Pulse-pounding. High-stakes. Addictive. In my humble opinion, HOSTAGE is the crime thriller of the summer (and quite possibly the year!)

Mina is a flight attendant on the maiden voyage of the first nonstop flight from London to Sydney. While airborne, Mina receives subtle but crystal clear warnings from an unknown assailant: help coordinate a hostage on the plane or her daughter will die. Caught in between an impossible choice, Mina must weigh the lives of all the passengers on board with the life she cherishes most.

Told from multiple perspectives and dual timelines, the story slowly unfolds hour by hour of the flight. I can think of few things more terrifying than being 35,000 feet in the air with a murderer on board. Clare Mackintosh has created a truly cinematic reading experience; I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

Hostage also raises interesting questions surrounding the psychology of activism and the way we treat our planet. The author’s personal connection as a police officer working with protesters deepened my appreciation for the story. Hostage is a propulsive novel that packs all the punches a summer thriller should!

AVAILABLE: June 22, 2021

A big thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A bit far fetched but so good! I don't think i will be flying on inaugural flights any time soon! I rate this book a 3.8

Well well well. This was not quite the page turner I thought it would be. Clare Mackintosh has been on my radar since her debut blew me away years ago. I knew I would be reading something thoughtful and unique but call it a thriller and I’m ready to be on the edge of my seat. Was I? Not really. Mina and Adam are not the most likable of couples and Sophia is an odd duck. The alternating povs should have helped to propel the story forward but I would have preferred more drama on the plane. The epilogue was clever though and I do give points for it but not sure it bumps this much over 3 stars.

Clare Mackintosh, an auto buy author for me, does it again. An edge of your seat, mind blowing thriller that I devoured in a day!

The majority of the book takes place over the span of 20 hours, the time it takes for the inaugural non stop flight from London to Sydney. It focuses on Mina, a flight attendant, her husband Adam, a police officer and their young adopted daughter Sophia and the separate events that occur to them during this time span.

I have always had a slight fear of flying and this definitely didn’t help with that, so that might be a trigger for some people, but overall I loved every second of this heart pounding novel by one of my favorite authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review
Hostage
by Clare Mackintosh

If you had to choose between saving the life of someone you hold dear and saving the lives of a plane full of innocent passengers and crew, who would you choose? Clare Mackintosh puts her protagonist, Mina Holbrook, and the reader in the middle of this dilemma and, of course, the clock is ticking. Mackintosh's novel is a classic thriller, rapidly shifting from one adrenaline rush scene to the next. She takes her time with character development allowing the reader to get to know the main characters and empathize with each of them, even the villain. The novel's theme is complex and timely. Many of us are worried about climate change and the potentially catastrophic consequences of ignoring the damage that we are doing to the planet. How far would you go to make the world take action to prevent a global disaster? Fans of the mystery and thriller genre will love this one.

The story is great, however, it does start off slow and doesn’t really pick up in pace until 3/4 of the way through. Once it picks up, it’s hard to want to put it down. The ending is superb, one you won’t see coming. The characters are great and you really start to feel for the people on the plane. Definitely worth the read.
Thank you to Clare and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
#claremackintosh, #netgalley, #hostage

Enjoyable for those who enjoy a locked room thriller with high stakes. Sadly I haven’t enjoyed anything by this author since her smashing debut.

Blimey! This book was brilliant from the first sentence until the very last word! Told in several voices, each chapter ended in a cliff hanger making a stopping point quite impossible! A hijacked plane, a flight attendant faced with an impossible choice, a husband that’s in way over his head and a five year old child with attachment issues make this book completely gripping. Start this one early because I guarantee that you won’t get much sleep until you’ve read the last page! Mackintosh has outdone herself with this one!

This thriller had a slow start, but quickly picked up the pace and I couldn’t put it down! In this book, we meet Mina, a flight attendant who is working on the first nonstop flight from London to Sydney. When she receives a threatening note from a passenger, she has to make an impossible choice, which creates a series of nail-biting events on the 20-hour flight. I really enjoyed this one.

The Hostage is fantastic! I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out whether or not the crew and passengers of this famed flight would safely land in Australia. Not to even mention the drama happening on the ground while the hostage situation unfolds in the air. Excellent read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐+ Stars!
This is my fifth Clare Mackintosh ~ I enjoyed her novels, so was anxious to start reading this story.
Story is about a young family ~ Mina, Adam and their 5-year old daughter Sophia.

We soon find flight attendant Mina on the inaugural 20 hr. flight from London to Sydney (previous flights have been 13 hrs.).
The First Class section is occupied by several famous people ~ everyone wants a piece of Flight 79~ Yes! They all want to be a part of history! There is a party atmosphere on board and the open bar helps!
However, Mina soon finds that they are in a hostage situation as the plane has been taken over by terrorists. (Hmm the blurb on the book jacket gives us a big clue ~
<You can save Hundreds of Lives
Or …. The one that matters Most. . .

Meanwhile Adam and Sophie are home but hear of the hostage situation.

Story alternates POV between Mina and Adam. However, it is more than their ‘Point of View’! There are actually stories going on with the passengers on the plane; as well as a story at home with Adam and Sophie.
(Readers …You are sure to be using you Kindle highlight feature with THIS story.)

Additionally the end of the book has a wealth of information:
Author’s Note
A Conversation with the Author
Acknowledgements
About the Author
And the “Readers Group Guide”
All these As = Awesome!
Plus THAT Epilogue!!!!
Clare Mackintosh does NOT disappoint!

Want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional opinion.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 22, 2021

Clare Mackintosh has written another top rated book. It was suspenseful and certainly address issues in our current world. It was fast moving and thrilling . I can't wait for more from this author!

