Dear Reader
September 30th is a huge date for me – it’s publication day for COLD PANIC, my new psychological thriller. It’s been a few years since my last book was published – with a busy day job, four kids to raise, life, etc., writing time is a rare commodity. But I had this idea that just wouldn’t let me go: What would you do if some very bad people kidnapped your little boy and were holding him for an outrageous ransom? And calling the police was not an option? Wouldn’t you do just about anything to get him back? Wouldn’t you turn to anyone who might be able to help? Even someone who had betrayed you decades ago, and who’s whole life has been defined by fraud, theft, and murder? That story idea haunted me so much that I couldn’t help but sit down and write it.
What is it about anti-heroes that fascinates us so much? Those characters who might ultimately help their families, mete out justice, but use very questionable means to do so? Think Dexter Morgan, Lisbeth Salander, Tony Soprano – all people who operate well outside the lines of what society might deem acceptable, moral behaviour as they go about their lives. We all have our flaws, so maybe that’s part of it – as much as we all want to think we’re perfect, we might see the humanity in these anti-heroes, who had such flawed upbringings themselves, who did what they could to survive. I think a big part of it comes down to the dire situations we might face – when you’re up against a really bad person with no moral compass who is threatening you or someone you love; aren’t all bets off? In fact, maybe an anti-hero is just the ally you need.
In COLD PANIC, one of the main protagonists, Joe Salter, has a very dark past. He was a father, a husband, an upstanding pillar of society. Or so it seemed. He was also a con man and prolific bank robber, leading his gang on a series of heists across the US and Canada. No one ever got hurt, that was the rule. No guns, not loaded at least, just take the money and run. Until one fateful day, twenty-two years ago, when a guard was shot and killed during a daring theft of $9 million in gold bars. Joe’s cover was blown, his face was all over the news, he and his gang members were on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list. Joe abandoned his family and hasn’t been heard from since. Until the day he learned his stepdaughter’s little boy, Henry, had been taken.
His stepdaughter, Angie, is terrified, feels helpless, with nowhere else to turn. But can Joe win her trust after abandoning her all those years ago? And can he rescue Henry before it’s too late?
Pulse-pounding suspense, desperation, betrayal, and brutal survival, with Angie’s journey from terrified wife and mother to hardened survivor are the things that made me finally sit down again and write. Plus, I was the one who’d put poor little Henry in that position. I had to get him out safely, didn’t I? If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers that don’t let up until the end, COLD PANIC is the novel you’ve been waiting for. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy Reading
Dan Johnstone
$8 million in stolen cryptocurrency. One kidnapped boy. A killer seeking redemption.
Angie Eular’s life implodes the day her husband vanishes—along with $8 million in stolen crypto. Now her six-year-old son has been taken, and the kidnappers demand only one thing: the missing money.
She can’t go to the police. The clock is ticking.
Then the last person Angie ever expected to see appears at her door. Joe Salter: Bank robber. Con man. Killer. And her estranged stepfather, who's been on the run for the past twenty years.
Joe promises to find Angie’s son. But why him? Why now? How can she trust a man whose entire identity is built on lies?
With the ransom locked away on the blockchain and her child’s life on the line, she faces a brutal choice: trust the devil she knows—or lose everything.
Cold Panic is a fast-paced, emotionally charged crypto crime thriller, perfect for fans of Lee Child, Gregg Hurwitz, and Karin Slaughter.
Thriller Crime | Mystery [Self Published, On Sale: September 30, 2025, e-Book, / eISBN: 9780991867219]
D.L. Johnstone lives with his family north of Toronto. When he’s not writing, or walking his aggressively friendly goldendoodle, he works as a strategy and leadership consultant. He’s the author of best-selling thrillers Chalk Valley and Furies. His latest thriller, Cold Panic, will be published fall 2025.
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