This book had a lot of action consistently throughout…about a school shooting and negotiating hostages. Appears to be part of a series from referenc3s but that didn’t take away from the story.

I sadly didn’t enjoy this book. I started it and couldn’t get in to it so stopped and went back to it twice before finally finishing it. It just wasn’t for me

Reading the description, I thought Lockdown would be predictable and a laid back leisurely read. Boy was I WRONG. This book gave me so much anxiety I had to take several breaks to calm myself down and return my heart rate to normal. It was like I was there in the story along side the main characters and was picturing how I would handle (and screw up) the situation.

I read this book in less than 8 hours and have already added the first books of the series to my TBR.

Please note the book has graphic descriptions and centers around a school shooting.

This was my first book by this author and won’t be my last cause I am now HOOKED. originally requested this book because of the Primus and with everything has been going on in real life, it just seemed like a good read. Will definitely be recommending to those who like true crime and thrillers.

The entire book occurs at a school dhooting/hostage setting...edge of your seat reading but could be triggering. Sad tale with lots of emotion.

Lockdown by Sara Driscoll
NYPD Negotiators #3

Once again Gemma Capello is on the front line negotiating for the lowest body count possible in a hostage situation. This time the high school her nephew attends is at the center of the drama with shooters on the premises. Gemma is notified, arrives early, and immediately steps in to help where she can.

What I liked:
* Gemma: negotiator, seasoned NYPD police officer, from a family of first responders, skillful, driven, competent, family oriented, and a survivor of a hostage situation experienced as a child
* Logan: tactical team member, went through police academy with Gemma, strong, determined, focused, lethal, bright, aware, more and more thinking he will be a love interest for Gemma
* The strong bond of the Capello family and how they were there for one another on the anniversary of the loss of their mother while hoping they would not lose Sam – son, grandson, nephew
* Getting a look at the process of how school shootings are handled and what is required of various members of the team during and until the crisis is handled
*The look at the possible mental state of the shooters and wondering how to avert future school shootings
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* The action scenes
* The dialogue between Gemma and the hostage taker
* It was believable
* I felt I was there
* The outcome and how the situation was finally resolved

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like – especially Hank
* Thinking about how twisted a person would have to be to do what Hank and Russ did
* Thinking about my daughter, teaching on a college campus, and knowing that she has had at least one lockdown on campus - the world seems crazier and more unhinged every year!

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Lockdown by Sara Driscoll (NYPD Negotiators #3) 4 stars

A normal high school day, except for the entrance of two individuals bent on murder. What ensues is another school shooting headline with one of the individuals holding a teacher and some students hostage. One of the students still trapped in the building is the nephew of Gemma Capello, one of NYPD’s most skilled negotiators. She is one of the earliest officers to make it onsite to evaluate the situation. What follows is a tense situation in which she will try to find the right words to bring everybody out in one piece.

This is my first time reading this series. I am more familiar with her FBI K-9 series which is very good (Highly recommend). I found it action-packed and mainly from the viewpoint of the first responders. I would try this series again based on my reading of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

Edge of your seat phenomenal…

I picked this book up with no expectations as this was the first read of this author and I was blown away….

Gemma is a hostage negotiator, a very good one. Her family bleeds blue yet she was dreading the day, a sad anniversary, but looked forward to spending it with her Dad and siblings. Little did she know the drastic turn it was going to take when she learns there was a crisis situation involving unknown gunmen at a local high school. Her nephew’s high school. From that moment on, Gemma was on auto-pilot, doing what she did best, even as the dread grew higher. What was going on? And, more importantly, where was her nephew?

I could not put down this book. News over the last years have played out similar scenarios with deadly consequences. The author put the reader in the middle of it all with crazy high tension and a fear of what’s to come. All the characters said little but spoke volumes. Told from Gemma’s point of view, it was a mix of coolness under pressure and the fear of a loved one under attack…

I was mesmerized from start to finish and can’t wait to get my reading paws on every word this author has written. Outstanding!

*I happily reviewed this story
**Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley

This is not a book for the faint of heart. The raw emotions and first responders POV in a heart pounding situation made this a fast paced, nail biting, and heart breaking read. The insight into a fiction situation that we see too commonly become real makes you really think deeper about a topic that most people forget about quickly after an occurrence if not directly involved.

Sara Driscoll definitely gives readers a lot to think on about the state of our world and the fates of those that get caught in the cross hairs of others decisions.

I loved this book! Interesting perspective from a hostage negotiator. May need a trigger warning for school shootings. Overall it was fast paced and action packed.

Trigger Warning: This involves a school shooting. The main focus is on hostage negotiations, but there are still graphic details.

