Yet again Clare Mackintosh has written an amazing book which I thought was utterly brilliant, I started this book and didn’t want to put it down it was so engrossing.

A novel set entirely on a plane is no mean feat for an author as there's literally no where for the characters to go and you really have to keep the tension going. Well, Clare does that and more. I might never want to get on a plane again but that's another matter.

Tension, great characters and a sense of OMG what on earth is going to happen next. The premise for the environmentalists who are threatening the flight seems all too real and the confusion over who and what was involved here was nicely done. I never knew from one moment to the next who was responsible or who on the plane was actually involved.

I did have a few niggles in that the storyline on the ground seemed a little disjointed and I didn't feel the tension here at all. Back on the plane however and it felt all too real. It took me a little while to get used to the change of POV as there seemed an awful lot of voices as we boarded the plane.

Mina is a part of the cabin crew working on Flight 79 - The first ever plane journey going directly from London to Sydney, 20 hours in the air flying non stop.
After take off, Mina receives an anonymous note from one of the passengers threatening a loved one if she doesn’t do exactly what they say.

This story is told from multiple perspectives which kept me interested throughout; Mina the flight assistant, her husband back home who is a police officer with his own secrets and different passengers on board. Sometimes more than 2 POVs can confuse me but this was well written and easily followed.
A gripping page Turner and although I feel like one part of the ending was pretty obvious, there was other things that took me by surprise that I didn’t see coming.

Clare MacIntosh is one of my favourite writers. You can always count on her to write a compelling read, and while Hostage wasn’t flawless (more in this later), it was just the perfect escapist read I was looking for this Easter bank holiday. A high-octane, thrilling ride full of twists and turns.
This opens with a prologue. Someone witnessed a plane being turned over and catching on fire; then there’s another scene where someone is running.
Cut to now we follow our two protagonists:
- Mina, an air hostess, and the mother of Sophia, her adopted daughter. Mina is about to do a shift on a plane journey that’s flying straight to Sydney from London. Her separated husband is coming home to take care of their daughter. Her marriage fell apart after her suspicions around her au pair were sort of confirmed.
- Adam, Mina’s estranged husband. He’s a detective, too, and one with a secret that could cost him his job.
On the plane Mina receives a note: help them or lose her daughter...

This was an interesting read. It was definitely the perfect blockbuster read for escapism 🍿 however there were holes in the story, too, and subplot points I wasn’t on board with.

The good stuff:
* the characterisation was good. Mina and Adam were an intriguing couple and their characters were fleshed out, as was Sophia. The antagonists too were compelling with their arguments for climate change and what’s happening to the Earth.
* The structure of the book. It was tight with a real-time structure. While Mina was stuck in a life-threatening situation, Adam was embroiled in another one himself. Both plot arcs were compelling.
* Some reveals that were truly jaw-dropping.

The not-so good stuff:
* Predictable last act, especially the climax scene where the day is saved. I did enjoy Adam’s conclusion better, but what happens on the airplane...🤦🏻‍♀️. It was cheesy, I saw a major “twist” coming, and it portrayed the up-until-then antagonists as amateurs, like did-you-even-think-through-your-plan????
* Mina’s secret in the last 20%. I knew where this was going, so I wasn’t remotely shocked by this. Basically we’re told that Mina wanted to be a pilot, and even pursued this career until her training when she had a panic attack. It’s revealed that actually she was sexually assaulted by her tutor in the airplane. This is a massive storyline on its own, but I really did not appreciate how rape was thrown in at the last minute as a “twist” to explain a character’s motivation. It felt insensitive. Just having Mina fail and freak out due to the pressure would’ve been compelling.
* It isn’t until 38% that Mina receives the note from the terrorist. The first 38% was slow-moving and I was wondering when is the storyline going to start.
* One of the prologue scene is never addressed!!!!!! Like why was that scene there at all then, when nothing like it even happens. 🤦🏻‍♀️

On the whole this was a good, blockbuster read. Not perfect, but a good light popcorn read if you’re in the mood for something pacy and action-driven.

As a fan of Claire’s previous books, I couldn’t wait to get into this one. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Hostage is intense, dramatic and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Having the story unfold from multiple points of view, gives an intrinsic look at what each character was thinking or where they were coming from, it added to the growing sense of suspense and danger.

The story gained pace and events came to a climax. It really looked at the reasons and compulsions that go through the human mind especially those with extremist viewpoints. An interesting look at human emotion and how far a person is prepared to go or how much someone would sacrifice for the ones they love.

