Books like 'The Defense'
Readers who enjoyed The Defense by Steve Cavanagh also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery action / adventure thriller crime legal suspense organized-crime family realistic
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Deadly Desires by Rachel McLean
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen two men are found mutilated in Birmingham's gay village just before Christmas, DI Zoe Finch and her team are perplexed.Did their attacker mean to kill one of the men, or simply injure them both? And who would have the surgical skills for such a precise mutilation?When more bodies are found with the same injuries, the city's gay population is rightfully scared...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement thriller family organized-crime literary-fiction mystery audiobook -
![Blood Money: A Legal Thriller by Scott Pratt]()
Blood Money: A Legal Thriller by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the sixth volume of the bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard does something he has never done before -- he hires a young associate. Her name is Charleston Story, she is bright and beautiful, and in her very first case, she winds up inheriting an item so valuable that it threatens to destroy her and everything she cares about... -
![Conflict of Interest by Scott Pratt]()
Conflict of Interest by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA six-year-old girl is kidnapped from her bed in Tennessee's oldest town. The ransom note demands millions. In this fifth installment of the highly-acclaimed and bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard is hired to represent the parents of a child who has gone missing... -
![Injustice For All by Scott Pratt]()
Injustice For All by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA criminal court judge is found hanging from a tree. A young employee of the district attorney's office goes missing. In this third book of the best selling Joe Dillard series, Dillard finds himself in the middle of two volatile mysteries. The primary suspect in the judge's murder is Dillard's son's best friend, and Dillard's wife may have destroyed evidence... -
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![Mercy by David Baldacci]()
Mercy by David Baldacci
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFBI Agent Atlee Pine’s harrowing search for her long-lost sister Mercy reaches a boiling point in this breakneck thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. For her entire life, FBI agent Atlee Pine has been searching for her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted at the age of six and never seen again...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping law-enforcement organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure -
![Our Stolen Pieces by James Hunt]()
Our Stolen Pieces by James Hunt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen the morning after a slumber party reveals two missing girls, a newly minted Detective and a young veteran are assigned the case. Recently partnered, the pair of detectives must set aside their troubled pasts to recover the pair of girls who may have been coerced by a stranger who had kidnapped before...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure -
![A Crime of Passion by Scott Pratt]()
A Crime of Passion by Scott Pratt
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA beautiful, young, rising star in the country music world is found dead in a Nashville hotel room. The owner of her record company is charged with murder. In the seventh installment of Scott Pratt's bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard is hired to travel to Tennessee's capital city to defend Paul Milius, a record company baron accused of strangling Kasey Cartwright, his label's young star... -
![The Dead Call by J.M. Dalgliesh]()
The Dead Call by J.M. Dalgliesh
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time..Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult -
![The Roubaud Connection by Estelle Ryan]()
The Roubaud Connection by Estelle Ryan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBrutal murders. An ancient treasure. A rogue state.A young acquaintance of nonverbal communications expert Doctor Genevieve Lenard begs her to look into the disappearance of his friend...Categorized as:
crime thriller law-enforcement kidnapping organized-crime mystery fiction police-procedural -
![The Plea by Steve Cavanagh]()
The Plea by Steve Cavanagh
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen David Child, a major client of a corrupt New York law firm, is arrested for murder, the FBI ask con-artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn to secure Child as his client and force him to testify against the firm.Eddie's not a man to be coerced into representing a guilty client, but the FBI have incriminating files on Eddie's wife, and if Eddie won't play ball, she'll pay the price... -
![The Last Detective by Robert Crais]()
