Cost of Life

For readers of Preston & Child, James Rollins, and Brad Thor comes a gripping new thriller from Joshua Corin, in which an audacious hijacking is just the beginning of a twisted international nightmare.   Flight 816 has been hijacked and the terrorists have decided to auction off the passengers online. The passengers who receive the highest bids will be released. The passengers who receive the lowest bids will be executed.   Life can’t be better for veteran pilot Larry Walder. He has a great job, a terrific kid, a gorgeous wife—and no inkling that tonight will be the end of the world as he knows it. In the early hours before the Fourth of July, three men break into Larry’s home. And as the day lurches on to its terrifying course, a life is taken, and Flight 816 from Atlanta to Cozumel, Mexico, vanishes off the radar.   In the air, Larry must find a way to save his family, his crew, and his passengers. On the ground, disgraced FBI agent Xanadu Marx goes rogue, making it her mission to track down the missing flight before the hijackers reach their diabolical endgame. With the casualties racking up and the world’s busiest airport under lockdown, a message arrives: This is no ordinary hijacking, no typical hostage crisis. This ransom is a totally different beast—the first hint of a conspiracy that might bring America to its knees. Praise for Cost of Life   “Joshua Corin is a master storyteller. Cost of Life is a thriller par excellence: brilliantly imaginative, well written, and delightfully diabolical. Highly recommended!”—Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling co-creator of the Pendergast novels “In Cost of Life, Joshua Corin turns a humdrum airline flight into a ride on an F-15 with a smoking engine—fast, terrifying, and oh so fun. I loved the writing. Corin’s whip-smart dialogue crashed me straight into a world of fascinating characters and complicated allegiances. I couldn’t stop reading until the wheels touched down on that final tarmac.”—Rebecca Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author of The World Beneath   “Fraught with danger and surprises, Cost of Life is a tale chock-full of action, adventure, and intrigue. Treachery comes from all directions, so consider yourself warned.”—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Myth Don’t miss any of Joshua Corin’s electrifying Xanadu Marx thrillers: COST OF LIFE • FORGIVE ME • AMERICAN LIES