Date reviewed/posted: August 30， 2021Publication date: April 5， 2022Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book。 This in no way affects my review， all opinions are my own。From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。A riveting， on-the-edge-of-your-seat tale about the notorious 1978 kidnapping of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain， intertw Date reviewed/posted: August 30， 2021Publication date: April 5， 2022Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book。 This in no way affects my review， all opinions are my own。From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。A riveting， on-the-edge-of-your-seat tale about the notorious 1978 kidnapping of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain， intertwined with the story of his famous grandfather， the first baron and builder of the Paris Métro。 A multigenerational saga told against the backdrops of both Belle Époque and 1970s high-fashion Paris。What does it take to create a dynasty？ What does it take to keep one going？ And what does it take to save the life of the dazzling but flawed man who inherited it all？ Launched in the 1880s by the first baron， the Empain industrial empire spread from Belgium and France to span more than a dozen countries。 When Wado took over， he further expanded the company， became a key player in France’s nuclear sector， and， by the mid-1970s， was one of the country’s most powerful business leaders—a self-described “master of the universe。” But these were also the “years of lead，” marked by a rash of high-profile kidnappings around the globe， including the headline-grabbing seizure of American heiress Patty Hearst。Wado’s vertiginous rise caught the eye of Alain Cailloll， a small-time gangster who had grown up in a wealthy family before embracing a life of crime。 On January 23， 1978， Caillol and his confederates snatched the baron off the Paris streets， sure that they’d get the 80 million francs they demanded in ransom。 To show they meant business， they chopped off Wado’s little finger and warned that more body parts would follow。But nothing unfolded as the kidnappers， or Wado himself， expected。 Would Empain’s company pay？ Could his family afford this astronomical sum？ How much was the life of a leader， a father， and a husband worth？ Most important， could a determined police chief and his crack investigators outsmart the kidnappers？ The answers to those questions unspooled over two months in a tangle of events leading to a bloody showdown whose consequences would prove fatal to the Empain dynasty。I had never heard of these people or the case but now that I have read it， I am glad that I did。 The story is well presented and whether you know anything about the case or a lot， you will probably get something out of this well-written saga。 It is not just about kidnapping， it is about a family dynasty that had its ups and downs like most families。 I will recommend this book to friends， family， patrons， book clubs， and people reading books in the park as we do … I have had some of my best conversations about books down by the Thames！As always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 "） on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it 🗼🗼🗼🗼 （the closest that I could get to the Eiffel Tower！） 。。。more