Hostage — Robert Crais

Three young men gunning for action rob a minimart in a sleepy suburb north of Los Angeles. When things get out of control, and with the police on their tail, they flee the scene and invade a home in an exclusive gated community, taking a panicked family hostage.

Police chief Jeff Talley finds an all-too-familiar scene in front of the house where the criminals are holed up with a father and his two children. A former hostage negotiator with the LAPD's SWAT unit, Talley is quickly thrown back into the high-pressure world that he has so desperately tried to leave behind. But Talley's nightmare has barely begun, because this isn't just any house; it holds the dirty secrets of L.A.'s biggest crime lord. And the people inside aren't the only ones held hostage....