The Last Detective by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsP.I. Elvis Cole’s relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier is strained. Then the unthinkable happens. While Lucy is away on business and her ten-year-old son Ben is staying with Elvis, the boy vanishes without a trace. When the kidnappers call, it’s not for ransom, but for a promise to punish Cole for past sins he claims he didn’t commit... -
![Love Me Dead by Lisa Renee Jones]()
Love Me Dead by Lisa Renee Jones
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe next heart-racing Lilah Love story is coming. This installment to Lilah's series is a standalone. Women are dying. The killer wants to play a game with Lilah Love. Lilah doesn't play games, she doesn't submit to demands...Categorized as:
crime family law-enforcement organized-crime suspense action-adventure adult alpha-mc -
![The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly]()
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsMickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn’t recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement legal literary-fiction realistic suspense thriller action-adventure -
![The First Rule by Robert Crais]()
The First Rule by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsWhen Frank Meyer and his family are executed in their home, the police begin investigating the secret life they're sure Meyer had. Joe Pike's on a hunt of his own: to clear his friend's name, and to punish the people who murdered him...Categorized as:
crime kidnapping law-enforcement organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
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![The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion]()
The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsA gripping and emotional novel that will leave you wondering about the neighbors next door...On a cold January night, Sharon Lemke heads outside to see a lunar eclipse when she notices something odd at the house behind her backyard. Through her neighbor's kitchen window, she sees what appears to be a little girl washing dishes late at night... -
![Black Contract by Charlotte Byrd]()
Black Contract by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI don’t belong with her. Born into darkness, life made me a cynic incapable of love. But then Ellie waltzed in. Innocent, optimistic, kind. She’s the opposite of what I deserve. I bought her, but she she stole my heart. Now my business is going up in flames. I have only one chance to make it right. That’s where it happens…something I can never take back...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure anthologies -
![Black Limit by Charlotte Byrd]()
Black Limit by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIs this the end of us? I found a woman I can’t live without. We’ve been through so much. We’ve had our set backs. But our love is stronger than ever. We are survivors. But when they take her from me at the altar, right before she is to become my wife, everything breaks. I will do anything to free her. I will do anything to make her mine for good...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure anthologies -
![Body of Evidence by Rachel Grant]()
Body of Evidence by Rachel Grant
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAnd she thought facing a firing squad was bad… When archaeologist Mara Garrett traveled to North Korea to retrieve the remains of GIs lost in combat, she never imagined she’d be arrested, convicted of spying, and sentenced to death. Her only hope is Curt Dominick, the powerful, ambitious, and infuriatingly sexy US attorney prosecuting her uncle, a former vice president of the United States... -
![Sleep Tight by Caroline Mitchell]()
Sleep Tight by Caroline Mitchell
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsClose your eyes … Just pray you don’t wake up.A killer stalks the streets of East London. All over the area, murdered young women are discovered, their bodies posed into disturbing recreations of fairytale princesses.Detective Ruby Preston is determined to hunt down the murderer who is using the women to realise his dark fantasies...Categorized as:
crime family law-enforcement organized-crime thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Tell Me to Lie by Charlotte Byrd]()
Tell Me to Lie by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThere was a time when my debt was the only link we had. There was a time when I couldn’t tell him how much I loved him and he couldn’t tell me. There was a time when I thought I could never have enough money. Now, everything is different. Nicholas Crawford is a stranger who is becoming more strange with every moment. I used to think I could make a life with him, but now I’m not so sure... -
![Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke]()
Missed Connections by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow far would you go for revenge? Veronica Bauer isn’t above homicide. Twelve years after a ruthless attack killed her mother and put her father in prison, she embarks on a mission to bring the real culprits to justice. As bodies start to drop, Detective Sheila Arden is assigned to the gruesome case, but she soon discovers that the truth is more complicated than she thought... -
