Caffeinated Reviewer

I love a good thriller, and Clare Mackintosh delivered with Hostage. Narrated by Vinette Robinson, she takes you into the air and into the home of Mina, a flight attendant with a five-year-old daughter and a rocky marriage. Buckle up for a thrilling ride….

The explosively addictive locked-room thriller from New York Times best seller Clare Mackintosh! A lot can happen in 20 hours when you're at 38,000 feet....

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.

I love mysteries and thrillers on audio. The narration adds another layer and amps up the suspense. Such was the case in Hostage as the author takes us on board the inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney.

The story begins when we meet Mina. She and her husband are separated. She loves him, but for the sake of their five-year-old daughter, she isn’t sure she should trust him. (He has a gambling issue) Mina is a flight attendant and when her husband asks her to spend Christmas week with him, she begs a team mate to allow her to work the inaugural flight to Sydney. As a result, her husband and their babysitter are looking after her daughter and she doesn’t have to face her feelings. All is well until Mina is slipped a note on board the flight. Do what I tell you, or your daughter won’t be safe.

The suspense built slowly from discovering what the passenger wants to what is occurring on the ground in Mina’s home. The back and forth kept me listening. I love how the author tied in relevant events and made me as a listener ask myself; what would I do? How far would I go?

The story built as the suspense increased and had me wondering how it all would end. Mackintosh kept things realistic and brought the story to a satisfying end as she wrapped up threads and answered the “hows”.

Vinette Robinson with her wonderful accent captured Mina, her husband and secondary characters brilliantly. Mina’s voice and tone rang so true that I could feel the anxiety as my heartbeat sped up. I would gladly listened to her narrations again.

Amazon | Audible

About Clare Mackintosh

Clare Mackintosh is an author, feature writer and columnist. She has written for The Guardian, Sainsbury's Magazine, The Green Parent, and many other national publications, and is a columnist for Cotswold Life and Writing Magazine. Clare spent twelve years in the police force, working on CID, in custody and as a public order commander, and has drawn on her experiences for her début psychological thriller I Let You Go. She is currently writing her second novel, out next year.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

About Vinette Robinson

Vinette Robinson is a British actress, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Her TV appearances include roles in Sherlock, Black Mirror, and as civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks in Doctor Who.

Twitter | Instagram

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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