Hostage - Clare Mackintosh

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

Clare Mackintosh has taken the “locked-room” style premise and elevated the claustrophobic atmosphere by setting the story on a plane during a long-haul flight.

Mina expects the inaugural nonstop flight between London and Sydney to be just another day at work for her and her fellow flight attendants.  Until she gets a note that changes everything. One with a terrifying ultimatum.  Suddenly it’s hard to tell hostages from hijackers as the clock begins to count down in a race to meet the unreasonable demands.

Shifting points of view from those in the air to those on the ground, including some of the unnamed terrorists and Mina’s husband who is desperately trying to protect their daughter, the author seamlessly executes it all.  As she slips in and out of their consciousness, the complexity of the crime and those at its mercy emerges.

This author always has a trick or two up her sleeve to keep the reader guessing, and in this case, she saves one for the very last page.  It will leave you reeling.  

Book Pairing(s): Falling by T.J. Newman, Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh