{"series":[{"isLibrarianView":false,"book":{"imageUrl":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686580498i/145624945._SY180_.jpg","bookId":"145624945","workId":"160944235","bookUrl":"/book/show/145624945-the-ascent","from_search":false,"from_srp":false,"qid":null,"rank":null,"title":"The Ascent","bookTitleBare":"The Ascent","numPages":352,"avgRating":4.09,"ratingsCount":1869,"author":{"id":7924917,"name":"Adam Plantinga","isGoodreadsAuthor":true,"profileUrl":"https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7924917.Adam_Plantinga","worksListUrl":"https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7924917.Adam_Plantinga"},"kcrPreviewUrl":"https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B0C4F3D5RL&ref=x_gr_w_preview_new_nf_story-20&tag=x_gr_w_preview_new_nf_story-20&preview=inline","description":{"truncatedHtml":"

A “jaw-dropping, authentic, and absolutely grippin…

","html":"

A “jaw-dropping, authentic, and absolutely gripping” thriller (Harlan Coben) performed by dual narrators: While touring a maximum security prison, grad student Julie Wakefield ends up trapped on the bottom floor with ex-cop Kurt Argento… along with a group of the center’s most dangerous inhabitants blocking their exit.

When a high security prison fails, a down-on-his luck cop and the governor’s daughter are going to have to team up if they’re going to escape in this debut thriller from Adam Plantinga, whose first nonfiction book Lee Child praised as “truly excellent.”

Kurt Argento, an ex-Detroit street cop who can’t let injustice go—and who has the fighting skills to back up his idealism. If he sees a young girl being dragged into an alley, he's going to rescue her and cause some damage. When he does just that in a small corrupt Missouri town, he’s brutally beaten and thrown into a maximum-security prison.

Julie Wakefield, a grad student who happens to be the governor's daughter, is about to take a tour of the prison. But when a malfunction in the security system releases a horde of prisoners, a fierce struggle for survival ensues.

Argento must help a small band of staff and civilians, including Julie and her two state trooper handlers, make their way from the bottom floor to the roof to safety.

All that stands in their way are six floors of the most dangerous convicts in Missouri. "},"textReviewsCount":358,"publicationDate":"2024","toBePublished":false,"editions":"6 editions","editionsUrl":"/work/editions/160944235-the-ascent"}},{"isLibrarianView":false,"book":{"imageUrl":"https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1724831513i/217182481._SY180_.jpg","bookId":"217182481","workId":"223663888","bookUrl":"/book/show/217182481-hard-town","from_search":false,"from_srp":false,"qid":null,"rank":null,"title":"Hard Town (Kurt Argento, #2)","bookTitleBare":"Hard Town","numPages":320,"avgRating":4.14,"ratingsCount":387,"author":{"id":7924917,"name":"Adam Plantinga","isGoodreadsAuthor":true,"profileUrl":"https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7924917.Adam_Plantinga","worksListUrl":"https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7924917.Adam_Plantinga"},"kcrPreviewUrl":"https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B0DCGBB93L&ref=x_gr_w_preview_new_nf_story-20&tag=x_gr_w_preview_new_nf_story-20&preview=inline","description":{"truncatedHtml":"When a plea for help sends retired Detroit cop Kur…","html":"When a plea for help sends retired Detroit cop Kurt Argento to the small desert town of Fenton, Arizona things immediately don’t appear to be as they seem, and he finds himself unraveling secrets that want to stay hidden and questioning his own moral compass.

After having survived a deadly prison break, ex-Detroit cop Kurt Argento is ready for some quiet. Still working through his grief over the passing of his wife, Argento finds himself house-sitting for a friend with his loyal companion, Hudson, a Chow Chow-Shepard mix. It's a simple life, picking up odd jobs here and there, but it's one that Argento is content to live.

Then Kristin Reed shows up with her young son, Ethan, and begs Argento to help find her missing husband... and Argento tells her he'd just be in the way. He's no investigator, not anymore. He's a handyman who fixes fences. But he's not one to ignore his gut feeling when something is wrong. After an attempt to talk with Kristin more in the next town over, just to find her and her son missing as well, Argento starts to notice that Fenton, Arizona is more than meets the eye.

First there's the large, overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry. Then there's the unusual financial boosting of failing small businesses by the U.S. government. And finally, there's one man with no name who seems to have control over this town in an unprecedented way.

Argento finds himself unraveling not just the truth behind the disappearance of a family, but a conspiracy that's taken a whole town to cover up. But Fenton, Arizona is going to push him further than he’s ever had to go. And along the way, he may just lose a part of himself as well. Because justice isn't as black and white as Argento would like to believe."},"textReviewsCount":103,"publicationDate":"","toBePublished":null,"editions":"5 editions","editionsUrl":"/work/editions/223663888-hard-town-kurt-argento-2"}}],"seriesHeaders":["Book 1","Book 2"]}

Kurt Argento Series

Book 1

Shelve The Ascent

Book 2

Shelve Hard Town