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BIO
James Grippando is the bestselling author of 14 novels, including LYING WITH STRANGERS, WHEN DARKNESS FALLS, GOT THE LOOK, HEAR NO EVIL and LAST TO DIE, which are enjoyed worldwide in more than 20 languages. He lives in Florida, where he was a trial lawyer for 12 years.
PAST INTERVIEW
 June 1, 2001
Thriller fans know they are in for a rare treat when they pick up a James Grippando novel. As topical as today's headlines and rich in the legal complexities, there's a lot of gritty reality to chew on while riding out the suspense. A KING'S RANSOM deals with the explosion of kidnappings in Latin America, and Grippando had some very heartfelt comments on the escalating terrorism in Colombia and the plight of the victims and their families in this interview with Bookreporter.com's Ann Bruns.
BRC: You're new novel, A KING'S RANSOM, is much more than a superb thriller, it's also an amazing lesson in current events. The statistics on Latin American kidnappings, Colombia in particular, is staggering. Despite the fact that your victims are fictional, what do you hope the public might learn from the factual background woven into this story?
JG: Whenever I speak to people about the kidnapping situation in Colombia, the reaction is, first, amazement, and then a sense of guilt that the rest of the world is so unaware of the problem. What I'd like people to realize when they read A KING'S RANSOM is that I've written the story of one fictional victim and his family. Similar stories unfold in real life thousands of times over. Every two-and-a-half hours someone is kidnapped for ransom in Colombia. It takes on average six months to a year to negotiate for the victim's release. One in ten victims never return. One of the tragic parts of the story that isn't told in A KING'S RANSOM is that children are increasingly being targeted. An estimated 300 minors were kidnapped last year alone. Late last year, an American boy named Lucas Watson was rescued after being help captive for four months. He was just five years old.
BRC: The storyline proceeds from two different viewpoints: Nick Rey, son of the kidnap victim, who narrates the events as they unfold from the time his father is kidnapped until the final ransom is paid; and Matthew Rey, the victim, who serves as our eyes into the desperate circumstances of the hostages. Do the events depicted through either of these characters closely parallel a true story related to you in your interviews of victims and their families?
JG: My interviews of victims and their families were both the most interesting and the most disturbing part of my research. No single victim or family experienced all of the horrible things that Nick and his father experience in A KING'S RANSOM, but that is not to say that the dangers are overstated in my novel. Some victims suffered far worse. One family in Brazil asked for proof that their nineteen-year-old daughter was alive and received a videotape of her gang rape by the kidnappers in return. The patriarch of another prominent family in Medillin was kidnapped six times. On the seventh, the family refused to pay. He was executed. The lead characters in A KING'S RANSOM, Nick and Matthew Rey, are composite characters. Everything they experience either has happened or could happen. As one kidnap negotiator told me, when it comes to Colombia, there is probably nothing a novelist could dream up that hasn't already happened there.
BRC: In writing A KING'S RANSOM you interviewed State Department officials and FBI agents to gain insight on the very topical tragedy of kidnap for ransom. Neither of these entities were portrayed in your novel in a very good light. Have you had any negative feedback regarding the way you've characterized their policies? Is there any evidence that these policies, particularly their insistence on no ransom or no help, are ever going to be reexamined?
JG: I have a lot of respect for both the FBI agents and State Department officials who have the guts to live and work in a place as dangerous as Colombia. Many of them were extremely helpful to me in my research and talked openly about their experiences. I don't think A KING'S RANSOM necessarily portrays them in a bad light. The novel depicts them as real people trying to carry out an impossible mission. It's their job to protect American interests abroad and, at the same time, enforce U.S. policies against terrorism and illegal drug trafficking in a country that has been embroiled in a civil war for over forty years and that is practically overrun by violence. In A KING'S RANSOM, the "unhelpful" stance of the FBI toward the Rey family is driven by the bureau's suspicion that Matthew Rey was kidnapped because of his involvement in drug trafficking. That premise has stemmed any criticism from my law enforcement contacts.
The "no ransom or no help" policy you mentioned rose out of the long-standing U.S. policy not to negotiate with terrorists. That is still the official policy, but as a practical matter there is considerable assistance available to an American family faced with a kidnapping abroad. You won't find an FBI agent actually delivering the ransom, but only when competing U.S. policies and interests collide (as in A KING'S RANSOM) would the FBI refuse to counsel and provide guidance to an American family along the way. Of course, some people don't want that help, particularly if they are dealing with a private negotiator.
