I admit I even had to walk away from it a couple of times because it got so uncomfortable as I felt the intensity of the situation these people were going through. This book actually gave me goosebumps at times! I was definitely on the edge of my seat, biting my finger nails. The tension is there throughout the entire book and it has the feel of watching some horrible hostage situation unfold on the news before your very eyes. Wow! This story takes off with a bang as you basically wake up alongside Lisa and are instantly thrust into her living nightmare. Four months later it earned the distinction of being a TNBW Readers Choice Top Ten Novel, and has remained on the Top Ten list ever since. In 2008 This Time You Lose was named a finalist in the TNBW Strongest Start Novel Competition. With the deadline approaching, Lisa must do the unimaginable to protect the children and get everyone out alive. Terrorized by her captors as the authorities work to meet the ransom deadline, she tries negotiating with the men for the release of the children, but soon realizes they have no intention of letting anyone go. Lisa finds herself bound and gagged, four strange men in her home, and the daycare children held hostage in the next room. But nothing prepares her for the horror she now faces. Highly respected and known for going the extra mile for her daycare kids, she thinks she’s handled every daycare emergency possible. Lisa Kaamp operates a small childcare business out of her home in Nogeksum, Michigan. What would you do if street thugs invaded your home? What if you’re a daycare provider, caring for a dozen children at the time? Lisa Kaamp, a most unlikely heroine, faces just such a nightmare in This Time You Lose, the suspense driven story of one woman’s struggle to survive when she and the children she cares for become victims of a home invasion gone terribly wrong.

This Time You Lose by Chris Stralyn