My first book, that I have read by this author, absolutely brilliant! Highly recommended, and I will definitely read others written by this author!

After seeing rave reviews, I could not wait to read this. But sadly I struggled to get through Hostage.
I didn't have a great urge to pick it up and as a result, it actually took me months to finish it.
The concept was an interesting one and I liked the idea of this taking place on a flight.
I did look forward to the sections set on the plane with Mina, as opposed to the sections with Sophia and Adam.
But, all in all, it just dragged a bit too much.
And the 'hijackers' could have been much stronger for me too.
None of the characters were particularly likeable, which isn't great when you're meant to care about them. Adam in particular really frustrated and annoyed me.
And you have to suspend belief quite a bit, especially that one family could be wrapped up in so much drama.
I know others loved this books, so maybe it just wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a ride! I was kept on the edge of my (plane) seat from beginning to end!

The characters were so realistically portrayed that I felt as though I was along for the ride on this nail-biting journey.

Clare’s skilled writing has the tension building to an earth shattering crescendo and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying recommending it to everyone that will listen!

Loved this one, a gripping read and one that has you from page one, fast paced and punchy this one was a winner for me, defo a must read!

An enjoyable thriller. Tense and emotional, it kept me guessing.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC.

I sooo wanted to love this one, in a huge Mackintosh fan & the premise sounds ace!

Sadly, it was missing the heart racing tension I crave in a locked room thriller & the connection to the characters...

I wanted more.

Good solid thriller without anything special or different than others similar, apart from the fact that it is based on a plane

Wow, I really do not know where to start with this review. I don't think I've ever read a book that raised my heart rate so much.

The story follows flight attendant Mina on an inaugural flight of 20 hours non-stop from London to Sydney, Australia. It also follows Mina's husband Adam and their adopted daughter Sophia.

The dual storylines of Mina on the hijacked plane, and Adam and Sophia at their house really adds to the tension because rather than giving you a moment's pause, as you move from one story to the other, the tension ramps up even further.

The story looked at what people were prepared to do for their cause, but also what others would do to protect their loved ones.

This really kept me guessing from start to finish and was one of my favourite thrillers this year.

Absolutely loved this book & all the twists. The only reason I marked it down was because I found all the characters hard to follow at times when they were referred to passanger 1g for example. Amazing read & would highly recommend.

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh
I give this book 5 stars

The atmosphere on board the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney is electric, the world is watching the landmark journey.
But soon after the plane takes off, flight attendant Mina receives a chilling anonymous note. Someone wants to make sure the plane never reaches its destination. They're demanding her cooperation . . . and they know exactly how to get it.

An addictive and gripping read from the first to the last page.Tense and realistic with a thought provoking storyline. So well written with believable characters and backstories that l was totally invested in, l raced my way through it with bated breath..One of the best things about the book is how the author includes her trademark super twist .....l just never see coming! I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for their next 5 star read!
With thanks to Netgalley,Clare Mackintosh and the Little Brown Book Group for my chance to read and review this book.

As usual Ms Mackintosh does not disappoint. The book was great, the story was great along with the characters. Im not even sure if reviews are important, just go and read the book!

I enjoyed this fast paced dual-story told by different narrators. I especially liked Mina and Sophia. The plot wasn’t particularly believable, but that didn’t alter my enjoyment of the book. I flew through it and wasn’t disappointed by the ending. I’ve read books by this author before and look forward to reading more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book.

This was a brilliant read and an absolute page turner. Fantastic writing and it had me hooked from page one. I'm a big fan of Clare Mackintosh and her latest book does not disappoint. Highly recommended and well deserves the 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley.

This book should come with a health warning!! It’s soooo addictive and a real page turner. I woke up this morning and remembered that I had finished it last night and my heart ached! One of those books that you want to read faster to see what happens next, but you want to slow down so it never finishes! So many twists and turns and truly relatable characters. Overlapping storylines and back stories kept me turning pages into the night! Sophia deserves her own book!! I am glad I am not planning to fly anywhere in the near future! Probably not one to read on your flight! Absolutely fab!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book for an honest review.

