A Kidnapper Infiltrates the U.S. Open in New ThrillerClose Call— Read an Excerpt! (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Elise Hart Kipness and the cover of ‘Close Call’.Photo:Thomas & Mercer; Adam Regan

Thomas & Mercer; Adam Regan

Thomas & Mercer

After another player receives a text with shocking images of the missing tennis star bound and gagged, Kate enlists the help of her estranged father, an NYPD detective. Together, they take their investigation to the victim’s hometown, where their suspect list grows and the kidnapper strikes back with destructive threats. Kate must figure out what really happened to the missing player before time runs out.

Kipness, a former journalist for Fox Sports Network, knows the world of sports reporting well. Prior to becoming an author, the author covered the U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics and World Series, and interviewed athletes likeMia Hamm,Tiger Woodsand the Williams sisters.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Only Elise Hart Kipness – with her depth of experience, insider access and storytelling savvy — could so rivetingly reveal the tense and taut behind-the-scenes world of sports: the relentlessness of competition, the desperation of ambition and the power of desire,” says authorHank Phillippi Ryanof the novel. “Kipness knows her stuff, and will have you turning pages as fast as you can."

Read on for an exclusive excerpt from the prologue ofClose Call.

Elise Hart Kipness.Adam Regan

Adam Regan

Where is she?As she blinks, blurry images come into focus. Concrete block walls. Mud color. Grimy. An old stationary bike. The kind where the handles move back and forth. She shifts her eyes to the right of the bike, spotting an old television, a large cobweb in the corner of the screen.Her eyes search for light. If she can make out these images, there must be some source. She tilts her head up and realizes how low the ceiling sits. If she stood, she could reach her hand and touch it. Sweat breaks out across her skin as the ceiling seems to descend.Stay strong,she chides herself, forcing her eyes open again in search of the light. Her eyes scan the rest of the space, stopping at a tiny window in the upper corner about the size of a milk crate. Bars stretch across the small opening. Like a prison. It’s a cellar or a basement. But her prison.Terror overtakes her body; arms flail against a pipe; her legs bang the ground. In her mind she’s shaking the whole room with her power. She needs to get out. The room feels like it’s growing narrower. Sweat covers her skin.She’s aware of a creak. But she can’t focus.

source: people.com