The Terrorist Next Door

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Sheldon Siegel has jumped onto best seller lists and into readers' and reviewers' affections with seven extraordinary novels featuring San Francisco defense attorneys Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez. He now returns to write about his hometown of Chicago in his electrifying new thriller, THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR. He's Homeland Security's biggest nightmare. Someone is setting off fire bombs in Chicago in stolen cars using untraceable cell phones. The international terror channels are silent. A group calling itself the Islamic Freedom Federation demands the release of Hassan Al-Shahid, a graduate student whose plan to set off a bomb at the Art Institute was thwarted by Detective David Gold and his long-time partner, Detective Paul Liszewski. Their heroic efforts had cost Liszewski his life and put Gold in the hospital. The FBI and Homeland Security believe the bomber is a freelancer operating off the grid. Meet Detective David Gold. He's a third generation native of South Chicago, the hardscrabble neighborhood of steel mills, smokestacks, and steeples near the Indiana border. He's one of Chicago's most decorated detectives. Meet Gold's new partner, Detective A.C. Battle. He's a native of Mississippi whose family moved to Chicago to escape the Jim Crow South. He grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes across the Dan Ryan Expressway from Mayor Daley's house and Comiskey Park. Gold is still suffering from the aftereffects of Liszewski's death when he receives a Medal of Valor on the steps of the Art Institute. During the ceremony, a car bomb is detonated across the street, killing a passerby. Gold soon receives a cryptic text : "It isn't over." It's just the beginning. Untraceable car bombs detonate at the Wrigley Field El station, Millennium Park, the Museum of Science and Industry, O'Hare, Hyde Park, and the upscale Rush Street area. Chicago PD, the FBI and Homeland Security can't trace the bomber. As bombs continue to go off, Gold and Battle are drawn into a desperate cat-and-mouse game against a brilliant mind. From its opening scene to its stunning denouement, Siegel writes a lightning paced thriller capturing the complexity and fears of the post-9/11 world. Along the way, he provides an insider's look at Chicago's neighborhoods-from the Magnificent Mile to century-old churches where mass is still celebrated in Polish to gritty seafood shacks next to the ghostly expanses where the steel mills once stood. "David Gold and A.C. Battle are strong entries in the police-thriller sweepstakes. Sheldon Siegel's THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR is a smart, surprising and bloody take on the world of Islamic terror. As a crazed bomber threatens to shut down American's third-largest city, the Chicago cops, the FBI, Homeland Security and even the military desperately sift through every clue, reaching for a climax that is both shocking and credible. Siegel tells a story that is fast and furious and authentic." John Sandford. NY Times Best Selling Author of STOLEN PREY. "Sheldon Siegel has outdone himself in his first true thriller. The rough underbelly of Chicago is evoked and comes to life as poetically and profoundly as in Carl Sandburg's insider view. The scariest, most thrilling portrayal of what can happen to life in a normal city if one cog goes haywire. A real power play." Katherine Neville. International Best Selling Author of THE FIRE. "Sheldon Siegel blows the doors off with his excellent new thriller, THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR. Bombs, car chases, the shutdown of Chicago, plus Siegel's winning touch with character makes this one not to be missed!" John Lescroart. NY Times Best Selling Author of THE HUNTER. "Sheldon Siegel knows how to make us root for the good guys in this heartstopping terrorist thriller, and David Gold and A.C. Battle are a pair of very good guys." Thomas Perry. NY Times Best Selling Author of POISON FLOWER. "A terrific thriller. Robert Dugoni. NY Times Best Selling Author of THE CONVICTION.From BooklistSiegel steps aside from his Mike Daley series of San Francisco–set legal thrillers to tell a story about a Chicago homicide cop, David Gold, who becomes the reluctant leader in a race to uncover the identity of a terrorist bomber who’s targeting well-known Chicago landmarks. Moments before he’s to receive a Medal of Valor (for his actions in foiling an earlier terrorist bombing attempt), a car bomb explodes, and Gold’s cell phone receives a text message: “It isn’t over.” As the unknown terrorist sets off one car bomb after another, he continues to taunt Gold via text messages, and soon Gold is forced to confront the frightening possibility that this might not be your “usual” terrorist but someone with a more personal agenda. Siegel, who hails from Chicago, makes the most of the setting—the book is a sort of frantic, panic-filled guided tour of the city—and, as a protagonist, Gold is at least as compelling as Mike Daley. Put this one on your Windy City crime-fiction list. --David Pitt Review“Action packed from beginning to end. THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR is a ‘can’t put it down’ novel. Read it for the suspense, but also read it for the introduction of a new fascinating hero.”