In CWA Gold Dagger winner Mick Herron’s chillingly plausible first standalone, “there is no hiding under the desk” (The New York Times Book Review).

When a gunman breaks into South Oxford Nursery School and takes a group of hostages, teacher Louise Kennedy fears the worst. But Jaime Segura isn’t there on a homicidal mission, and he’s just as scared as those whose lives he holds as collateral. As an armed police presence builds outside the school’s gates, the only person Jaime will talk to is Ben Whistler, an MI6 accountant who worked with Jaime’s lover, Miro. Miro’s gone missing, along with a quarter of a billion pounds allotted for reconstruction work in Iraq. Jaime refuses to believe that Miro is a thief—though he’s always had his secrets. But then, so does Louise, so do the other hostages—and so do some people on the outside, who’d much rather Jaime was silenced.

“Masterful … How Herron is able to tie all these events together will test the sleuthing ability of even the most savvy readers as one surprise engenders another. The intricate plot, coupled with Herron’s breezy writing style … results in superior entertainment that makes most other novels of suspense appear dull and slow-witted by comparison.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review