HOSTAGE

5 stars out of 5

Note: I finished this book on May 11, but as per the publisher's request, my review has been withheld until about 4 weeks prior to release.

Have mercy! Granted, I'm one of those fear of flying fruitcakes (make that terrified), but this book is one of the scariest I've read in I can't remember when. That I'm still shaking in my shoes days after finishing it, though, is testimony to the author's skillful presentation of a story that would be at least a little frightening no matter who wrote it - but she hit it out of the park. Put another way, wow!

Mina and her husband, Adam, have a precocious adopted young daughter, Sophia, who suffers from several psychological disorders and, to put it mildly, is a handful. For the past dozen years, Mina - who once dreamed of becoming a commercial airline pilot - has been a flight attendant. Now, she gets the chance to serve on the 29-hour inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney - taking her away from Adam and Sophia just before Christmas.

Even before the plane is in the air, Mina has misgivings about the flight. It gets real, though, when a passenger gives Mina a note that chills her to the bone: Unless she cooperates, the plane - and all its passengers - will never get to Sydney. As the story progresses, the situation becomes more dire by the hour, especially after one passenger turns up dead. Chapters shift perspectives to present information on various passengers and what's happening back home with Adam, Sophia and their babysitters, making a guess fest for readers as to who did what, when and why and putting me on the edge of my firmly grounded sofa for the rest of the ride. 

To say this one is a thrill a minute would be an understatement - and that doesn't count a bang-up surprise ending. Suffice it to say this one's a winner in my book - many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. If you like thrills and chills, do not miss this one!

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh (Sourcebooks Landmark, June 2021); 362 pp.