Help Me Please

by Barbara D'Amato

Book Overview

An hour and a half after three-year-old Danielle Gaston is kidnapped from the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, a new Web site pops up on the World Wide Web--featuring Danielle Gaston. She's isolated in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312865635
• ISBN13: 9780312865634
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

D'Amato's Chilling Thriller

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I was fascinated by Barbara D'Amato's HELP ME PLEASE. I love the way Ms. D'Amato effectively works the criminal use of the Internet into this police procedural. Danni Gaston, a young daughter of two celebrities--an entertainer and a politician--is abducted from a church. The snatched child appears on the Internet a matter of hours later, and the kidnappers demand the release of a web-terrorist. Police detective Polly Kelly is given the task of solving the crime and finding the child. Kelly finds herself pressured by a camera webcasting Danni's every move as well as the child's deteriorating condition. Ms. D'Amato has written a fine book with a realsitic setting, a highly contemporary plot, and realistically drawn characters. It is a fine read.

What a page-turner!

After reading a review of this book, I knew that once I picked it up, I wouldn't be able to put it back down until I'd finished it! It kept me up 'til 2 AM! What an exciting thriller. I'm usually pretty sqeamish when it comes to children in jeopardy plots, but D'Amato really pulls this one off. I heartily recommend both this book and D'Amato's KILLER.APP to people looking for a fast paced and fabulous reading experience, and to fans of meticulously researched police procedurals.

A Real Barn Burner!

This Book grabs you from the first page,a child is taken from a church in broad daylight .Just like the Chief detective , Polly Kelly, All you want is for that child to be found, as you watch her slowly getting weaker .. Which is the best way Cyber tech or good old fashioned police work? It is a challenge all of the Characters are up to! You won't be able to put this one down until the very last word is read !

A chilling thriller

Famous country-western singer Maggie Mckittredge and Senator Neal Gaston have tried to conceive a baby for years without any success. Their prayers are answered at a Northwestern University clinic where Danni is conceived. The infant is born healthy and her two parents begin an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Name Cathedral to thank God.When Danni turns three, Maggie and Neal travel to the church for their pilgrimage. A priest stands at the door, ushering the worshipers into the building. Danni wanders down the aisle when an elderly person collapses. Maggie looks away for a moment, but when she returns to check on Danni, the little girl is missing. A search of the church reveals nothing except that the priest at the door did not belong to the congregation. Professionals kidnapped Danni, and the little girl appears on the Web site HELP ME PLEASE less than two hours later. The bare room contains no food or toilet. Chief of Detectives Polly Kelly heads the investigation with her only goal being to bring the child safely home. Time is ticking away as Danni seems to have only a few days of survival time left.HELP ME PLEASE is a superbly executed police procedural that will leave a chill in the readers's soul as the motive for the abduction is uglier than the crime. Polly is a wonderful detective, but little Danni clearly owns the story line as readers can envision her plight and trauma. Though the technical aspects of the web seem incomprehensible at least to this reviewer, the story line moves rapidly to its climax. Barbara D'Amato has written another thriller that feels so genuine as to make the story line feel even chillier.Harriet Klausner