With some very clever misdirection, I thought I had it all summed up, but I wasn’t quite right, I was kept guessing right until the very end. The only part that took some thinking about was keeping track of who was who especially with their aliases.

I got through this very quickly and I really enjoyed it.

I hardly breathed throughout this tense thriller, literally could not put it down. Hoping Mina would not accede to the threat to hundreds of lives but knowing how far you would go to save your child. Lots of strong characters with compelling back stories. The added stress of the family dynamics coping with a child with abandonment issues. A 'no way out' thriller with surprises throughout and a shattering conclusion.

Clare Mackintosh’s latest novel, ‘Hostage’ is a thrilling read. At its centre is airhostess, Mina, currently separated from her husband, Adam. He feels marginalised by their adopted five-year-old daughter, Sophia, who has attachment problems.
Just before Christmas Mina is flying on the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney. She will be away for a week, in part because she needs time away from her demanding daughter (although she’ll never admit this). Her husband whose fling with their former au pair has resulted in him living away from the family house will step in to look after Sophia. So far, so dysfunctional but not entirely unheard of.
However, shortly after the flight departs various occurrences on board suggest that the next twenty hours will become everyone’s worst nightmare. The plane is taken over by a group of environmentalist terrorists and it looks as if their stunt will bring about hundreds of deaths. Meanwhile, at home, Becca, Sophia’s sometime babysitter begins to act very strangely. What’s going on there?
Mackintosh is extremely successful in structuring her story so that the many narrative layers are slowly revealed whilst at no time relaxing the tension as the disasters on the ground and in the air unfold. Whilst the terrorists are depicted in less detail than the central characters, they are still credible. Damaged, scorned, obsessive people, we can imagine why a cause that reinforces their self-worth is so attractive to them. Damaged, too, are Mina, Adam and Sophia. The author slowly allows the reader to see why they react to troubles in a specific way and make the decisions they do.
The Epilogue is particularly satisfying: Mackintosh leads us very firmly down one path, (and it’s a difficult one to navigate!) which then veers off in an entirely different direction at the last moment! This book is bound to be a must-read on all of those holidays we are so looking forward to this summer. You may enjoy it more if you’re not flying to your destination though!
My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

The book tells the story of Mina, Adam and their adopted emotionally damaged daughter, Sophia.
It is mainly set on the inaugural flight of a non-stop from London to Sydney on which Mina is an air hostess. Adam is at home with Sophia and babysitter Becca. A hostage situation develops on the plane and Mina is given an impossible choice – save her daughter or save the people on the plane.
It’s a fast-paced thriller full of twists and turns. The story is told from various points of view including several passengers as well as Mina and Adam which adds to the suspense as we try to work out who else is involved.
It’s a very interesting book but I just couldn’t engage with Mina or Adam (or their predicament!) and I felt bits were predictable. The ending was very clever though.
I think I am going to be out of step with most people by only giving it three stars but where would we be if we all liked the same thing?
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance review copy.

To be honest, this took me a little while to get into but once I did, I couldn't put it down and I was gripped. I did initially feel a little let down by the apparent 'happy ever after' ending, but I soon realised that it was just keeping me guessing!

Mina is a flight attendant working on the first non-stop flight between London and Sydney. The 20 hour journey is a welcome distraction from worrying about her cheating husband Adam, who she is still in love with, and her adopted daughter, Sophia, who has behavioral issues from her years in foster care. But when she finds a dead man in one of the seats, with a picture of her daughter on his body she realises that this flight is not going to go to plan.

Although there were a few small plot holes, I am willing to overlook them as this book was just so gripping. Lots of character development, great pacing and just the right amount of twists. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy Claire's books and was really looking foward this one.

I didn't love this as much as previous books a few too many characters for me to get my head around, started great then a bit of a slow burner.

Still enjoyable and those twists had me engaged.

Liked this but didn't love it.

