy chapters, each from a different protagonist's viewpoint, make for an uneven pace. Verdict Despite the flaws, the novel's tight time frame and high stakes will still appeal to thriller fans. [See Prepub Alert, 5/16/16.]-Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.