Killing Ground Book

At the top of the heroin pyramid, behind an impenetrable shield of loyal henchmen and Swiss bank accounts, are the shadowy drug czars. Their addictive product takes a staggering human toll, their total ruthlessness means instant and cruel death for those who dare oppose them. The most elusive and cold-blooded of these kingpins is Mario Ruggerio, a brutal and resourceful Mafia leader who had lived underground for years and managed to evade the long arm of American and European drug enforcement agencies. Charlotte Parsons is an elementary school teacher, an ordinary young woman who once worked as a nanny in the home of Ruggerio's brother. She knows nothing of organized crime. To her, the illegal drug trade is sad, but it's someone else's problem. Until now... Enter DEA agent Axel Moen. His single-minded pursuit of the drug lords has made him equally as ruthless as the men he hunts. Moen sees Charlotte as providing him with a major opportunity to target Ruggerio. He entraps her, convinces her to become his informant and reestablish contact with the Ruggerio family. Of course, he promises he'll always be close if her life is under threat, but that is a promise he can't keep. Soon, Charlotte finds herself alone, a pawn in a deadly game of criminal conspiracies and sinister political intrigue. She must reach down into the depths of her courage to find the survival skills that will keep her alive - or die trying.

In this tense, gripping thriller from the bestselling author of The Heart of Danger and The Fighting Man, an innocent young woman is recruited to go undercover in pursuit of a vicious mafia leader in hiding. 352 pp. National publicity.