I am really struggling to write this review.
As soon as I saw that Clare Mackintosh was going to release a new book I knew I would read it. The synopsis sounded like it was the kind of story I enjoyed and so I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to read an ARC ahead of its release on the 22nd June.
Mina is one of a team of flight attendants who is working on board of the first, twenty hour nonstop flight to Sydney Australia.
During the flight Mina becomes the target of hijackers on the flight and must decide if she is going to save her daughter by meting their demands or risk a plane full of passengers.
The beginning this book was so slow! I had read around 30% of the book before I felt like anything significant had happened. There are also a lot of characters in this book and keeping track of who is who was sometimes quite difficult. There seemed to be sub plots that didn’t really add anything to the main story so also added to my confusion.
After I got about half way through the book it did pick up and became faster paced. I worry that if someone was reading this, that didn’t know how much of a good author Clare Mackintosh was, and knew that she would eventually pull something out of the bag to turn it round, would have given up before they get to that part.
Overall it wasn’t a bad book but it certainly isn’t one of her best.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clare Mackintosh is known for her suspenseful, ‘ on the edge of the seat’ novels and this one did not disappoint!

Mina is a flight attendant on her first ever long haul flight from London to Sidney when she receives a note from terrorists letting her know that the plane will not land unless she complies with their demands, and they know exactly which buttons to press.

Absolutely fantastic! Full of suspense with plot twist after plot twist!

This was a strong 3.5 stars for mr right up until the last couple of chapters then it slid up to a 4.

Another fantastic book by this wonderful and talented author. The story follows an air hostess who is forced to make a life changing decision whilst aboard a long haul flight. The story gripped me from the very beginning and whilst I felt that the first half of the story was stronger than the second half I still enjoyed it and the ending made my jaw drop.

A book that will keep you guessing and turning the pages throughout. I did have a few things with bugged me about the book for example I find it very hard to believe that this could actually happen and what the people were protesting for seemed a bit ridiculous in the grand scheme of things however that being said it was a refreshing storyline full of twists and turns and an ending you’ll never see coming.

Clare Mackintosh does it again. A brilliant story that kept me wondering right until the last chapter. Really well told, great characters and a fabulous plot. Totally believable in this day and age. 5 stars would recommend.

Thanks to Clare Mackintosh and Netgalley for the ARC. This was a real thriller! Mina was desperate to get a shift as cabin crew on the first nonstop flight to Sydney but she's on edge even before she boards the plane. Her marriage to Adam is breaking down and she's worried about her daughter. Things get a lot worse when a passenger slips her a note. The lives of everyone in the plane are now in her hands. What will she do? We meet a lot if characters in this book and it covers a lot of societal issues. I found Adam's story as compelling as Mina's. Great ending too.

This book had me on the edge of my seat, I found it hard to put it down and spent my entire day gripped.
The atmosphere is almost tangible and the urgency of the situation really comes through the pages.
Once again Clare Mackintosh did not disappoint.

I have read and enjoyed Clare Mackintosh before and this was no exception. Really taut, well written thriller which kept up the tension and twists until the last page. I couldn't put it down! Terrifyingly good... Many thanks.

A new Clare Mackintosh book popping up on NetGalley is a sure fire way to get me hitting the “request” button in approximately a nanosecond. I knew the book would be good, but I wasn’t necessarily expecting quite the rollercoaster ride I actually got!

Adam, a police officer, and Mina, who works as cabin crew for a major airline - though she once planned to become a pilot - are parents to five year old Sophia, who they adopted as a baby. Although both are devoted to Sophia, family life isn’t always easy, and the chance to work on the historic first nonstop flight from London to Sydney - twenty hours in the air - is too tempting for Mina to refuse.

But will World Airlines Flight 79 ever reach its destination?

Hostage was an incredibly tense and gripping read, examining both the moral dilemma of the central character and exploring the different ways in which people can be radicalised. It’s a bit far-fetched, perhaps, at times, but it’s an absolutely compelling read, clearly well researched by the author in terms of the aviation aspects. I loved the structure of the book, alternating between Mina aboard the plane and Adam and Sophia at home, interspersed with snippets from the lives of certain passengers. The story is very cleverly written, skilfully misdirecting the reader at various points... though to day any more than that would be far too spoilery. And this is not a story where you want to be spoiled!

The end once again pulls the rug out from beneath the reader, undercutting what we thought we knew, and is all the more satisfying for it.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read an advance copy and provide an honest review. I honestly loved it.

I really enjoyed this. It was a book that started a bit slow for me but gathered pace and was excellent towards the end. A very interesting twist on reasons and compulsions behind terrorist plots.

What would you do? Choose the life of your daughter or hundreds of strangers? It’s a question that makes this a great book club choice. There is plenty in the plot to discuss and have different feelings and views over.

I got through this one quickly once I had got into it and really enjoyed it. The last couple of chapters are brilliant and tense, I’m impressed with the research done to make aspects of the story accurate and realistic.

Another gem from this author. 4 happy stars from me.