Hostage cover art

Hostage

The emotional 'what would you do?' thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Hostage

By: Clare Mackintosh
Narrated by: Vinette Robinson
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.35

Buy Now for £14.35

LIMITED TIME OFFER

£0.99/mo for 3 months - terms apply. Offer ends 31 August 2026.
THE BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK AND INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
AND DON'T MISS CLARE'S NEW BOOK OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES - OUT NOW.

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

'A NAIL-BITER OF A THRILLER' SHARI LAPENA
'HYPNOTICALLY GOOD' LEE CHILD
'FEELS LIKE A BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE' LISA JEWELL
'THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER' SUN

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 . . .

'The queen of nail-biting suspense' IRISH INDEPENDENT

'Utterly riveting, with so many jaw-dropping twists and turns' LUCY FOLEY

'A rip-roaring finale' GUARDIAN

'Propulsive - will have you questioning "what would you do?" at every turn' KARIN SLAUGHTER

'Mackintosh is a pro' NEW YORK TIMES

'Taking the locked room mystery to a new, white-knuckle extreme, this is electrifying' HEAT

'When Clare Mackintosh goes high concept, she doesn't mess around' LINWOOD BARCLAY

'An incredibly tense read that has a satisfyingly clever ending' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'A thrilling rollercoaster of a story. It'll leave you breathless' JANE FALLON

'A smart pay-off' THE TIMES, THE BEST THRILLERS FOR JUNE

'A tense, convincing, nail-biter of a thriller' ADELE PARKS, PLATINUM MAGAZINE

'A banger of a book with a truly agonising "what would you do?"' RUTH WARE

'A thrilling, chilling gut-punch of a book' RED

'Why did no one warn me how bloody addictive it is?' TAMMY COHEN

'I dare anyone to read this high-octane, tense thriller on a flight' PRIMA

'I got wrong-footed, then I got whiplash! Mind-blowing' SANDIE JONES

'The year's most intriguing high-concept plot' DAILY EXPRESS

'Full of mystery, tension and emotion. An incredible thriller' ALLIE REYNOLDS

'Buckle up for some edge-of-your-plane-seat action' FABULOUS

'A stunning twist' LITERARY REVIEW

'Mackintosh has raised her game' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED REVIEW

'Heart-stopping' CRIME FICTION MONTHLY©2021 Clare Mackintosh Ltd Crime Thrillers International Mystery & Crime Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Aviation Crime Exciting Scary
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

Hypnotically good (LEE CHILD)
Mackintosh builds [the] dilemma into a rip-roaring finale
Tightly plotted, tense and with an unexpected twist, it's the book of the summer
An utterly riveting read - with so many jaw-dropping twists and turns you won't dare unfasten your seatbelt (LUCY FOLEY)
A nail-biter of a thriller with an unexpected gut-punch at the end - a fantastic read! (SHARI LAPENA)
Taking the locked room mystery to a new, white-knuckle extreme, this is electrifying
Feels like a blockbuster movie; edge of seat, nail biting, propulsive, compulsive, thrilling and just so beautifully done (LISA JEWELL)
A propulsive read - Hostage will have you questioning 'what would you do?' at every turn (KARIN SLAUGHTER)
I dare anyone to read this high-octane, tense thriller on a flight
When Clare Mackintosh goes high concept, she doesn't mess around . . . A true page-turner that will have producers lining up with movie offers (LINWOOD BARCLAY)
A thrilling, chilling gut punch of a book
A thrilling rollercoaster of a story. It'll leave you breathless (JANE FALLON)
This is an incredibly tense read that has a satisfyingly clever ending
Always a compelling storyteller, ex-cop Clare Mackintosh has devised the year's most intriguing high-concept plot
A smart pay-off
The ultimate modern take on the classic locked-room thriller . . . proves why [Mackintosh] is the queen of nail-biting suspense
A tense, convincing, nail-biter of a thriller (ADELE PARKS)
A banger of a book with a truly agonising 'what would you do?' (RUTH WARE)
We're right there with Mina as she agonizes over what to do. Mackintosh is a pro
Chilling!
Why did no one warn me how bloody addictive it is? (TAMMY COHEN)
Buckle up for some edge-of-your-plane-seat action with this read-in-one-sitting thriller!
Hostage has everything: fascinating characters, amazing writing, perfect pace, full of mystery, tension and emotion. An incredible thriller (ALLIE REYNOLDS)
I am still on the floor! I thought I knew where it was going, then I got wrong-footed, then I got whiplash! A mind-blowing read (SANDIE JONES)
A truly gripping and terrifying story
Fasten your seatbelts. Hostage is a white-knuckle ride that takes the classic locked-room thriller airborne . . . Gripping
Surprising twists propel the story to an unexpected finale. Mackintosh has raised her game
A chilling read that you won't want to put down
Page after page of unrelenting suspense . . . hard to put down as readers are willingly lured on by one plot twist after another . . . A gifted writer with a captivating voice
All stars
Most relevant
Whilst I thought it was an interesting premise upon which to write a novel, and there are plenty of twists and turns in it, I can’t say that it’s one of my favourites. However, this could be because the narration had no difference between the different voices and you often didn’t realise you were listening to a different character for some time into the section.

Narration lets it down

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow. I read this in almost one go. Would have if I hadn’t needed to quite literally force myself to press stop at quarter to four in the morning so I could get some sleep! An absolutely amazing read. The suspense had my pulse racing and I felt as if I was on the flight with them. Almost as scared as they were. The way the book flickers from Adam and Sophia to the flight was brilliantly done. Both sub-plots kept me hooked. I didn’t like Adam or Mina at times, and kept asking myself would I have done what Mina did? I honestly hope not, but I don’t know for sure. The very end, as in the epilogue, made me smile with glee. I adored Sophia throughout, especially her commentary of where she was. She had the last laugh here. Highly recommend you read this! You won’t regret it. Don’t miss this one!

Terrifyingly, edge of your seat brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I don’t write reviews but felt I needed to definitely recommend this one.
I don’t think it’s just the fact that I am ex-cabin crew and therefore enjoyed reminiscing; I would have enjoyed this regardless. It was well researched, factually accurate and at no point far fetched. A fast moving story with believable, entertaining characters. A brilliant twist too that I didn’t see coming. I particularly enjoyed passenger observations made by the cabin crew. Yes, I can confirm you are talked about in the crew rest area so best behaviour all future flyers!
Well done Clare Mackintosh! I look forward to your next book.

Didn’t want it to end!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Imagine all the aeroplane disaster movies, you have ever seen. They're generally quite similar and they're all here in this book. We start with the back stories of the main characters, then the back stories of selected passengers, then the hi-jack. I won't spoil the ending, but I'm pretty sure you already know it.

I kept losing track of who was talking. The characters Adam and Mina really needed separate narrators. The narrator we had was only average. She didn't even attempt an Australian accent when one was called for.

The story was linear for the most part, a bit of a twist in the last half hour, but that was it. I'm a big fan of Clare Mackintosh normally, but unexpectedly, this book falls a bit flat. I've given it 4 stars, but it's more of a 3.5 really.

Cliché

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I like the story but, the characters really hard to follow whom is speaking. If you like a book that says f!!k or f!!!ing! Fairly frequently then you will be ok but personally. I think this is just a lazy use of language but my opinion. But otherwise a good story.

The story is good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews