The Survivor

The new hire at a Manhattan compliance company is fired during his first day on the job, then gets ensnared in a series of deadly games in this frenetic page-turner from Reid (The Hunter). Ben Cross has been eagerly anticipating his first day at DataDyne Solutions, a billion-dollar business that helps its clients avoid EPA fines, only to be locked out of his computer and escorted from the building by security without explanation shortly after he arrives. A disoriented Ben then boards the subway, where he receives anonymous text messages that promise certain passengers will die when they get off at their stop. Ben is unsure how seriously to take the messages until a man steps off the train and is fatally shot. Ben’s tormentor takes credit for the killing, then continues to taunt him, threatening to reveal a dark personal secret of Ben’s if he doesn’t meet their demands. Reid alternates claustrophobic sections from Ben’s perspective with chapters narrated by NYPD detective Kelly Hendricks, who investigates the first murder after being reassigned to the subway system for humiliating one of her superiors. Propulsive, unpredictable, and genuinely scary, this crackerjack thriller barrels forward like a runaway train. Readers won’t want it to end. (Mar.)