BRC: In the 1950s I remember a movement by many American companies to shutdown operations in Haiti and Cuba and withdraw their people from those countries because of the threat to their safety. Why do many international companies continue to operate within Colombia when the situation continues to be so volatile? Surely the cost of doing business in a country with a crumbling infrastructure accompanied by the threat to both their employees and material assets would be a deterrent?
JG: Colombia has serious problems, but it also has a lot to offer. It's a beautiful country, it's people are proud, it has a rich cultural heritage, and it's also rich in natural resources. But it is dangerous. Most Americans have no idea, but earlier this year, an elite U.S. Delta Force team was just hours away from launching a risky operation to rescue four employees of an American petroleum company who were kidnapped for ransom by former members of Colombia's leftist guerrilla groups. A fifth American hostage, Ron Sanders, had been murdered when his company refused to pay the initial ransom demand --- a staggering $80 million. His body was found beneath a white sheet scrawled with the message, "I am gringo. For nonpayment of ransom." When the kidnappers threatened to kill a second hostage, the U.S. military readied to take the extraordinary step of unleashing its own Delta Force to rescue the remaining Americans. Still, the exploration for oil in these areas continues. This coming July, a consortium of seven foreign companies, including US-based Occidental Petroleum, is scheduled to begin construction of a new oil pipeline in northeast Ecuador, just miles across the border of southern Colombia. That area is controlled by Colombia's largest left wing guerrilla group, FARC, whose 17,000 members commit thousands of kidnappings for ransom each year to help finance their war against the Colombian government. Logic would only dictate that the payment of the $13 million ransom will embolden organizations like FARC to target employees of American companies.
BRC: Among the horrors of being held prisoner, Matthew and the other fictional victims experienced food deprivation, physical and psychological abuse, torture, rape and execution when they became troublesome. They even turned on each other when they feared being eliminated as the least valuable of the group. Is this the common scenario depicted by victims and families?
JG: The treatment of victims varies tremendously. No one will tell you that they enjoyed all of the comforts of home, but some are at least treated with some level of humanity. It's actually not uncommon for victims to gain weight in captivity, as they survive on a diet of carbohydrates and have very little exercise. But then there is the other extreme. Anyone who is intrigued by the daily life of a captive should read the diary of Thomas Hargrove, an American who was held in captivity for eleven months in the Andes Mountains by FARC. The diary is published in a book called LONG MARCH TO FREEDOM. You can't read that book and not come away with the feeling the Mr. Hargrove is one of the strongest people you'll ever meet in your life.
BRC: In A KING'S RANSOM the kidnappers were constantly on the move to avoid the government troops searching the area for their enclaves. But in the real life peace negotiations that have been carried on by the present Colombian government for the past three years, the revolutionary group called FARC was given official control over a large territory within that country as a concession to continue negotiating. Doesn't this just make it far easier for this group to operate it's cocaine and kidnap trade by effectively removing the Colombian government from any policing responsibility?
JG: Colombia is a country within a country. FARC controls roughly forty-percent of Colombia, an area that is about three times the size of the state of Florida. Once you're kidnapped and taken to FARC's territory, rescue or escape becomes difficult. That's the reason it's possible for FARC to kidnap groups of people as large as 100 or more and disappear into the mountains. But the war still wages around you. In Colombia, it isn't just a matter of the Marxists fighting the government. It's sometimes Marxists fighting other Marxists groups in territorial disputes, or leftist guerrillas fighting the right-wing paramilitary in all-out combat, or the paramilitary slaughtering a group of peasants who are suspected sympathizers with the guerillas, and so on. As one of the characters says in A KING'S RANSOM, there are just so many ways to get caught in the crossfire in Colombia.
BRC: Alex is a fascinating character, a kidnap negotiator who has actually been a member of the FARC in her youth. Do you have any statistics on what percentage of these groups are under the age of 16?
JG: The Colombian military estimates that 30% of Colombia's leftist guerrillas are under the age of 18 --- eight to ten thousand minors. A two-year study by one humanitarian organization revealed that 18 percent of child combatants had killed someone, 60 percent had watched people being killed, and 25 percent had witnessed kidnappings. Another 28 percent had themselves been wounded.