--Huffington Post. ""Siegel, who hails from Chicago, makes the most of the setting…. Put this one on your Windy City crime-fiction list."" --Booklist “Chicago Detectives David Gold and A.C. Battle are strong entries in the police-thriller sweepstakes, with Sheldon Siegel’s new THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR, a smart, surprising and bloody take on the world of Islamic terror. As a crazed bomber threatens to shut down America’s third-largest city, the Chicago cops, the FBI, Homeland Security and even the military desperately sift through every available clue to the bomber’s identity, reaching for a climax that is both shocking and credible. New York Times bestselling author Siegel tells a story that is fast and furious and authentic.”--John Sandford. New York Times Best Selling Author of STOLEN PREY and the Lucas Davenport Prey Series. “Sheldon Siegel’s THE TERRORIST NEXT DOORhas all the indicators of a bestselling thriller –  fast action, characters you think you’ve met in real life, bold storytelling and clever plotting.  The great city of Chicago comes alive under his spell, and the woes of that city in THE TERRORIST NEXT DOORturn out to be the woes of our republic.  Excellent.”--T. Jefferson Parker. New York Times Best Selling Author of THE JAGUAR and THE BORDER LORDS. “Sheldon Siegel blows the doors off with his excellent new thriller, THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR. Bombs, car chases, the shutdown of Chicago, plus Siegel’s winning touch with character makes this one not to be missed!”--John Lescroart. New York Times Best Selling Author of THE HUNTER. “Sheldon Siegel knows how to make us root for the good guys in this heartstopping terrorist thriller, and police detectives David Gold and A.C. Battle are a pair of very good guys. We’d like to see them again.”--Thomas Perry. New York Times Best Selling Author of POISON FLOWER. “Sheldon Siegel has outdone himself in this, his first true thriller. The rough underbelly of Chicago is evoked and comes to life as poetically and profoundly as in Carl Sandburg’s insider view. THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR will go down as the scariest, most chilling portrayal of what can happen to life in a normal Midwestern city if one small cog goes haywire. A real power play.”--Katherine Neville. New York Times and International Best Selling Author of THE EIGHT and THE FIRE. “THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR is a terrific, old-fashioned thriller. Sheldon Siegel again demonstrates why he is considered a master story teller with the likes of John Sanford and Scott Turow. THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR is a taught, tense, action-packed thrill ride that starts on page one and puts a stranglehold on the reader to the explosive end.The tension is palpable as Detective David Gold races through the streets of Chicago to stop an unknown terrorist before the next bomb detonates. I love Siegel’s Mike Daley series, and David Gold is destined to be just as addictive. I’m already waiting for the next book in the series!”--Robert Dugoni. New York Times Best Selling Author of THE CONVICTION. “Sheldon Siegel’s tale of cataclysmic terrorism is so realistic, well-drawn and deliciously chilling, I wanted to send the book to all my friends—especially those who work in Homeland Security. Women will lose their hearts to Detective David Gold. THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR kept me up late into the night, frantically turning the pages to get to the dramatic conclusion. A terrific thriller by a master of the craft.”--Allison Leotta. Best Selling Author of LAW OF ATTRACTION. “I hate Sheldon Siegel. He makes it look so easy. Deftly turning his attention from courtroom battles to terrorist plots, he delivers a page turner with a heart, and the love affair is with the great city of Chicago and the people who call it home. Great fun and a terrific read, THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR  delivers a killer story at a breakneck pace with characters you won’t forget. How does Siegel get away with it? Seriously, I hate the guy.”--David Corbett. Award-winning author of THE DEVIL’S REDHEAD. “From the first page—when the blind, smelly, homeless man turns out to be a young, physically fit terrorist who is determined to blow up Chicago—I was hooked. THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR moves through Chicago at a fast pace. Now I happen to love Chicago, and I thought I knew it, but as I joined Detective David Gold in the chase, I got to look behind the facades into the soul of the Windy City.Gold is a marvelous character. He’s smart, brave, and conflicted. But Chicago is also a major character and as the action moves from The Art Institute to the South Side, from the cop cars to the churches, from the smallest take out joint to the fanciest spots, the terrorist keeps taunting Gold and the reader.I can’t wait to start telling my customers about this gem. It will keep you up nights and keep you thinking about David Gold, Chicago, and THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR all day long.”--Elaine Petrocelli. Book Passage. Corte Madera, California.