Cozy corner books

Book title: Hostage

Author: Clare Mackintosh

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Book in a sentence: The most stressful, heart pounding book I’ve read in a LONG time!

The back of the book says:

You can save hundreds of lives.
Or the one that matters most . . .

The atmosphere on board the inaugural non-stop flight from London to Sydney is electric. Numerous celebrities are rumoured to be among the passengers in business class and journalists will be waiting on the ground to greet the plane.

Mina is one of a hand-picked team of flight attendants chosen for the landmark journey. She’s trying to focus on the task in hand, and not worry about her troubled five-year-old daughter back at home with her husband. Or the cataclysmic problems 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 . . .

My thoughts: As I said, this book is stressful! Told in two parts, from multiple points of view, it’s fast-paced and deeply anxiety-inducing.

The book follows two interwoven stories of Mina and Adam and their 5-year-old daughter Sophia. Told from their point of view, you can feel their emotions as the story unfolds. And unfolds it certainly does!

I found myself growing more and more anxious as the book went on. I should say, I’m a nervous flyer, so it could have something to do with that! I think Clare Mackintosh really builds the tension while at the same time creates a story that is completely compelling, I really struggled to put this book down after about 50% of the way in!

This book felt like twist after twist and the final turn in the story was not only completely unexpected, but it left me feeling almost sick with anxiety.

What I liked…

Writing style: I really enjoyed the contrast of a slow, story-driven build up in the first 50% of the book and then the switch to a very fast-paced, character-driven and dramatic conclusion.

What I didn’t like…

The twist: I marked this down by half a star purely for the level of anxiety it gave me! As I mentioned, I’m a nervous flyer so this was a particularly challenging (but very good) read for me! If you’re afraid of flying, this book might not be the best choice!

I think you’d like this book if…

You like multiple POVs, high-stake tension and so many twists it will make your head spin!

Hostage