FREE: Keeper by Greg Rucka

From Publishers Weekly
The world of the professional bodyguard provides the arena for this no-nonsense first novel. Atticus Kodiak, 28, is hired to protect Felice Romero, director of a Manhattan abortion clinic targeted by militant pro-lifers. The pros and cons of abortion are intelligently presented as Kodiak tries to protect his client and her daughter, who's afflicted with Down's syndrome. Soon the bodyguard, whose girlfriend has just undergone an abortion, finds himself personally committed to his client. Bomb threats, shootings and several murders, one particularly tragic, heat up the action, driving the narrative toward an explosive climax at a cemetery. Rucka's prose is clean and visual, his characterizations and dialogue are economical and his storytelling scoots along at a fast clip. A few top crime writers-Robert B. Parker in the Spenser series, for instance-have wandered into bodyguard territory. Rucka has the talent to make it his own, however, especially if he spins this trim tale into a series.

From Library Journal
First novelist Rucka delivers a story as timely as today's headlines. Atticus Kodiak, a bodyguard by profession, gets caught in the middle of a demonstration on the day he brings his girlfriend to the Woman's LifeCare Clinic for an abortion. The clinic, run by Dr. Felice Romero, has been targeted by the Sword of the Silent, a group of pro-life fanatics run by the megalomaniacal Jonathan Crowell. Because of escalating tensions between the pro-choice and pro-life factions, cooler heads schedule a peace summit of sorts, christened Common Ground. Romero plans to attend, but when she receives some very nasty and specific threats by mail, she hires Kodiak and associates to keep her and her daughter safe. This is a tense and exciting novel filled with some odd characters. Recommended for popular collections.?Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P. L., Tex.

For Atticus Kodiak, professional bodyguard, the object is to keep people alive, and there is no margin for error. Dr. Felice Romero hires Atticus and his team of security specialists to protect her and her daughter, Katie. As administrator of the Women’s LifeCare Clinic, she’s accumulated a thick file of anonymous death threats. With the approach of the Common Ground Conference, designed to forge a compromise between pro-choice and pro-life groups and end violent protest, the threats have escalated in number and ugliness. Even as he defends the doctor’s right to speak, Atticus knows that protecting the doctor at the conference will be logistical nightmare. Soon it becomes not only a matter of keeping her safe during the conference, but to keep everyone, including his own team, alive until the conference.

Reviews
An impressive debut…Keeper is one to hang on to.
—People

Crisper, tighter and tougher…A keeper as a novel!
—San Francisco Chronicle

Riveting…Keeper is full of surprises.
—Houston Chronicle

Keeper pulls at the heart-strings and brings tears to the eyes….A remarkable first novel.
—The Orlando Sentinel

The book is a keeper.
—The Boston Sunday Globe

Keeper is no ordinary thriller….Remarkable.
—The Denver Post

A strong debut and a real contribution to the genre. Keeper combines compelling plot with right-now subtext. Greg Rucka is going to make his mark…stay tuned!
—Andrew Vachss

A few top crime writers—Robert B. Parker in the Spenser series, for instance—have wandered into bodyguard territory. Rucka has the talent to make it his own, however, especially if he spins this trim tale into a series.
—Publishers Weekly