![Incriminating Evidence by Sheldon Siegel]()
Incriminating Evidence by Sheldon Siegel
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWith his terrific first novel, Special Circumstances , Sheldon Siegel delivered legal fiction so exciting, it drew comparisons with the very top tier of courtroom thrillers. Now he has a new challenge for defense attorney Mike Daley--ex-priest, ex-husband, ex-public defender--and it’s a high-profile zinger: a case he doesn’t think he can win for a client he can’t stand... -
![NYPD Red 6: A missing bride. A bloodied dress. NYPD Red’s deadliest case yet by James Patterson]()
NYPD Red 6: A missing bride. A bloodied dress. NYPD Red’s deadliest case yet by James Patterson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratings_______________________________At the wedding of the century, a brazen kidnapper steals the star of the show...Erin Easton's wedding in one of New York's biggest venues may have a TV crew documenting every extravagant detail, but when the bride disappears from the reception, it's not diva behaviour. Her dressing room is empty, except for a blood-spattered wedding dress... -
![Cornered Coyote by Dianne Harman]()
Cornered Coyote by Dianne Harman
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Gripping tale that is as Sweet as a Ballerina and as Pugnacious as a Pitbull!The silver bird gleamed in the blue sky, as the early morning sun bathed it in soft golden hues. Flight 714 was on the last leg of its journey, having burned close to fifty thousand gallons of jet fuel on its trans-Atlantic flight from Paris to Los Angeles... -
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![Before He Vanished by Debra Webb]()
Before He Vanished by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHis disappearance changed her life forever.Twenty-five years ago, Halle Lane’s best friend vanished from their Tennessee town. When a childhood photo brings Liam Hart to Winchester, Halle is certain the man is the same child who vanished. Now Liam seeks out Halle to help him investigate the circumstances of his mysterious past... -
![Spark of Hope by Kathleen Kelly]()
Spark of Hope by Kathleen Kelly
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy woman has been taken.As President of the Loyal Rebels MC, I look out for a lot of people.Lola has never been one of them. She’s always taken care of herself.I’ve never officially claimed her.Everyone knows Lola is mine, and no one touches what’s mine. She’s been with me for four years, but Lola has secrets, ones I never even thought to ask her about...Categorized as:
family organized-crime crime suspense literary-fiction romantic-love contemporary mystery -
![Possessive by Kristen Luciani]()
Possessive by Kristen Luciani
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI struck a deal with the devil…and lost. For years, I followed orders and obeyed instructions.I put the family first. Always. Until temptation consumed me.I made mistakes and lost my focus, putting a target on my own back.I changed the game, Risked it all, And collected a prize. His prize.So when the devil came to collect, I had two options.Join him… Or kill him...Categorized as:
organized-crime literary-fiction suspense kidnapping crime romance contemporary multi-pov -
![Ravage by Kristen Luciani]()
Ravage by Kristen Luciani
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsProtect the empire at all costs,Eliminate any threats,And defeat our enemies.For years, I’ve accepted these responsibilities to keep my family safe.I’ve given up my life in exchange for their happiness.Until Gianna tore through the barbed wire surrounding my black heart and showed me what I’d been missing.She’s beautiful, naïve, and dangerous.A liability to everything I’ve built...Categorized as:
organized-crime kidnapping crime thriller literary-fiction suspense steamy contemporary -
![Taken by Robert Crais]()
Taken by Robert Crais
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsWhen Nita Morales hires Elvis Cole to find her missing adult daughter, she isn’t afraid, even though she’s gotten a phone call asking for ransom. She knows it’s a fake, that her daughter is off with the guy Nita will only call "that boy," and that they need money: "Even smart girls do stupid things when they think a boy loves them."But Nita is wrong... -
![The Girl in the Snow by Alexandria Clarke]()
The Girl in the Snow by Alexandria Clarke
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA retired FBI agent. A heartstopping tragedy. Carolina Caccia, a divorced mother of two, confronts her worst fears when her son goes missing during a family ski trip. As she discovers her son has been taken, she must revisit her dark past to rescue her child... -
![The Namatjira Connection by Estelle Ryan]()
