Dating as hostage taking?

There's something quite unaccountably funny about this idea:

"an ex-police negotiator [...] felt that his experiences dealing with crazed homicidal hostage takers might prove useful when it came to romancing the ladies."

"part of his job as a police negotiator was luring the more crazed hostage takers to the window so that they could be shot down in a hail of bullets. Well, haven't we all had dates like that?"

Moreover, the "book sold out on Amazon on the first day".

My, but what tangled webs we weave...