The atmosphere on board the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney is electric. Celebrities are rumoured to be among the passengers in business class, and the world is watching the landmark journey.

Flight attendant Mina is trying to focus on the passengers, instead of her troubled five-year-old daughter back at home - or the cataclysmic problems in her marriage.

But soon after the plane takes off, Mina receives a chilling anonymous note. Someone wants to make sure the plane never reaches its destination. They're demanding her cooperation . . . and they know exactly how to get it.

It's twenty hours to landing.
A lot can happen in twenty hours . . .

This is the first Claire Makintosh book that I have read and I loved it.

The twist at the end of the book is great.

I fell in love with Sophia and Mina…

Would temcommend

Hostage was an action-driven, tension-filled, high stakes, suspenseful, thrill-ride. What a rush! I devoured it over a couple of days, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. As I neared the end there was one dangling plot point that would have caused me to rate 'Hostage' lower, but the conclusion completely changed my mind. Love it when that happens!. Bravo, Clare Mackintosh! Due to some parts being unbelievable, including the motivation of the terrorists, I couldn't give this 5 stars, but it was still a fantastic read that I highly recommend.

So I've read several of Clare Mackintosh's books over the years, so I know I'll be in for one hell of a ride.

I've always been a bit terrified of flying, but when I read the synopsis for Hostage, I knew I still had to read it. In all honesty, it has not helped my fear of flying at all!

The story told mostly from Mina and Adam's point of view but to add intrigue there are some passengers POVs in there too. At first I was a little thrown by this, but it becomes clearer as you go along why they're in there.

I didn't guess the brains behind everything at all with this one and the end was shocking, to say the least!

It took a while for me to really get into this book. I think that was mainly because I didn't find the characters all that compelling at first; it wasn't until all their dark secrets were laid bare that they piqued my interest.

Hostage is a well written and tension packed psychological thriller. If you love a locked room mystery, I would highly recommend it to you!

I didn't want to put this book down but, at the same time, I also didn't want to finish it. This was tense stuff with so many different possible outcomes there was no way to guess what was going to happen next. Definitely a read I recommend if you like to get your heart racing.

Thanks again to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this.

I have read one other book by the author and liked her style and the twists in particular. When I saw a new book coming out, I wanted to give it a shot. I read it in few sittings have a few takeaways that I will not completely elaborate on in order to ensure other people who see this review do not have any spoilers.
When I got to the end of the book, I realised what I should have done in order to have seen part of the reveal coming. That is one train of thought; the other is that if I had seen it, I might not have liked it as much. It is a dilemma that does not need any more thought since I have already finished it and cannot really change anything.
The story is not a simple one. We have multiple narrative voices. Some of these voices are consistent throughout the book, and the others are intermittent and have precisely two functions- to move the storyline forward and the other to add further chaos to an already tense situation.
There is trouble in Mina, the flight attendant's home. She is looking for a break, and this means taking the first extra-long flight from London to Sydney. There is a feeling of unease that intensifies as the flight continues. We have so many red herrings shown to us that it is almost a slight letdown when the actual hostage scenario occurs at the halfway point.
Then, of course, the final few chapters altered my reaction to the book. I am one of those people for whom the epilogue or the ending twist can redeem an otherwise neutral response. In this case, I enjoyed the book, and the ending cemented and even increased my appreciation for the tale that was built during the course of the book. Although I am uncertain how I feel about the core ideologies of the villains being used in this manner.
It is a heavier than expected volume and taking that into consideration, I would recommend it to those who are happy to read a 400-page thriller.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Clare Mackintosh has done it again, in fact I would go as far to say this is her best one yet!
I read the synopsis and knew straight away that I had to read this . Having done the UK - Sydney flight many times it somehow made it more real for me and now I think the brain could be working overtime next time i fly to Australia !
The first few chapters don't really get you into the plot so if you start it and wonder where it is going don't give up. Once on board the plane you will not be able to stop reading. It''s told from various POV which works well. We have Mina ( our main protagonist) who is cabin crew, we have Adam her husband who has his own story going on and then we have snippets from the passengers on board the plane. . The tension builds throughout the journey and it's a proper classic thriller with a VERY clever ending . This would make a great film !