This is a part of a series. I did not read the prior books, and I can confirm that this book could definitely be read as a standalone novel. The reader is thrown right into the fast-paced action, and the writing style, which is vividly detailed, quickly and easily pull the reader in. I had a difficult time putting this book aside. Characters and situations are realistically drawn, and they accurately portray the heroism the teachers and first responders demonstrate when protecting those in their care. Sadly, scenarios in this book, as well as "Run, Hide, Fight" drills will be all too familiar with many readers in this day and age. This is such a griping and emotional book that readers will feel the anger, grief, etc. that such a situation warrants. The author truly makes the reader feel a part of the action. Events (school shooting, dedicated first responders, terrified children, hostages, etc) unfold almost as if watching a movie or, unfortunately, the evening news.

I don't give out a number of five-star reviews, as I am very selective about that rating. However, this one deserves it. My only criticism of the book is an inaccuracy pertaining to the song mentioned multiple times in the book. "Blaze of Glory" is by Jon Bon Jovi, the individual (from the "Young Guns" soundtrack), and not Bon Jovi, the band.

In Sara Driscoll's latest non-canine book, Lockdown (Kensington Books 2024), Book 3 of the NYPD Negotiators series, the author addresses a difficult and current topic: school shootings, often by amoral kids so mad at everyone they just don't care anymore. The author caught my attention immediately with the believable picture of these shooters--long dark coats, big guns, walking in as though they owned the high school of 4500 souls, gunning down innocents for no apparent reason--which early on alerted me that the book would be predictable. The police presence began immediately with an effort to stop what turned out to be two shooters. The plot was complicated by the fact that the negotiator was related to one of the kids in the school, but readers were convinced she wouldn't let that interfere with her ability to do her job. The police took all the necessary steps from procedures to negotiations to tech efforts and everything in between to stop the killing, but were fairly ineffective even after one commit suicide leaving the weaker of the two to hole up with a room full of hostages. Enter the negotiators.

Though the topic is compelling and frighteningly common, I marked the story down for lacking in creativity and surprises that would get readers past the horror of what was going on. I would have given a 3.5 if half points were possible.

Gemma Capello is a hostage negotiator with the NYPD. On her day off she hears that there is an active school shooter nearby at her nephew's school. Gemma immediately responds and offers her services as hostage negotiator. The premise is relevant in today's world and Lockdown provided insights that the general public don't usually learn. Some of the situations were not completely realistic. The author gave us information on how and why hostage negotiators say and do things through Gemma's conversations with other characters in the book. These conversations weren't always realistic. For example, an hostage negotiator wouldn't have a conversation with a teenage witnesses about why she is saying something to a teenage victim. Nevertheless, I felt like I learned a lot about how and why hostage negotiators do their job, the considerations and tension surround active school shooters. The book did a good job explaining the shooters' motivation, planning and interactions with each other. The premise kept me interested and invested in finding out how the book ended. I really love Sara Driscoll's FBI K-9 Series, and I look forward to reading more of her stand alone novels.

There's one call every police department dreads. When the call goes out that there are active shooters in a New York high school, it's all hands on deck.

Gemma Cappello, part of the NYPD hostage negotiator team, comes from a police department family. Her father is Chief of Special Operations while her brothers work the streets. She’s on the way to a family gatherings when she hears about the active shooter. Quickly changing course, she is one of the first on the scene. Though her skills aren't needed then, she’ll do whatever needs to be done to help, because one of the 4,000 students in that school is her nephew.

The action explodes in the first chapter and the tension rises steadily as the situation drags on. Emotions are high as the first responders map out their strategy and prepare to enter the building. Descriptions of the devastation and carnage they first encounter draw the reader in, A they become a part of the scene and experience just a small taste of the rage, the pain those first responders feel and the fear of what they have yet to find.

This book is so hauntingly realistic, it feels like it could be a first person account by those who actually experienced the horror of this event. I picked this book up when I had a few extra minutes to read and ended up finishing it in one evening. I can't fully capture the emotions of this story, so I highly recommend you experience this book for yourself.

Gemma Capello is solid and effective in her skill set of NYPD negotiator.

In Book 3 of this series, Gemma is on her way to her dad’s house when she gets a call regarding a school shooting at the school her nephew attends. Two shooters have mowed down fellow students (and teachers). One takes himself out leaving the other shooter to hole up in a classroom with a group of hostages.

Gemma’s goal is to safely lockdown the school and control the tactical team whose leadership pushes for aggressive take-down. She is most keen on getting those hostages, and possibly the perp as well, out alive. Detective Sean Logan will have a crucial part in extraction.