The Namatjira Connection by Estelle Ryan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLooted artworks. Italian Mafia. Deepfakes.The weekend in Italy is supposed to be a family event—a celebration as well as a break for the whole team to enjoy everything Naples has to offer. As it is, Doctor Genevieve Lenard is hard-pushed to keep an autistic shutdown at bay while surrounded by boisterous relatives and friends...Categorized as:
suspense organized-crime law-enforcement thriller crime fiction mystery contemporary -
![Tell me to Fight by Charlotte Byrd]()
Tell me to Fight by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI’m a man who takes what he wants. What do I want? Her. Olive Kernes owned me a debt and she thought that she had paid it back. But now I want more. I want more than just her time. I want more than just her body. Her new life has torn us apart. Now, it’s up to me to make things right. I will make the pieces of our love fit back together if it’s the last thing I do... -
![Fire with Fire by Candice Fox]()
Fire with Fire by Candice Fox
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA pair of desperate parents. A man on the run. A rookie cop.Four people with everything on the line... -
![Stolen Children by Peg Kehret]()
Stolen Children by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAmy learned a lot in her babysitting course, but not what to do if two thugs show up, intent on kidnapping. Armed with misinformation and a weapon, the men take Amy and little Kendra to a remote cabin in the woods. There they make videos of the girls and mail them to Kendra’s wealthy parents in an effort to get ransom money...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping law-enforcement realistic suspense thriller action-adventure -
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![Creole Belle by James Lee Burke]()
Creole Belle by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings“America’s best novelist” James Lee Burke returns with another New York Times bestselling entry in the Dave Robicheaux thriller series (The Denver Post)...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense thriller action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke]()
Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCritically acclaimed and bestselling crime writer James Lee Burke delivers his most exciting thriller ever featuring beloved hero Dave Robicheaux, and this time he's sleuthing his way through Louisiana's hotbed of sin and uncertainty.In Crusader's Cross, a deathbed confession from an old schoolmate reminds Dave Robicheaux of a girl he once knew, sending him on a hunt for her whereabouts...Categorized as:
crime family law-enforcement organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure adult -
![Deadly Wishes by Rachel McLean]()
Deadly Wishes by Rachel McLean
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMeet Zoe Finch, West Midlands Police's newest Detective Inspector. She's outspoken, ambitious, and damaged. And she's working a case that could make her career, or cost her everything...Fresh from the success of the Canary investigation into depravity and corruption at the highest levels, she's attracted attention. Not least from Assistant Chief Constable Bryn Jackson...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement literary-fiction organized-crime suspense thriller action-adventure book -
![I Will Find You by Harlan Coben]()
I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn innocent father serving life for the murder of his own son receives evidence that his child may still be alive, and must break out of prison to find out the truth in #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben’s latest breathtaking thriller.David and Cheryl Burroughs were living the dream life when tragedy struck. Now, five years after that terrible night, Cheryl is remarried... -
![Fatal Marriage by Charlotte Byrd]()
Fatal Marriage by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI was forced into this marriage to save my father's life and our family's empire, but my husband has other plans. He wants to sell Tate Media for parts and make himself billions in the process. The only way I can stop him is to expose his not-so-secret life. Franklin Parks is a monster. We have all heard the rumors, but anyone who has dared to stand up to him has been silenced...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure adult -
![The Perfect Lie by Charlotte Byrd]()
The Perfect Lie by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLibrarian's Note: This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B08FD81PN8This was supposed to be so easy. We go to the desert, find the money that Tyler is owed, and start a new life.But then a gun goes off and everything goes to hell.What happens now?How do we get through this?My last hopes evaporate with each passing moment.But as long as Tyler is breathing, I have to keep fighting...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure adult -
![His Addiction by Charlotte Byrd]()