I absolutely hated this book and though I could list all the reasons why in this review, I'm afraid it would have too many spoilers that would anger fans and potential readers.

Two things -- do not preach to me your political or social leanings.
Mina -- no, she deserved prison with her selfish act. She violated every rule of her job. There was not a single decent character in this entire book. It was definitely make-believe and unrealistic in every way.

That's all I'm saying. Skip it.

I received this ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark to read and review.

Mira, a flight attendant, is on her company’s inaugural direct flight from London to Sydney. This 20 hour flight is supposed to be stress free, but halfway through the trip, Mina makes a choice that puts all 350+ passengers on board in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, at home in London, Adam is home with Sophia - he and Mina’s 5 year old daughter. Adam and Mina have been separated and Adam’s indiscretions show up at his doorstep that night, putting both him and Sophia at risk.

I found <i>Hostage</i> to be an fresh, absorbing novel that I couldn’t put down. And the ending was quite the surprise as well - threw a whopper and in there right in the end I don’t think anyone saw coming!!

4.5 terrifying stars

The tension just didn’t stop in this one! There are parallel stories going on and both kept my attention. Perfect pacing!

The first nonstop flight from London to Sydney is ready to go with great fanfare. Mina, a flight attendant, has traded with someone to work the flight. She’s escaping a disintegrating marriage and a challenging relationship with her daughter. As you might suspect from the title, things on the flight are about to go very wrong and somehow Mina is connected. A closed room mystery on steroids!

At home, things go very badly for her husband Adam and daughter Sophia as well and it’s all intertwined. Adam is a police officer and he’s gotten himself into trouble. I worried that both he and Sophia would pay the price for his mistakes. Mix that in with a connection to the hijacking and you have a serious mess! I loved the character of Sophia and the author did a wonderful job of describing how one family coped with an adopted child with a few issues.

I loved the very end of this one and had to re-read it. Very clever Ms. Mackintosh! I also loved reading the author notes at the end and rediscovering that the author had been a police officer. I’m glad I don’t have any upcoming flights – I’ll have a different perspective the next time I fly!

I enjoyed this book from Clare Mackintosh. She deftly wove suspense, mystery, murder, and empathetic characters into a great book. It basically tells the story of Mina, a flight attendant on the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney, who receives threatening messages about her daughter being in danger back home if she does not comply with the hijackers about to take over the plane.

I thought it was well-written and had great characters. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh (out June 22)
9/10 4.5 stars

WOW. This book was insane. I was on the edge of my seat gripping the pages for almost the entire book. It kept me hooked from the minute the plot line took off (literally😉) right up until the last page. The entire plot takes place over 24 hours on one airplane flight, and books like that just draw me in and really don’t spit me out until the very end. I was SUCH a fan.

The beginning was a little slow building up to the riveting story line. But by the end of the book, you realize how important the character development and plot build up are to the entirety of the book. I absolutely loved this one. I definitely should not have binge read it 24 hours before my 6.5 hour flight across the country, but it was well worth it.

Thank you SO much to @bookmarked & @netgalley for the pleasure of reading this. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy on June 22!!✈️

⚠️ DM for TWs or research beforehand

Have mercy! Granted, I'm one of those fear of flying fruitcakes (make that terrified), but this book is one of the scariest I've read in I can't remember when. That I'm still shaking in my shoes days after finishing it, though, is testimony to the author's skillful presentation of a story that would be at least a little frightening no matter who wrote it - but she hit it out of the park. Put another way, wow!

Mina and her husband, Adam, have a precocious adopted young daughter, Sophia, who suffers from several psychological disorders and, to put it mildly, is a handful. For the past dozen years, Mina - who once dreamed of becoming a commercial airline pilot - has been a flight attendant. Now, she gets the chance to serve on the 29-hour inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney - taking her away from Adam and Sophia just before Christmas.

Even before the plane is in the air, Mina has misgivings about the flight. It gets real, though, when a passenger gives Mina a note that chills her to the bone: Unless she cooperates, the plane - and all its passengers - will never get to Sydney. As the story progresses, the situation becomes more dire by the hour, especially after one passenger turns up dead. Chapters shift perspectives to present information on various passengers and what's happening back home with Adam, Sophia and their babysitters, making a guess fest for readers as to who did what, when and why and putting me on the edge of my firmly grounded sofa for the rest of the ride.

To say this one is a thrill a minute would be an understatement - and that doesn't count a bang-up surprise ending. Suffice it to say this one's a winner in my book - many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. If you like thrills and chills, do not miss this one!

NOTE: Finished May 11; review withheld until 4 weeks or less prior to release at request of publisher.

This is the kind of thriller I love to read... it's oh so quiet and peaceful until... then things really get going and finally end in an almost manic-like way. You're left with the feeling, well, that was crazy. What exactly just happened there at the end??

I'd recommend going into this one without reading too much of the synopsis.

Are you a person who finds getting on an airplane to be an adventure or are you a nervous flyer? Either personality type may well be riveted by this thriller in which much of the action centers on a long haul flight from London to Sydney (20 hours in the air!). In some ways, the story is a take on a locked room mystery in that much of the action is confined to the plane and the stories of its passengers and crew. However, there is also backstory so some time is spent on the ground and with other characters.

The book’s protagonist, Mina, is on the flight when…a note is given to her. What does it say? How will it influence what she does? In order for there not to be spoilers, it is not possible to say more except that this is a story that may well put readers on the edges of their seats.

My only quibble with this story is that I did not absolutely love some of the characters. I do, though, admire Ms. Mackinstosh’s imagination and storytelling ability. Readers, remember that this is fiction!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.