Andromeda Fox: Kidnapped — Magda Jozsa

Kidnapped is the 4th book in the Andromeda Fox series set in contemporary Melbourne. Mathilda enters Andy's painting Sleeping Angel in an art competition to be held in Sydney. He's delighted and so is she, as she thinks that for once they'll be able to have a peaceful holiday away, seeing as how their last attempt failed miserably. Their first couple of days in Sydney is fine, until Andy goes to collect some ice from the machine in the hotel corridor and never returns. Tildy fears the worst and hunts for him but comes up empty. Returning to her room she finds a note under the door demanding she contact his father. Chalmers Fox hurries to Sydney on her call. He prefers to keep his wife in the dark as she fell apart the last time when they lost their daughter to a kidnapper. This time he has every intention to follow the kidnapper's demands to the letter and keep the police out of it. Little does he know that the police have been after this particular kidnapper for the last ten years and when they learn he has withdrawn a million dollars in cash, they bug their rooms and listen in with the intent of arresting the kidnappers when they collect the ransom. This almost costs Andy his life, and it is only thanks to his clues and Mathilda's investigative ability that he is saved in the nick of time. Even Mr Fox gets in on the action once Mathilda informs him his son is safe. He takes out the kidnapper personally, grimly motivated when he learns that this is the same man who murdered his daughter eighteen years previously.