BRC: The FBI agents in A KING'S RANSOM seemed to be working from different agendas, one pursuing Nick as a link to possible illegal activities of his father, yet the other acting empathetic to his plight. Is it standard practice for the FBI to try to involve themselves in kidnappings outside of the territorial United States or was this a ploy to achieve their own ends?
JG: The exact way in which the FBI agents interact with Nick in A KING'S RANSOM is dictated in part by the secret agenda the bureau has in this particular case, but the involvement of the FBI is not a ploy. Under federal law, the FBI has jurisdiction in cases involving kidnappings of Americans abroad. The FBI has several extraterritorial squads in the United States, and its negotiators are trained to handle international kidnappings. FBI agents stationed in foreign countries are known as legal attaches. They typically have an office in the U.S. embassy, so that the FBI's involvement in a crisis such as an international kidnapping is closely coordinated with the diplomatic and foreign policy objectives of the U.S. ambassador and State Department.
BRC: You've noted that kidnap for ransom has become such an "industry" in Latin America that companies like Lloyds of London and the private security firm Control Risks Group have initiated "kidnap and ransom insurance" policies. Despite their obvious desire to keep policyholders' names secret, in this age of computer hackers and billion-dollar drug trafficking isn't it probable that those names could be obtained just as they were in A KING'S RANSOM?
JG: Nothing seems tamper proof anymore. Thrillers sometimes do strain credulity, but I'll be shocked if I get a single letter from any reader who thinks it's a stretch that the names of these supposedly secret insurance policies fell into the wrong hands in A KING'S RANSOM. To be fair, however, I should add that most insurance companies do go to great lengths to keep this information secret.
BRC: In real life Alistair Taylor, a Scottish oilman, has been held by the FARC for about 20 months. To date, his company has apparently not struck a bargain with the kidnappers for his release. Even without some inside information, isn't it logical for these groups to assume that big corporations would have large policies covering key executives that are sent into these countries, or at the very least some funds for contingencies like this?
JG: FARC and the other major kidnappers are very good at what they do. While some kidnappings are random, the negotiators I spoke with insist that most victims are studied for a long period of time. Their backgrounds, net worth, and daily activities are well-known to the kidnappers before the actual abduction. Unless someone has stolen the information from an insurance company (as is the case in A KING'S RANSOM), there is no way to know for certain that any employee has kidnap and ransom insurance. Many companies don't even tell their own employees whether they are covered by a K&R policy for fear that one martini too many might lead to the inadvertent disclosure of millions of dollars worth of coverage. But you're right --- kidnappers are getting inflated expectations, partly due to the existence of insurance. Last autumn, the initial demand for the release of a handful of petroleum executives kidnapped near the Colombia/Ecuador border was $80 million.
BRC: There are any number of secondary stories that take place within the larger picture of A KING'S RANSOM. The Rey's were essentially a family of strangers, knowing little about the father's history, his business, or each other for that matter. Nick even voices doubts about the character of first his father and later his sister. With his own painful history with his father to overcome, what drives Nick the most to sacrifice everything for his release? Guilt or anger?
JG: Nick is too young to be driven by guilt. He's angry in the early chapters, but he outgrows that, too, over the course of the story. In every book I write, I like to force the heroes to solve their own multilayered problems by finding something inside themselves that they didn't know existed. Nick, in the end, is a pretty courageous guy --- a far cry from the twelve-year-old kid who failed as a fisherman on that boating incident with his father.
BRC: To your knowledge, has a real "kidnap and ransom insurance" claim ever been denied by the insurers?
JG: I researched this, but insurers are loathe to discuss individual cases, and I didn't find a reported case involving a flat denial of coverage. Kidnappings and K & R policies have spawned lawsuits, however. In fact, I believe that Thomas Hargrove (the American kidnap victim I mentioned earlier) ended up filing suit over the way his negotiations were handled.
BRC: Were you aware of the statistics on kidnapping in Latin America when you first embarked on your research trip? After interviewing families and negotiators, are you less likely to want to venture beyond the boundaries of the United States?
