The Abduction - (Carnivia Trilogy) by Jonathan Holt (Paperback)

About the Book

When a U.S. army officer's daughter's kidnapped from an American base in Venice, Second Lieutenant Holly Boland, Venetian police captain Kat Tapo, and a genius webmaster join forces to find the missing girl and unravel a nefarious plot that reaches back to Italy's dark wartime past.

Book Synopsis

The Abduction is the heart-pounding, adrenaline-fuelled follow up to Jonathan Holt's highly acclaimed international thriller The Abomination--a modern tale of mystery, treachery, and intrigue that moves between the physical and virtual worlds of Venice, Italy, blurring the boundary between dark fantasy and terrifying reality.

An unlikely trio must form an alliance to save a kidnapped young girl and untangle a nefarious plot that reaches back decades.

Second Lieutenant Holly Boland is an intelligence analyst trained to look for clues ordinary investigators miss. When a U.S. army officer's daughter is kidnapped from an American base in Venice, Holly is sure that the mysterious abductors want more than a ransom.

Venetian police captain Kat Tapo has found a webcam feed embedded in the encrypted website Carnivia.com, a virtual Venice. It streams video of a terrified teenage girl, hooded and tied to a chair. A strand of text scrolls across the screen: "Sensory deprivation is not torture." Is the girl the missing daughter of the American military officer? Who is behind the cryptic message?

Daniele Barbo, the genius webmaster and creator of Carnivia, has never let the government access his servers, and finding the missing girl is not his problem. But then secrets from Italy's dark wartime past begin to surface--revelations that could put them all in danger. To save his own skin, Daniel must decide how far he's willing to let them in.

In a race against time, Holly, Kat, and Daniel must find the shocking truth . . . or watch as more than one innocent life is sacrificed.

From the Back Cover

The Abduction is an adrenaline-fueled tale of mystery and intrigue that moves between the physical world of Venice, Italy, and its online counterpart, blurring the boundary between dark fantasy and even darker reality.

Captain Kat Tapo of the Venice Carabinieri knows that the social media site Carnivia.com harbors disturbing secrets, but she's shocked to discover a webcam feed that streams video of a hooded and shackled teenage girl. A strand of text repeatedly scrolls across the screen: STRESSFUL STANDING IS NOT TORTURE. At the same time, Second Lieutenant Holly Boland searches for a US Army officer's daughter who is missing from an American military base near the city. When a group demanding an end to US bases in Italy claims responsibility, it seems clear why she was kidnapped. But the more the two women investigate, the murkier the case becomes. Carnivia.com's uncooperative creator has yet to yield its hidden truths to the authorities. But when secrets from Italy's complicated wartime past begin to surface, he must decide how much he will reveal. If the shocking truth is not discovered, more than one innocent life will be sacrificed. . . .

With The Abduction, the second book in the Carnivia Trilogy, Jonathan Holt delivers a heart-pounding sequel to his acclaimed international thriller The Abomination.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Abomination: "There is something truly haunting about those glimpses into the mysterious shadow world of Carnivia...an elaborate computer game in which masked visitors enter a creepy 3-D mirror world of Venice." - Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review, on The Abomination
"Don't be deceived by the title, The Abomination. There's nothing unreal about Jonathan Holt's excellent first mystery.... Holt writes in a deft engaging fashion. He's outstanding in sketching out his characters.... But it's Carnivia that is fascinating....The Abomination leaves you hungry for more." - Chicago Tribune on The Abomination
"Think Dan Brown without the clunky prose and the pompous PhD hero but with the fascinating mix of history, paranoia, and real-live terror (drones on your tail)." - Booklist (starred review) on The Abomination
"This book...has more than enough plot and well-drawn characters to stir interest in the sequels. The Carnivia site is such a clever invention." - Kirkus Reviews on The Abomination
"[A] diverting debut...Holt captures the allure of Venice and its creative cyber-counterpart, and creates two forceful . . . protagonists in Kat and Holly." - Publishers Weekly on The Abomination
"[A] beautifully complicated thriller.... A brilliant blend of fascinating story lines, serious issues, impeccable research, gripping intrigue, and engaging characters, Holt's debut is eminently satisfying from start to finish. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy intelligent thrillers (think Joseph Kanon)." - Library Journal (starred review) on The Abomination
"The disappearance in Venice of 16-year-old Mia Elston, an American officer's daughter, kick-starts Holt's enthralling second Carnivia thriller (after 2013's The Abomination).... Holt deftly avoids prurience or gratuity while conveying the horror of walling, waterboarding, and similar practices, and Mia is refreshingly resourceful throughout her ordeal. Holt weaves her kidnapping into a larger narrative of American foreign policy during WWII, the Cold War, and post-9/11, raising troubling questions about how the U.S. defines its allies and foes, and how it treats both." - Publishers Weekly
"Enthralling.... Holt deftly avoids prurience or gratuity while conveying the horror of walling, waterboarding, and similar practices... raising troubling questions about how the U.S. defines its allies and foes, and how it treats both." - Publishers Weekly
"Holt gives us excruciating suspense in the kidnapping narrative, suspense that's heightened by also presenting the victim's shifting point of view, from a benign 'This is a matter of business' to unraveled terror." - Booklist
"[A] tantalizing debut, a masterful melding of religious mystery, political intrigue, and just a bit of fantasy/sci-fi." - BookPage