Shot Caller by Jen J. Danna

Shot Caller
by Jen J. Danna

ISBN-13: 9781496727916
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Released: August 31st 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
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.


My Review:
Shot Caller is a suspense novel. It's the second book in a series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. The whole book was a negotiation between Gemma (working with the NYPD hostage negotiator team that she's a part of) and the inmates who took over a prison unit with officers taken as hostages. She tried to save every life, but there were several rival gangs vying for control, making the situation even more difficult. The suspense was high throughout as Gemma negotiated with men who were already in a disciplinary unit (so they didn't like or trust authority figures) and some were serving life sentences (so what's to lose?). The author did a great job of creating an intense, sustained suspense as to what would happen next!

The characters were interesting, acted in realistic ways, and I cared about what happened to them. Gemma is an awesome character. She's very competent at her job, is respected by her co-workers, and values life very highly. There were no sex scenes. There was a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this exciting suspense novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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