JG: The grim headline that greeted me on the first day of my research trip read, "KIDNAPPER HAS LEFT ELEVEN DEAD." The story went on to report that heavily armed bandits, who had left human heads displayed on sticks, had just taken a Canadian businessman hostage. That was a pretty compelling wake up call, and the more I research the subject, the more astounding the stories and statistics became. I wouldn't say that I'm less likely to travel abroad, but I am more careful about the exact places I visit. I probably won't be going bird watching anytime soon in FARC-controlled territory.
BRC: In A KING'S RANSOM the kidnap victims are all adults, but the recent news reports suggest that Colombian children are increasingly becoming the target of preference for these groups. Given the living conditions in the guerilla camps, what hope would these babies have of surviving?
JG: The answer to any question about survival has to start with this basic truth: a dead captive is of no value to a kidnapper. (Though in Colombia that isn't always true, since they sometimes demand a "ransom" for the return of a dead body for a decent burial.) I haven't seen any specific statistics on childhood survival rates, but here are a few facts that I think would impact the equation. First, most people are killed in captivity when they try to escape or if something goes wrong in the abduction. Children are easier targets and less likely to attempt an escape, so their survival chances would seem higher in this regard. On the other hand, infections and diseases are a serious problem among older kidnap victims, and the same would seem to hold true for children. Simple dehydration from a bad case of diarrhea could easily kill a small child. We'll probably know more soon: last year, an estimated 300 children were kidnapped.
BRC: On a more personal note, both you and your wife gave up successful careers to pursue your dreams --- yours to be a writer, hers to operate her own business. Many people would have viewed the careers and lifestyle you already enjoyed as the traditional American Dream. Yet, there seems to be a great many others who are choosing to make that change, even if it means sacrificing some prosperity for happiness. Are we beginning to redefine the "American Dream"?
JG: Wow. Big question. Maybe it is being redefined, or maybe people are just being more honest in recognizing that the traditional "American dream" is too often the crock at the end of the rainbow. Two of my closest friends just decided to leave their high-powered, dual-income positions as attorneys in Miami. They want to raise their two girls on a ten-acre horse ranch in Ocala. I've known them both for over twenty years, and never had I seen them more giddy than on the night they came over to announce they were leaving. I was sad to see them go, but I popped open a bottle of champagne and said, "Good for you!" It takes guts, but I think the most unhappy people in the world are the ones who look back and ask, What if . . . .
BRC: Unlike some of your peers, you've stated you enjoyed being a lawyer and were initially reluctant to leave it. Is your research into some legal injustice for a novel a way of staying involved on some level?
JG: Definitely. I started writing because I love to write, not because I hated practicing law. On the other hand, I knew I didn't want to keep track of the rest of my life in six minute intervals on a billing statement. My novels give me a chance to have the best of both worlds --- interesting legal issues without the drudgery of a day-to-day practice.
BRC: With all the interviews and material you've gathered, have you considered writing a nonfiction account of these families' experiences?
JG: Not until you just mentioned it. Hmmm. . .
BRC: With all the dramatic possibilities contained in A KING'S RANSOM, have you been approached about a movie version of your novel?
JG: "Publisher Weekly" said that A KING'S RANSOM "seems destined for the big screen," and of course that got my heart pounding. With my earlier books, I used to ask my agent to keep me apprised of every expression of interest from Hollywood, but it's too much of a roller coaster. Now I tell him to just pass the popcorn when the movie starts.
BRC: Assuming between research, writing, and family you've managed to find time to squeeze in some reading, what books or authors do you find most enjoyable?
JG: Believe it or not, I have a hard time enjoying thrillers. I find myself comparing the author's style or technique to my own, and it starts to feel like work. The books I enjoy most are totally unlike anything I'd write, from COLD MOUNTAIN to INTO THIN AIR. I also like to reread classics, most recently MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. I had a lot of fun going back to that one. With all the courtroom maneuvering at the end, it's in some ways the original legal thriller. Read it again yourself, and see if you don't agree.
BRC: Are you already writing or researching your next novel? If so, can you give us a hint about it's premise?
JG: I've just signed a contract to do two more novels for Harper Collins (Books 7 & 8). All I can say about Book 7 at this point is that it will reintroduce Jack Swyteck, the lead character from my first novel, THE PARDON. Jack is ten years older now, a little wiser, happily married --- and ready to run through the Grippando gauntlet again. I almost feel sorry for him.
BRC: Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers!
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