A Maiden's Grave — Jeffery Deaver

Eight deaf girls and their teachers are pulled off a school bus along a windswept Kansas road. They are held hostage in an abandoned slaughterhouse by escaped murderer Lou Handy and two fellow inmates, who threaten to kill one hostage an hour unless their demands are met.

Called to the scene is Arthur Potter, the FBI's senior hostage negotiator, who meets in Lou Handy the toughest adversary of his career. As Potter struggles to outwit Handy, hostage Melanie Charrol takes on the killers in a desperate effort to save her students.

The clock is ticking as a terrifying game of cat and mouse begins....