Rating: 
Summary: best non-fiction book of the year
Review: I picked up this book based on the back cover I've never read a book by James Grippando and didn't know anything about him and I'm glad I did pick it up. It's easily the best book I've read all year!!!! Read this book when you have a day's worth of time to read it because trust me once you start reading it you won't want to put it down. This book keeps hooked from first to last page and I see this book easily being turned into a feature film. I've read the review that says this book reminds them of the Meg Ryan/Russel Crowe film Proof of Life but I feel forget Proof of life this book was extremely more enjoyable than that movie.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and Exciting
Review: I really enjoy this author's books and this one is no exception. It is an easy and a fast read as it's hard to put down. It reminds me a bit of his novel "Found Money" in the fact that Nick Rey finds himself uncovering secrets about his father's life that had been kept from him. It explores the father- son relationship in a very similar way as did the other novel. It makes one wonder how much do we ever really know our parents? Mr. Grippando always seem to throw a bit of romance in and does a swell job of it too. To me the most amazing thing about this book though are the facts about Columbia. I will certainly never go there!! All in all I found the kidnap thing very effective. Great read!!
Rating:
Summary: Must Read
Review: I walked into the store, saw it on the shelf and said, "Yes, he's got a new one out!" I've read everything James Grippando has written and it's all been wonderful. If you love a good suspense then add this one (along with his others) to your reading list. Always well written, and keeps you on the edge until the end! James has a way of taking you to where the story takes place, you're there experiencing what his characters are.
Rating:
Summary: awesome thriller
Review: I'm hooked on these books by James Grippando. I started with the Informant, then Under Cover of Darkness and now a Kings Ransom. When you get hooked like I did, you begin trying to guess the unsuspected villian which makes his books fun. I read Kings Ransom in three sittings. It's a book you just can't put down.
Rating:
Summary: Grippando's done it again!!!
Review: I've only read a couple of James Grippando's books, but all of them have been totally awesome. "A King's Ransom" may be the best one yet.Nick Rey is a young attorney working at an enormous law firm in Miami. His law firm has connections all over the country and the world, so it appears he's fast on his way to moving up the ladder. That all changes when his father, Matthew, is kidnapped while in Colombia on business. Nick finds out that his father had a secret kidnapping insurance policy, but then the insurance comapny won't pay up. Something's going on, but Nick has no idea what. He immediately goes to work trying to track down answers and get his father back to the states safely, but someone powerful may be holding him back. This book was an incredible read. It kept my mind moving a hundred miles an hour. It's full of suspense and the mystery keeps getting bigger. It provides a glimpse into the world of Colombian revolutionaries and what happens when they act. Grippando did an excellent job researching this book. He realy seemed to know all about what happens when an American is kidnapped in South America. The descriptions are vividly realistic, and I just couldn't put this book down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Grippando's done it again!!!
Review: I've only read a couple of James Grippando's books, but all of them have been totally awesome. "A King's Ransom" may be the best one yet. Nick Rey is a young attorney working at an enormous law firm in Miami. His law firm has connections all over the country and the world, so it appears he's fast on his way to moving up the ladder. That all changes when his father, Matthew, is kidnapped while in Colombia on business. Nick finds out that his father had a secret kidnapping insurance policy, but then the insurance comapny won't pay up. Something's going on, but Nick has no idea what. He immediately goes to work trying to track down answers and get his father back to the states safely, but someone powerful may be holding him back. This book was an incredible read. It kept my mind moving a hundred miles an hour. It's full of suspense and the mystery keeps getting bigger. It provides a glimpse into the world of Colombian revolutionaries and what happens when they act. Grippando did an excellent job researching this book. He realy seemed to know all about what happens when an American is kidnapped in South America. The descriptions are vividly realistic, and I just couldn't put this book down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Grippando the Great!!
Review: I've read all of James Grippando's novels since his first, "The Pardon", and I've loved each and every one. He always delivers a great story that keeps the reader guessing from the first page to the last. "A King's Ransom" is his best yet -- the ultimate can't-put-down page-turner.
Rating: 
Summary: Good stuff from Mr. Grippando
Review: It's nice to read a taut thriller. You already know the facts. Nick Rey's father is kidnapped by a splinter group of the original Marxist terrorists that frequent-inhabit Nicaragua and particularly, the phone booth cramped Bogata. Matthew Rey is in Nicaragua to buy 4 fishing boats to augment his successful seafood-fishing business.
Nick Rey's father, Matthew is a straight arrow (we're pretty sure) but as in most families, Matthew has those family secrets that haunt many of us.
So we have at least two plots going on, plus the disappearance of Lindsey, the sister of Nick, and the denial of claim by the insurance company holding K&R insurance on Matthew (kidnap and ransom). So add two more. Then there's the introduction of the negotiator, Alex Cabreras, with five knife wound scars in her back and you have a really riveting book with really interesting characters. The FBI is pressuring Nick to "give up his Dad" and Matthew's partner doesn't seem so squeaky clean.
The reason I made it a 4 instead of a 5 is I find the dialogue uncomfortable. The guy, Nick Rey, is an articulate trial lawyer paid big bucks to convince, understand, react, all the while on his feet. Yet in talking to his girfriend - ex-girlfriend, girlfriend, he's an idiot. It's like we're looking at Wally Cleaver in the Third Grade having his first crush on Miss Johnson. Dialogue will make you sink or swim. I'm still waiting.
Good plot; good characters; good descriptive text. Poor speaking parts. Worth the read. 4 Stars. Larry Scantlebury
Rating:
Summary: A great Summer read
Review: Just finished A King's Ransom, after getting hooked on Grippando's books by reading Under Cover of Darkness. A King's Ransom kept me guessing right up to the last chapter, and left me wanting more. I especially enjoyed the cohesiveness with which the plot was woven and, also, the easy style of writing where one can become immersed in the story and not be bogged down in detail. It is obvious that James Grippando put in a lot of time in research to write so convincingly about Central America. I was told by another Grippando reader that if I enjoyed Under Cover of Darkness, I will love The Informant, which I am now going out to buy.
Rating:
Summary: A KING OF A BOOK!
Review: Matthew Rey has been kidnapped. The guerillas want three million dollars to relase him. Matthew had bought kidnap insurance and the amount of coverage was three million dollars. Some how they knew that. How???? The insurance company refuses to pay, claiming fraud on Nick Rey's part but is that the real reason?? Matthew is held in the wilds of the jungle, he may or may not survive even if the ransom it paid. Nick meets blocks every way he turns. The insurance company, the FBI, all seem to be against him. The book will hold your attention. You won't want to put it down. It has many twist and turns, one at the very end that I did not see coming. If you like a good mystery that is full of supense, you will like this book.
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