Click here to read reviewer Luan Gaines' take on The Rules of Silence.

Titus Cain, a self-made software tycoon from Texas, finds himself kidnapped in his own home. His kidnapper, a particularly nasty South American thug, informs Cain that he can go about his usual life while arranging to pay sixty-four million dollars as ransom; otherwise, one by one, people close to Cain will be killed most gruesomely. Shocked, dazed and still somewhat disbelieving, Titus somehow manages to get in touch with Burden, a guy who has long been after his kidnapper, and whose people are the best in the business.

With Burden’s help and some very sophisticated technology, a spy-game of sort begins. But, as the antsy and sadistic kidnapper begins to kill Cain’s near and dear ones, Titus is torn as his feelings fluctuate wildly from outright retaliation to total submission. The arrival of his wife only adds to Cain’s confusion. Caught in a violent web of intrigue and danger, trapped in an untenable situation which is rapidly spiraling out of his control, what can Titus do?

With a new bent on the kidnapping-ransom theme, David Lindsey manages to hold on to the readers’ interest. Titus Cain and his unusual situation form an intriguing pivot to the suspenseful plot, although the way Titus immediately finds a man like Burden, who has the capability to bring down a sadistic kidnapper with a highly organized team, and starts conspiring with him seems too convenient for words. There is also an over-abundance of violence in the story, along with high-tech gadgetry and slickness. Characterizations are cursory, and the rapid story development leaves little room for any relationship to be established or explained. The taut, terse pace and the too-convenient plot feel more suited to a movie than a book. The Rules of Silence is nevertheless engaging enough.