His Addiction by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBook 4 in the Bestselling series - includes Book 1 as a BONUS! The hotly anticipated fourth book continues the sensual saga of Ellie and Aiden. Aiden Black is beautiful and flawless and tormented and damaged. I'm a good girl who never thought that she would fall for a man who would buy her at an auction. But what started out as a relationship of pure lust has evolved into something more..Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure adult -
![All the Secrets by Charlotte Byrd]()
All the Secrets by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe only way he’ll agree to the story about the great and reclusive writer, D. B. Carter is if I agree to spend the week with him.He thinks that the reason that I left is that I don’t want him. Nothing could be from the truth. He thinks I was insulted. He’s wrong. I have a fire in my body that burns just for him.Still, I leave. He shouldn’t have asked for something like that...Categorized as:
suspense crime literary-fiction kidnapping family organized-crime contemporary steamy -
![Dare You by Jennifer Brown]()
Dare You by Jennifer Brown
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the second book of the suspenseful Shade Me trilogy, Nikki Kill becomes embroiled in another mystery where only her synesthesia can help her unravel the dark truth.Nikki Kill didn’t realize that trying to find out who killed Peyton Hollis would tangle her in a web of dangerous family secrets that would rock her identity to the core... -
![Tangled up in Love by Charlotte Byrd]()
Tangled up in Love by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter everything that we have been through, is this finally the end of us? Our life isn’t like other people’s. I crashed into his perfectly ordered world, changing everything. He took my innocence and I taught him that life is better outside the walls of his cloistered mansion. But then he came along. Parker Huntington is the man who stalked me, attacked me and kidnapped me...Categorized as:
suspense crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime billionaire mystery -
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![The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes]()
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAvery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement realistic thriller action-adventure book contemporary dark-academia -
![Black Rules by Charlotte Byrd]()
Black Rules by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWe don’t belong together. I should have never seen him again after our first night together. But I crave him. I’m addicted to him. He is my dark pleasure. Mr. Black is Aiden. Aiden is Mr. Black. Two sides of the same person. Aiden is kind and sweet. Mr. Black is demanding and rule-oriented. When he invites me back to his yacht, I can’t say no. Another auction. Another bid...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure adult -
![Black Bounds by Charlotte Byrd]()
Black Bounds by Charlotte Byrd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI don’t belong with her. Born into darkness, life made me a cynic incapable of love. But then Ellie waltzed in. Innocent, optimistic, kind. She’s the opposite of what I deserve. I bought her, but she she stole my heart. Now my business is going up in flames. I have only one chance to make it right. That’s where it happens…something I can never take back...Categorized as:
crime family kidnapping literary-fiction organized-crime suspense action-adventure adult -
![The Center Cannot Hold: A Ray Elkins Thriller by Aaron Stander]()
The Center Cannot Hold: A Ray Elkins Thriller by Aaron Stander
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn the depths of winter, Cedar County is on occasion literally frozen in place. Roads are impassable; the area schools are closed for days at a time. And the bad guys and gals, they’re hunkered down like everyone else until the weather breaks. But this winter isn’t the usual. There’s arson and murder...Categorized as:
suspense literary-fiction law-enforcement crime thriller mystery fiction contemporary -
![Silent Little Angels by Jennifer Chase]()
Silent Little Angels by Jennifer Chase
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe water ripples as the girl’s body escapes the reeds and floats silently upwards. Her beautiful face—blue eyes frozen open, skin as white as snow—breaks the surface. But it’s too late, this innocent soul has taken her final breath…When camp counselor Carolyn Sable’s body is found floating in a lake beside Eagle Ridge Summer Camp, Detective Katie Scott must dig deep to stay focused...Categorized as:
crime suspense thriller law-enforcement organized-crime mystery fiction contemporary -
![Next of Kin by James Tucker]()
Next of Kin by James Tucker
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA New Year’s Eve celebration begins with the pop of a champagne cork—and ends with the bone-chilling screams of a killer’s victims. Ten-year-old Ben Brook is the lone survivor of the brutal murder of his wealthy family at their upstate New York compound. But from the moment he evades death, Ben’s life is in constant danger...
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