The Taking of Pelham 123

Four men take a New York City subway train hostage—along with all of its passengers. Their demands are simple: deliver $1 million, or the men will start killing hostages. Fast-paced and intensely psychological, this novel tells the story from the point of view of each of the hijackers—revealing each man’s motivations, desperations, and fatal flaws.

Tensions build as the four hijackers begin to fight among themselves—and the passengers take advantage of their weakness. Despite their meticulous planning, the kidnapping attempt starts to go awry—and the hijackers’ escape seems impossible. Made into a blockbuster movie in 1974 starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, and remade in 2009 with Denzel Washington and John Travolta, this novel will have you on the edge of your seat until the last page.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Godey is the alias of Morton Freedgood (1913–2006), an American novelist born in New York City. While working in public relations for 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and other film companies, he published numerous short stories in magazines such as Esquire and Cosmopolitan. He published more serious novels under his own name, and used the alias “John Godey” to write crime novels.

It was under his alias that his writing saw the most success. Some of his most successful works include A Thrill a Minute with Jack Albany, a series that later became a Disney movie; and The Taking of Pelham 123, a 1973 best seller later made into a blockbuster motion picture.