Hostage: A Locked-Room Thriller Hardcover – June 22, 2021

Terrific

Not going to lie, I almost DNF this book but I’m so glad I kept going. The ending was not what I expected and the twist I did nottt see coming.

The premise of the book is a hijacking, but not in the ordinary way or by middle eastern terrorists. Instead, the hijacking occurs because an airline employee is being threatened by a group of eco-terrorists that if she does not help crash the plane, her daughter will be killed. The beginning of the book was tense and intriguing. It slowed down some in the middle, with a lot of details about various characters and a sub-plot about Mina’s relationship with her husband Adam and his weaknesses that have led him to be an unwilling participant in the threat against their daughter. The action picked up again towards the end and had a surprise twist at the end. I enjoyed getting to know the characters although they were not all well-developed. The main characters were realistically portrayed and completely developed, so that was a definite plus. I was drawn to the story by the possibilities that it presented to my imagination and it was a good story. I was repelled by the thought that environmentalists would be so willing to kill an entire plane filled with passengers, so to me that part was not terribly believable although it was a horrifying scenario. The genre of this book is thriller with quite a bit of suspense thrown in both at home with Adam and on board the plane with Mina.DisclaimerDisclosure of Material Connection: I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Who would ever expect someone would create a story of hostages on a plane when the storyline was really about climate change. Entertaining as well as informative

A Thrilling ride with a final twist I didn't see coming.Mina and Adam adopted Sophia but before they got her she spent time in the foster system leading to some psychological problems. When Adam's actions cause the nanny to abruptly leave it causes Mina to end the marriage. Mina is a flight attendant and to get away for a week decides to work the new non-stop flight from London to Sydney. Adam stays with Sophia and a new babysitter at Mina's house. During the twenty hour flight, Mina gets instructions to help in the hijacking of the plane and if she doesn't Sophia will die. What follows is a compelling story told from multiple POV'S that take you onto the terrifying flight as well as the frightening situation Adam and Sophia find themselves in that's connected to hijacking.I was totally invested in this one. The characters are well drawn with sufficient backgrounds to know who they are. What starts a little slow soon turns into a pulse pounding race to the finish. And that final twist! This was one of the best hijacking/hostage novels I've read in a while. After the events start happening, both in the sky and at their home, the tension is palpable.If you enjoy a story that's both claustrophobic and riveting I recommend you pick this one up, I don't think you'll be happy you did.

If one is going to read a thriller that is full of chills, summer is the the time to do so. Clare Mackintosh has delivered a masterpiece of terror in her latest novel, Hostage.Adam and Mina Holbrook are going through a very rough time in their marriage. When the young au pair, Katya, returns to the house in tears she announces she is quitting immediately. All the worst thoughts flood Mina's mind and she demands that Adam move out. Their five year old adopted daughter, Sophia, is understandably confused.Instead of planning a Christmas vacation together, Mina decides to volunteer for an inaugural twenty hour, nonstop flight from London, England to Sydney, Australia on World Airlines she is a flight attendant for.Midway through the flight she is handed a note telling her the next instructions she is given must be followed or her child will no longer be safe.Torn between duty and a love for her child, Mina capitulates setting up a confrontation between a climate activist group of hijackers and the governments of the world.As the hijackers are reciting their histories to themselves, both Mina and Adam are briefing the reader in first person narrative as they are wrestling with fear in their own ways to protect Sophia.As events transpire and the final minutes tick away the reader is holding their breath until the final page. Ms Mackintosh does a tremendous job with a bit of sleight of hand delivery as the terror continues to build but the final chill is in the epilogue I doubt many will see coming. This is one of the best thrillers I have ever read and I will be a fan of Clare Mackintosh for a very long time to come.Richard Klinzman

4/5 I really really enjoyed this book but it didn’t have me desperately picking it up so I only gave it 4 stars. I did not see the twist coming at the end but some of the pieces in the middle were too easy to guess. I would still recommend reading for sure!!!

I really enjoyed this book! I loved how it changed perspective each chapter! It had really interesting characters and relationships! I could see it in my mind like a movie as I read it! So good! And the ending, wild!

It’s a book forMy book club. Won’t read it tell later in Year

I was hooked from the opening chapter - and it was finished in virtually 1 sitting because I just had to stay on the rollercoaster to the very end! I had to find out. What a thrilling ride that rollercoaster was - all those twists, ups and downs to the climax (or what appears to be the climax) then the gentle, calm straight before the final twist up over the summit with a hold the breath plunge to the final paragraph reveal and sudden stop. I am breathless! What do I follow this book with?

Generally a good pace but a bit drawn out at times and, as I had to read it over several days, I often got mixed up with which passenger was which (and got fed up going back to see) so this book whilst meriting 5 stars is not up to the usual excellence.

This is the first book I've read by Clare Mackintosh but after finishing this tonight, I bought her first one too. Cannot wait to dive in.Anyway, let's talk about Hostage.I loved the prose, how she build up the characters. The constant shift of POV does not in any way distract you from what s happening. I literally could not put it down. I did guess a couple of things but didn't see the end coming. Well done ☺️

Oh my lord, the tension in this novel made my heart pound!I knew very little about Hostage before diving in. I have read one other Clare Mackintosh novel, Let Me Lie, which I very much enjoyed. This was very different in terms of plot, but similar in structure.In both novels I loved the writing structure, how there are multiple POVs and how this helps to build tension. I also enjoy not knowing how all of characters/ POVs are connected, but trying to figure it out along the way.I do think what Clare Mackintosh does very well is create relatable, flawed, and vulnerable characters. Both Mina and Adam, in this novel are far from perfect, but I found I could relate to their issues and mistakes well.Some of the plot is far fetched, how much can possibly go wrong for one family in the space of a day? However, that did not detract from the story for me.Looking forward the reading more by this author soon!