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The Worst Thing
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The Worst Thing Hardback - 2011 - 1st Edition

by Aaron Elkins

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Aaron Elkins has been hailed as "a master" (The Dallas Morning News) for his Edgar(r) Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries. Now, in an original new novel, he illustrates how quickly everything can go wrong when you ask: What's the worst that can happen? For Bryan Bennett, designing hostage negotiation programs is the perfect job-as long as he keeps a safe, theoretical distance. What he can't do is deal directly with kidnappers or their victims, as a result of his own abduction and imprisonment as a small boy. Thirty-some years later, intense nightmares still plague his sleep, and a fear of enclosed spaces prevents him from attempting to travel. So when Bryan's boss asks him to fly to Reykjavik, Iceland, to teach his corporate-level kidnapping and extortion seminar, he automatically says no. But the CEO of GlobalSeas Fisheries, Inc. has specifically requested Bryan-or no one else. Bryan finally relents... For decades he's treaded gingerly around the edges of his deepest terrors. Now, on this trip, Bryan's taken hostage again and must face his fears full-on. Will he realize that in this battle of will and nerve, he is his own greatest enemy? Or has this fight already been lost, years and years ago?

Summary

Aaron Elkins has been hailed as "a master" (The Dallas Morning News) for his Edgar(r) Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries. Now, in an original new novel, he illustrates how quickly everything can go wrong when you ask: What's the worst that can happen?

For Bryan Bennett, designing hostage negotiation programs is the perfect job-as long as he keeps a safe, theoretical distance. What he can't do is deal directly with kidnappers or their victims, as a result of his own abduction and imprisonment as a small boy. Thirty-some years later, intense nightmares still plague his sleep, and a fear of enclosed spaces prevents him from attempting to travel.

So when Bryan's boss asks him to fly to Reykjavik, Iceland, to teach his corporate-level kidnapping and extortion seminar, he automatically says no. But the CEO of GlobalSeas Fisheries, Inc. has specifically requested Bryan-or no one else. Bryan finally relents...

For decades he's treaded gingerly around the edges of his deepest terrors. Now, on this trip, Bryan's taken hostage again and must face his fears full-on. Will he realize that in this battle of will and nerve, he is his own greatest enemy? Or has this fight already been lost, years and years ago?

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From the publisher

Aaron Elkins has been hailed as "a master" ("The Dallas Morning News") for his Edgar(r) Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries. Now, in an original new novel, he illustrates how quickly everything can go wrong when you ask: What's the worst that can happen?
For Bryan Bennett, designing hostage negotiation programs is the perfect job-as long as he keeps a safe, theoretical distance. What he can't do is deal directly with kidnappers or their victims, as a result of his own abduction and imprisonment as a small boy. Thirty-some years later, intense nightmares still plague his sleep, and a fear of enclosed spaces prevents him from attempting to travel.
So when Bryan's boss asks him to fly to Reykjavik, Iceland, to teach his corporate-level kidnapping and extortion seminar, he automatically says no. But the CEO of GlobalSeas Fisheries, Inc. has specifically requested Bryan-or no one else. Bryan finally relents...
For decades he's treaded gingerly around the edges of his deepest terrors. Now, on this trip, Bryan's taken hostage again and must face his fears full-on. Will he realize that in this battle of will and nerve, he is his own greatest enemy? Or has this fight already been lost, years and years ago?

Details

  • Title The Worst Thing
  • Author Aaron Elkins
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition number 1st
  • Edition 1
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Berkley Books, New York
  • Publication date 2011-05-03
  • ISBN 9780425240991 / 0425240991
  • Weight 1.1 lbs (0.50 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 in (23.11 x 15.24 x 3.05 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category Fiction - Mystery/ Detective
  • Library of Congress subjects Mystery fiction, Forensic anthropologists
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2010050228
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

"The Worst Thing is an intriguing novel of suspense as well an evocative portrayal of the inner workings of a mind tormented by terror."
-Jonathan Kellerman, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Mystery.

"Aaron Elkins delivers a mind-bending, heart-pounding, read. Count me as a lifetime member of his fan club. I'm in awe."
-Ridley Pearson, New York Times Bestselling author of In Harm's Way

"It starts with a memory of a horrendous kidnapping at age 5. He was kept in a Turkish dungeon for two months. Crippling panic attacks and claustrophobia for decades sent him to therapy. He had experienced The Worst Thing he ever would - - or had he? Elkins' riveting, intricate thriller should win him his second Edgar Award."
-Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor, University of California-IrvinePast President - Association for Psychological Science, Co-author of Witness for the Defense

"A well-calculated change of pace for normally laid-back Elkins, with mounting thrills, a heavy emphasis on self-therapy and a nice surprise at the end."
-Kirkus Reviews

"This is the kind of novel that gives genre fiction a good name-thanks to its high energy, smart characters, classy writing, palpable suspense, and one whopper of a surprise ending... Elkins is a crime-fiction veteran known mainly for his Gideon Oliver series, but this may well be his best book. It's a joy to read."
-Don Crinklaw, BooklistEND

About the author

Aaron Elkins is the author of the Edgar Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries.
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The Worst Thing

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Berkley. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 0425240991 First edition, First Printing. Signed by the author on the title page. Not inscribed, price clipped or otherwise marked. Securely wrapped, dust jacket in protective cover and shipped in a box. Full # line starting with a 1. Book is new.
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Berkley, 2011. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A First Edition, First Printing with a complete numberline. Signed by the Author on the title page. A Fine copy with a Fine dust jacket. // ' Aaron Elkins has been hailed as 'a master' ('The Dallas Morning News') for his Edgar(r) Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries. Now, in an original new novel, he illustrates how quickly everything can go wrong when you ask: What's the worst that can happen? For Bryan Bennett, designing hostage negotiation programs is the perfect job-as long as he keeps a safe, theoretical distance. What he can't do is deal directly with kidnappers or their victims, as a result of his own abduction and imprisonment as a small boy. Thirty-some years later, intense nightmares still plague his sleep, and a fear of enclosed spaces prevents him from attempting to travel. So when Bryan's boss asks him to fly to Reykjavik, Iceland, to teach his corporate-level kidnapping and extortion seminar, he automatically says no. But the CEO of… Read more
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