As the daughter and sister of NYPD officers, serving as part of New York City’s finest was a lifelong goal for Gemma Capello. But she took her own path through the ranks when she joined the NYPD’s elite Hostage Negotiation Team, driven by her own childhood experience during a bank robbery. The HNT is the NYPD’s first response to New York City’s most explosive situations. It takes a calm hand and a steadier head to talk down suspects bent on death and destruction, but Gemma has been there before and knows exactly how to bring the terrified hostages to safety.
Exit Strategy
NYPD Negotiators #1
“Tense and tightly plotted, Exit Strategy pulls you in and doesn't let go. A compelling page-turner.”—Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Clancy: Code of Honor
In this taut new suspense series featuring NYPD detective Gemma Capello and her close-knit law enforcement family, a madman brings a halt to the heart of the city that never sleeps . . .
After her mother’s death during a bank robbery when she was a child, Gemma Capello grew up to become one of the NYPD’s elite hostage negotiators. In a family of cops, there’s rarely a day when a Capello isn’t facing down some form of threat. Still, despite their unpredictable schedules, they always find time for their annual family summer picnic. But this year, a sudden phone call changes everything.
A heavily armed gunman has taken hostages at City Hall. Gemma races downtown to join the rest of the Hostage Negotiation Team as they scramble to identify the captives—fearing the mayor may be among them. But as they scramble for answers and struggle to gain control of the circumstances, it becomes clear that the mayor is at the center of it all, just not in the way they initially believed.
With several lives on the line and a criminal who always seems to be one step ahead, Gemma is the only one able to connect with the suspect. Soon, she finds herself engaging in a battle of wits while enduring a battle of egos in the command center. With time running out and a mastermind who has proven he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants, Gemma risks it all—her career and her life—in a last-ditch effort to save the hostages. Now, she needs to figure out how to save herself . . .
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Reviews and Interviews:
Publishers Weekly: Describes EXIT STRATEGY as an "energetic series launch" with "convincing descriptions of New York City neighborhoods and police tactics, along with flashbacks full of Italian family lore" and recommends that "fans of contemporary police procedurals will hope to see a lot more of the capable Gemma."
Library Journal: "Danna kicks off her first solo effort with a compelling, dramatic story while using the protagonist’s family background as motivation. Readers who love the TV show Blue Bloods, with its family of cops, will relish this launch."
Bibliophile Book Club: “Fast-paced and packed with plenty of action. Reading Exit Strategy was like watching a movie, it had that cinematic, high-octane plot speed and plenty going on to keep the reader turning the pages.”
Rose Point Publishing: “A terrific well-plotted storyline. My hat is off to this author and her attention to detail and the weaving of a great read.”
Cathy’s World: "Thrilling story from beginning to end. I could not put this book down! Did I enjoy this book? Definitely. Would I read more in this series? Without a doubt." See Cathy’s full review for a breakdown of why she loved EXIT STRATEGY.
Shot Caller
NYPD Negotiators #2
In Jen J. Danna’s gripping suspense series, NYPD detective Gemma Capello is called to Rikers Island, where a prison riot threatens to become a bloodbath . . .
On Rikers Island, tensions always run high, especially in the Enhanced Supervision Housing unit. The ESH is home to Rikers’ most dangerous offenders, many of them members of rival street gangs. When Gemma Capello and her team get word of an uprising at the ESH, they know how much is at stake. Gemma also has her own unresolved feelings to deal with—this is the first case she and Detective Sean Logan have worked together since a siege at City Hall that ended with the hostage taker’s death.
Built to hinder escape, prisons are also especially difficult for a tactical team to invade. That’s a last resort for Gemma, but the longer the inmates remain in control, holding corrections officers hostage, the greater the risk. Gemma begins negotiating with Kill Switch, a young, aggressive member of the Filero Kings gang and the inmates’ spokesman. She can tell the stress level is escalating inside. That may give her team some advantages, but it soon leads to a brutal act of retribution—and threats of more to come.
Navigating assumptions on all sides, Gemma desperately tries to stop the body count from rising. But with disagreements and volatility increasing all around, the only certainty is that the next misstep may be a fatal one . . .
Available at these fine retailers: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Audible | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop.org Support Independent Bookstores | Google | Hudson Booksellers | Indigo | Target | Walmart
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly: Danna’s solid sequel to 2020’s Exit Strategy. Danna’s convincing portrayal of the hostage negotiating process and life at Rikers keep the pages turning. Readers will look forward to Gemma’s next outing.
The Reading Room: "Danna is what I call a solid writer, one who has control over her story and gives readers a tightly woven plot where characters do their jobs without hysterics or psychological stumbling blocks. I can assure readers that the NYPD Negotiators is a sharp new series that will engage your attention with complete captivation.
Lockdown
NYPD Negotiators #3
Releases May 21, 2024
When a horrific school shooting turns into a hostage situation, only Gemma Capello, the NYPD’s most skilled negotiator, has a chance to save innocent lives and end the crisis . . .
Talking a suspect into sending his hostages out alive is NYPD Detective Gemma Capello’s specialty. Alerted to a school shooting at her nephew’s Brooklyn high school, she is one of the first officers on-scene. Detective Sean Logan and the Apprehension Tactical Team arrive next and immediately enter the school to apprehend the two shooters, while Gemma remains outside to help students evacuate. But as time stretches on, and there is no word of her nephew, her fear builds that he is one of the lost.
One of the two shooters has holed up with a group of students and their teacher as hostages. Gemma steps in to negotiate for their survival. Floors away and armed with only her wits and the sound of her voice to convince him, Gemma fights for control of the situation even as tactical leadership pressures her for a more aggressive strategy. But for Gemma, it’s not about a quick solution. It’s about moving heaven and earth to bring everyone in that classroom home. And she’ll do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
Now available for pre-order! Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Apple | Barnes and Noble | Google | Hudson Booksellers | Indigo | Target | Walmart
Terminal Impasse
NYPD Negotiators #4
Releases May 20, 2025