On Sale: Oct 27, 2026
Page Count: 400 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13: 9781538778883

$14.99

$19.99 CAD

Format

Format:

Preorder from Retailers:

USA Today bestselling author and Edgar Award nominee, Adam Plantinga, returns with the next explosive installment in the Kurt Argento series as Argento finds himself shielding a teenage boy caught up in a manhunt.

"Explosive and compelling!"–Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

After the bloodshed in Fenton, Arizona, former Detroit cop Kurt Argento had to disappear. He reemerges in the small town of Barton, South Dakota, working under an assumed name as a church handyman. It’s a serene existence of tending to the church grounds and avoiding questions.

Until he meets seventeen-year-old Majed, a Syrian refugee trying to build a life in Barton with his single mother, as he’s running for his life. Two men with hard eyes are close behind. Argento steps in, and Majed’s pursuers retreat with a thin excuse about a stolen wallet.

It’s a story Argento doesn’t buy for a second.

Digging deeper, he uncovers something far more lethal than a street-level shakedown. Majed isn’t just in trouble—he’s a target. And the hunters are closing in.
To safeguard Majed, Argento hits the road with the boy, pushing west. And along the way it becomes clear that whatever Majed knows—or carries—someone powerful wants it and will kill to get it.

But Argento can’t let that happen. Because he’s made a promise.

Protect the boy.

Or die trying.

Genre:

Adam Plantinga is part of the Internet Crimes Against Children unit with the San Francisco Police Department whose first two nonfiction books— 400 Things Cops Know and Police Craft— have become his calling cards to the world of thrillers. 400 Things was nominated for an Agatha, a Macavity, and was deemed “the new Bible for crime writers” by the Wall Street Journal. Adam’s fiction debut, The Ascent became a USA Today bestseller.

“Explosive and compelling! With sparse prose and taut action, Plantinga delivers on the most riveting action-hero since Jack Reacher.”
Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Praise for The Ascent
:
“The Ascent is jaw-dropping, authentic, and absolutely gripping.”
Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of I Will Find You
“Adam Plantinga’s debut thriller, THE ASCENT, is a nail-biting ride out of Hell itself. It’s Dante’s Inferno—but with gangs, corruption, bone-breaking brawls, and a kick-ass, determined police officer struggling through it all to save another. It reads with raw authenticity and brutal honesty. Don’t miss this debut of a new crime-thriller star!”
James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kingdom of Bones
"Damn! I had to hold onto this one for dear life. THE ASCENT is a ferociously propulsive thriller. Plantinga creates a haunted house of horrors that’s utterly convincing, while at the same time keeping the focus on complex, layered, and engaging characters. An outstanding debut crime novel."
Lou Berney, Edgar award-winning author of November Road
“If JD Salinger had been a street cop, he’d have written books like Adam Plantinga’s. This book is the real deal - flesh and blood characters, charming wit, and an insider’s pass to a one-of-a-kind white knuckle ride. Plantinga will soon join the ranks of Child and Connelly.”
Douglas Brunt, New York Times bestselling author and host of Dedicated with Doug Brunt on SiriusXM
“Not since Joseph Wambaugh released The Choirboys has a cop thriller delivered this level of authenticity, and The Ascent wears it like a badge. In his debut novel, Adam Plantinga weaves a jailhouse tale that serves up thrills from the first chapter through the final page. The book’s protagonist, a world-weary Detroit cop, is a revelation. Watch out, Jack Reacher—Kurt Argento has arrived, and he’s putting his rivals in the shade.”
Nancy Allen, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Praise for Hard Town
:
“Hard Town knocked the breath out of me, in the best way. Gripping, fiercely propulsive, and vividly written, it grabbed me from the first word and never let go.”
Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Adam Plantinga brings a cop’s gritty authenticity and a poet’s lyricism to Hard Town, elevating this fine novel above the pack. He writes with smarts, street sense, and a tender heart, breathing life and luster into this tale of a Detroit cop who finds himself way out of his element and deep in the thick of one helluva small town mess. We’ll be reading Plantinga for years to come. What a delight."
Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times bestselling author of Nemesis, an Orphan X thriller

Adam Plantinga

About the Author

Adam Plantinga is part of the Internet Crimes Against Children unit with the San Francisco Police Department whose first two nonfiction books— 400 Things Cops Know and Police Craft— have become his calling cards to the world of thrillers. 400 Things was nominated for an Agatha, a Macavity, and was deemed “the new Bible for crime writers” by the Wall Street Journal. Adam’s fiction debut, The Ascent became a USA Today bestseller.

Learn more about this author

×

Contributors

Formats and Prices

Price