The Informant

By the author of the bestselling The Pardon, this fast-paced novel teams a resourceful FBI agent and an embattled journalist in a hunt for two men -- a serial killer and his elusive informant.When an informer chooses Miami Tribune crime reporter Michael Posten as his conduit, giving him information about murders that haven't yet taken place, investigators speculate on whether the killer and informer are the same person. As the newspaper continues to deposit larger sums into the killer's account, FBI agent Victoria Santos and the reluctant journalist join forces to prevent the next gruesome murder. But then dues stop and the murders continue... until a psychopath makes one mistake too many. This gripping, unpredictable story of revenge will not be soon forgotten.Amazon.com ReviewIf you thought The Silence of the Lambs was the last word on how the FBI tracks serial killers, think again. Grippando -- the Miami lawyer who scored with The Pardon -- manages to reveal even more inside information as agent Victoria Santos goes after a particularly nasty murderer/mutilator. Helping in the chase is reporter Mike Posten, getting repeated tips from somebody who reveals the kind of details only the actual killer could know. There's also an exciting, ultra-violent conclusion on a cruise ship just begging for Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. From Publishers WeeklyThe title character of attorney Grippando's second thriller (after The Pardon) is the anonymous man who contacts Miami Tribune reporter Mike Posten and claims that he can predict the next victim of a serial killer who has eluded the FBI's Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit. The informant wants to be paid in cash for what he says he knows. After a brief debate, Posten and his paper pony up for a series of exclusives. Posten also talks to the FBI, in the form of agent Victoria Santos, who is alone in believing that the informant and the killer are different people. It's an unusually cerebral and low-key beginning to a serial-killer thriller, emphasizing procedure, forensics and professional ethics rather than shock or even suspense; the killings that occur during this set-up take place off page. Soon enough, however, the informer/killer question is resolved and Grippando moves his story into more familiar territory, telling an absorbing tale with cool competence. The murders are given a plausible motive and the climax, which takes place on a hijacked cruise ship, surges with tension; even Posten's marital problems are tied neatly to the plot line. Former FBI agent and veteran serial-killer-stalker John Douglas (Mind Hunter) has blurbed this novel as authentic and "thoroughly convincing"; true?and it's a nail-biter to boot. $60,000 ad/promo; simultaneous HarperAudio release. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.