The negotiations require large coordinating teams each doing their part to see a successful end to the tension and terror-filled scene.

The point repeated more than once that I didn’t understand was the mantra, “Run, Hide, Fight.” How would an unarmed student without even a cell phone fight a perp with an automatic weapon bent on leaving no one alive?

Definitely a heart-pounding exposé of those real life situations we’ve seen repeated too often lately. 4.5 stars

WOW! An absolute rush from the beginning to the exciting end! Detective Gemma Capello receives a call that students have taken over the high school; there are hostages and fatalities. Although it is her day off, she is a member of HNT, the Hostage Negotiation Team, and heads to the school; the school that her nephew attends. As she assists in getting students to safety, the investigation begins as to who the shooters are and what do they want. Controlled chaos ensues as law enforcement arrives and Gemma is able to contact one of the shooters, who is holding hostages. She has to get into his mind to get him to safely surrender and release the hostages. All during this time she wonders where her nephew is and is he safe? Gemma is from a close-knit family and this is the twenty-fifth anniversary of a tragic event that changed her family forever. Will she eventually learn enough about the shooter to get him to surrender or will there be even more deaths? I highly recommend this series, the action-packed stories and the loving family characters! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Gemma is a negotiator in hostage situations. She is on her way to an event when she hears a report about a shooting at her nephew’s high school. Can she help?
This story will leave you on the edge of your seat. I have read other books about school shooting. This one felt so realistic. I couldn’t put it down. You won’t regret reading this one.

Lockdown by Sara Driscoll
.
Gemma is a NYPD detective who has the day off to spend with family. That changes when she gets the call that her nephew’s school has an active shooter situation.
.
Trigger warning for school shooting.
.
What I liked:
-I liked that there was no slow build, we were just thrown, higgledy-piggledy, into the action.
-I loved that Gemma had such a big and close family. They were all really there for each other.
-The tension was thick throughout the whole book.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lockdown was action packed and kept me wanting to know how everything would be resolved. I’m interested in the rest of this series now.

A crisis is about to make the anniversary of a family tragedy infinitely worse.

Twenty five years ago on this November day Gemma Capello and her mother Maria were taken hostage during a bank robbery, and Gemma was the only one of the two who survived the ordeal. Gemma grew up to follow in the footsteps of her father Tony, who is the NYPD Chief of Special Operations, joining the NYPD and ultimately becoming a lead negotiator on the NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team. With three of her brothers also in the NYPD and the fourth in the FDNY, they’re a family dedicated to serving and protecting. Gemma is headed to her father’s home in Brooklyn to mark the sad anniversary when one of her brothers calls with shocking news…a school shooting has been reported at a local high school, the school where her nephew Sam is a freshman. As phone calls from terrified students start to flood 9-1-1, Gemma heads straight to the scene to offer whatever assistance she can. Although many such situations post Columbine end quickly with the perpetrators either surrendering or being killed, this one will not. Hostages are taken, and Gemma will need to put aside her worries about Sam and jump into action. With two Apprehension Tactical Teams (A-Teams) on site and more en route, and with tensions running high, It falls on Gemma to open and maintain a dialogue with the suspect in order to prevent the A-Teams from having to use force. If she is successful maybe no other lives will be lost; if she is not, the students and teachers who are either hostages or are sheltering in place and unable to get out are all in jeopardy…including her nephew.
Children in life-threatening situations are everyone’s worst nightmare, first responders and parents alike. As school shootings continue to happen, while lessons have been learned on what to do and what not to do to minimize casualties they are still horrific scenarios. Author Sara Driscoll does a fantastic job of conveying the chaos, conflict, and concerns swirling around those who have found themselves in a position for which they have trained but hoped never to face. Gemma, herself a survivor of a hostage taking, is tested under the worst possible set of circumstances….on a day reserved for mourning her mother’s death under similar circumstances and with a loved one possibly in jeopardy. Other family members, used to taking action and saving others, must stand by while others take over. A school principal and teachers risk their lives to protect their students, some of whom are themselves are showing incredible composure and bravery while others are incapacitated by terror. Lockdown (the third in a series but one that is easily read as a standalone) is a gripping read, perfect for fans of Tess Gerritsen, Isabella Maldonado and Catherine Coulter as well as those who have read author Sara Driscoll’s other books, including her FBI K-9 series. Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for allowing me early access to this novel….I devoured it in one sitting.

I love this author and recently discovered this series. This book is an incredible read. It's at times heartbreaking, terrifying, and full of action and suspense. Gemma is such a great character and Sean is my second favorite. The writing is so vivid I often felt like I was right there. This page-turner is one of the best books I've read this year!