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The Response Files #1
The Ransom Drop
The Hibernia III is captured by Somali Pirates, with 23 crew on board, and a hundred million dollars of oil.
Abdi and his team of novices try to negotiate the deal of their lives. But how do they get the money when they live in one of the most dangerous places on earth? How can Max and his team rescue the ship and its crew?
And all the while, The Associate looks on from afar. Playing his games, and weaving his webs. His actions and his whims have devastating effect on everyone he touches.
The Ransom Drop , a true to real life, military suspense thriller, that reveals the secrets behind the resolution of Somali piracy. It's a factually correct, intense page turner, and it's written by the guy who delivered some of the largest ransoms ever paid at sea.
Abdi and his team of novices try to negotiate the deal of their lives. But how do they get the money when they live in one of the most dangerous places on earth? How can Max and his team rescue the ship and its crew?
And all the while, The Associate looks on from afar. Playing his games, and weaving his webs. His actions and his whims have devastating effect on everyone he touches.
The Ransom Drop , a true to real life, military suspense thriller, that reveals the secrets behind the resolution of Somali piracy. It's a factually correct, intense page turner, and it's written by the guy who delivered some of the largest ransoms ever paid at sea.
389 pages, Paperback
Published June 9, 2021
About the author
Rob Phayre
6 books11 followersRob's debut novel, The Ransom Drop won the Audiobookreviewer.com Reviewers Choice Award, and the Best new Author 2021 award.
In 2021 he published Jungle Heist, book 2 of The Response Files Series. Jungle Heist won the international runner up prize for best thriller from Indies Today.
The Insurgency was published in 2023.
In 2025 he published How To Deliver A Ransom, a true crime, non-fiction guide to the kidnap for ransom business intended to help families deal with a real life kidnap incident.
Rob delivered his first ransom to Somali pirates about twelve years ago. Since then he has helped resolve nearly 40 hostage incidents both onshore and offshore across Africa.
Rob started his career as a military helicopter pilot. After that, he moved to Africa and worked as a security and crisis manager.
Rob has led projects all around the world. From the ice and snow above the arctic circle to the deserts in the Sahara. From the jungles in Africa to the rippling waves of the Indian Ocean.
Robs experience in so many places with so many fascinating characters who have all done such daring deeds makes him the ideal author for The Response Files
After 18 years living in Africa he now lives in the UK and is lucky to do so with his wife and daughters.
Rob is currently writing The Last Rocketship, a YA sci-fi novel, due in September 2025.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 5, 2021
I was hooked by the end of the first chapter and the rest has just got better.
November 22, 2021
Based on personal experience, both his and mine, this is a really good read. Especially for a first book.
I very much look forward to his second
I very much look forward to his second
January 15, 2022
Action-packed from beginning to end. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did a good job. It ended with a cliffhanger so now I can’t wait for the next book to come out!
March 24, 2022
Reader — Possible spoiler hints in this review.
Well, I appear to be an outlier among all the other reviews and star awards. Reading this book was a quite tedious labor of anticipation for suspense or thrills that never occurred. The book read like an instruction manual on how to negotiate and pay a ransom. Too many characters to count and almost all of them cliched cookie-cutter personalities that one has seen over and over again in so many other novels.
Based on other reviews, I kept waiting for the thrilling denouement that never appeared. The book was not my idea of a mystery/thriller and the “suspense” never came. It plodded along with far too much detail — like re-reading Michener’s Hawaii where the growth of each blade of grass is described in minuscule detail. The outcome was going to be exactly what a reader would anticipate. There were no surprises, with each character playing its trite, mind-numbing role.
Others have mentioned that they “can’t wait for the author’s next [perhaps follow-on] book. I won’t be one of those people. I’ll read esoteric essays if I want to discipline myself to always finish what I start, no matter how disappointed the subject, story, or writing might be.
Well, I appear to be an outlier among all the other reviews and star awards. Reading this book was a quite tedious labor of anticipation for suspense or thrills that never occurred. The book read like an instruction manual on how to negotiate and pay a ransom. Too many characters to count and almost all of them cliched cookie-cutter personalities that one has seen over and over again in so many other novels.
Based on other reviews, I kept waiting for the thrilling denouement that never appeared. The book was not my idea of a mystery/thriller and the “suspense” never came. It plodded along with far too much detail — like re-reading Michener’s Hawaii where the growth of each blade of grass is described in minuscule detail. The outcome was going to be exactly what a reader would anticipate. There were no surprises, with each character playing its trite, mind-numbing role.
Others have mentioned that they “can’t wait for the author’s next [perhaps follow-on] book. I won’t be one of those people. I’ll read esoteric essays if I want to discipline myself to always finish what I start, no matter how disappointed the subject, story, or writing might be.
July 19, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. An interesting insight to the world of hostage negotiation which will have you on the edge of your seats, praying for a positive outcome!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews