Kidnapped

Grayson Investigative Services #1

by Boyd Craven

Jarek Grayson is a different sort of private investigator. One with a touch of OCD, anxiety, and autism. Jarek isn't your normal hacker; he's also a millionaire, playboy, and PI. Teamed with his childhood friend, protector, and first love Johanna, they make an unbeatable team...mostly. When they aren't fighting. Or arguing...or snarking. When the mayor’s daughter is kidnapped, the police and FBI aren’t moving fast enough, and Jarek and his firm are hired. The team of Jarek, Jo, and Skye scramble to uncover the clues before something happens to Mayor Taylor’s daughter, taking legal and not-so-legal means to unwrap the clues behind the kidnapping before it's too late.

141 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2015

Reviews

[Cherye Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kidnapped

Wow! This was great!
I could not put it down. What took me so long to find out about this book? I thought I read all of Craven's books.
If you are reading this review, STOP!
Just get the book and start reading.

[Kate Paparazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally unexpected

A rollicking good read! Super fast-paced action with interesting characters. Jarek is on the spectrum and super high-performing yet lacking in people skills. But he's a private investigator with mad reasoning skills and just a slight tendency to color outside the legal lines.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

different but in a good way

Different but in a good way. There were serious moments and laugh out loud moments. A lot of laugh out loud moments. I’m glad I bought it and I’m looking forward to the next one.

[Jess Schira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Kidnapped! Not only does Boyd Craven do an excellent job crafting a tight, well-paced thriller, he also created a narrator that’s delightful, flawed, and brilliant. Jarek has Asperger’s. While it’s becoming increasingly common to read books features MC’s with this condition, there aren’t many authors who handle it as well as Boyd Craven did. Jarek’s thoughts, responses, and interactions with every single character in the book are influenced by his Asperger’s. I found it helped me engage with the character and like a guy, who had been written a bit differently, would have been difficult to relate to. Jarek’s personality provides plenty of opportunities for good, dry humor.

The thing that I most love about Kidnapped is that it’s a reversal on the traditional damsel in distress theme. In this story, it’s Jarek, not the female characters, who needs to be rescued, and his trio of female helpers is always ready to come through, be it with insight into the human psyche, a well-placed kick, or with superior hacking skills. Fans who can’t get enough Whedonesque characters who also love thrillers, will adore Kidnapped. I’m looking forward to reading more Boyd Craven stories.