Book Review
Hostage by Clare Mackintosh
About Hostage:
(From the publisher): You can save hundreds of lives. Or the one that matters most. A claustrophobic thriller set over twenty hours on one airplane flight, with the heart-stopping tension of The Last Flight and the wrenching emotional intensity of Room, Hostage takes us on board the inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney.
Mina is trying to focus on her job as a flight attendant, not the problems of her five-year-old daughter back home, or the fissures in her marriage. But the plane has barely taken off when Mina receives a chilling note from an anonymous passenger, someone intent on ensuring the plane never reaches its destination. Someone who needs Mina’s assistance and who knows exactly how to make her comply.
It’s twenty hours to landing. A lot can happen in twenty hours.
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Reader’s Thoughts
A few years ago, a friend introduced me to an author I’d never heard of before. “You have to read this book. It’s so good,” she said, pressing her copy into my hands. “But I want it back when you’re finished!”
It was Clare Mackintosh’s book, I Let You Go. And my friend was right, it was so good.
Since then, I’ve been a loyal Mackintosh fan. And let me tell you, this new thriller, Hostage, did not disappoint! While the first half of the book was a slow build, I tore through the second half, unable to put it down. There were twists that I expected and then twists that I absolutely did not.
Because that’s one of the things I love most about this author. Just when you think the story is finished and there can’t possibly be any more twists, she throws another one at you. And she does so in a way that feels like a completely natural progression to the story, but still maintain that “jaw-dropping, complete surprise” sort of moment.
The main characters in this book were well done. I really enjoyed the relationship dynamic between Mina, Adam, and their daughter Sophia. While mainly told from Mina and Adam’s perspectives, this book is told from multiple points of view. Although I loved what this added to the story (no spoilers!), I did find it a bit disorienting to try and keep track of who was who as there are a lot of characters. But ultimately, that didn’t take away from the exciting plot.
If you love psychological thrillers, Hostage by Clare Mackintosh is one aviation themed story you won’t want to miss!