Snatch & Catch

by John F Gorman

Veteran Chicago Police Detective Mike Halloran is investigating a decades-old cold case of a dismembered teenage girl when he's summoned to police HQ by his old partner and present Chief of Detectives, Syl Ortiz. Her daughter-and Halloran's goddaughter-has been kidnapped. A violent ex-con snatches Ortiz's 16-year-old daughter and launches a successful ransom plot. Halloran and his FBI cold case partner Juan Ochoa track the kidnapper down to a North Side basement apartment, but the kidnapper escapes after a shootout that leaves the FBI agent wounded and Halloran frustrated and angry. Halloran and Ochoa catch the kidnapper as Halloran's partner tracks down the killer in the cold case. Both cases reach stunning conclusions that leave the reader satisfied and wanting more.

274 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2024

Reviews

[Bob Saigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Snatch & Catch’s” authenticity had me on each of its 286 pages (including Acknowledgements and About the Author) as its story about a brazen kidnapping, a complicated investigation, pursuit and capture, and a difficult, risky prosecution unfolded largely on Chicago streets and ultimately in a federal courtroom, but also in places on Mexico’s central Pacific coast. What I most enjoyed was the book’s you-are-there details of the grind, the commitment, the relentless cop-think in organizing, planning and managing a major criminal case to a safe and just conclusion for the victims, law enforcement, court officials and the public. Rich, credible characters make things happen as they deal with the unexpected, gather and weigh the pieces of information and evidence that contribute to a larger picture, and then pounce at the right time to advance or solve a case. Readers will see this not only in the active, high-profile kidnapping case that veteran Chicago Police Detective Mike Halloran, his partner Detective Jane Thoma, FBI special agent Juan Ochoa and numerous others are working, but also in a ghastly, near 50-year old cold case that has had Halloran and Thoma’s attention for many months. The professional, personal and reader-informing elements are throughout “Snatch & Catch,” making for a genuinely worthwhile and satisfying read, and the book’s Epilogue hints at what more may come in Mike Halloran’s world. Disclosure: Chicago’s my birthplace and former hometown.