Hostage Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Clare Mackintosh (Author), Vinette Robinson (Narrator), Hachette Audio UK (Publisher)

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The BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick and instant Sunday Times best seller

You can save hundreds of lives.

Or the one that matters most....

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 20 hours to landing.

A lot can happen in 20 hours....

Listening Length

12 hours and 13 minutes
Author

Clare Mackintosh
Narrator

Vinette Robinson
Audible release date

22 June 2021
Language

English
Publisher

Hachette Audio UK
ASIN

B08KY4FZJB
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	12 hours and 13 minutes
Author	Clare Mackintosh
Narrator	Vinette Robinson
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	22 June 2021
Publisher	Hachette Audio UK
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B08KY4FZJB
Best Sellers Rank	20,994 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 327 in Terrorism Thrillers (Books) 463 in Psychological Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals) 738 in Crime Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

5 star		54%
4 star		29%
3 star		12%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Bad Apples

Reviewed in Australia on 8 October 2021

Verified Purchase

3.5 stars rounded up.

I thought it was appropriate to read about about a plane being taken hostage when there is absolutely no hope of getting on a plane anytime soon. Flight attendant Mina has problems. Her marriage is in trouble and her daughter has severe behavioral problems. When she gets on the first long haul flight from London to Sydney, she thinks she's taking a break from her life. Boy, was she wrong.

I was expecting something like Turbulence meets Die Hard, a good old fashioned Christmas disaster story. Though I enjoyed this, it had a lot of slow parts and seemingly endless chapters from Mina's pathetic husband Adam and their domestic problems. Everything made sense later so I'm glad I pushed through. I also thought the passenger chapters were pointless padding but they too were tied in later. The last few chapters kicked into high gear and were very exciting. However, the last twist was bizarre and didn't fit with the story. It's also hard to believe Mina wouldn't face criminal charges.

The writing was good and I'd definitely try more books by this author.

Helpful

Nana Mez

WOW

Reviewed in Australia on 6 July 2021

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This book is only the 2nd of Clare's books I have read but what a gripping read. Certainly kept me reading into the early hours. The plot covered so many issues, adoption, separation anxiety,gifted children, gambling, environmental issues and an amazing in flight drama. You just felt you were in the plane with it all.

One person found this helpful

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Kate

No clues just read it

Reviewed in Australia on 10 April 2022

Verified Purchase

I'd really like to tell you just how good this book is. How many twists you'll not be expecting and how so well written it is. How scary it can be if you think too deeply about what is happening. How distributing. I don't want to spoil the plot, so instead I'll just say.. 'Read It'.
Because it is outstanding

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Expected a great read

Reviewed in Australia on 28 August 2021

Verified Purchase

The story was ok, not thrilling and not worth the money. Don’t recommend this book was very disappointing. The ending was the best part.

Helpful

Started with a bang but got a bit too convoluted for me

Reviewed in Australia on 29 August 2021

Clare Mackintosh is one of my auto-buy authors and I would line up to read one of her shopping lists, so I was doing a little happy dance when I first heard that her new book would be released mid-year. Despite this, the book and I were off to a rocky start. I thought – hey, audio would be great, it would make my commute so much more fun! Only to find that the narrator was about as exciting as listening to a lecture on the life of a garden snail. Heads up, there are about 100 characters in the book and the monotone voice of the narrator made them all blend into bland same-ness, totally confusing me. Not to be easily deterred, I then went out and bought the book to settle in for a great read. And I must say that Mackintosh knows how to start her novels with a bang – quite literally. I was going to be in for a treat!

I can see you looking at my three star universe and anticipating the “however”. It’s one of those books that left me feel torn. I wanted to love it, escape into it. And I did love some aspects of the story and the way the author initially built tension and included the POV of several passengers on the doomed plane. As a locked-door, claustrophobic setting the 20-hour non-stop flight was just perfect and held so much potential to be truly terrifying. I also really appreciated getting an insight into the life of an airhostess, especially trying to balance such a demanding job with motherhood and marriage. I found Mina to be an enigmatic and interesting character for most of the book. Mackintosh is a great writer and she knows how to slowly hook her readers and make her characters come to life. So why did I feel underwhelmed?

Despite (or maybe because of) the multitude of current affairs issues the author packs into her story, it didn’t quite hit the spot for me. You will hear about the pitfalls of adoption, addiction, marriage problems, parenthood, mummy-guilt, climate change, extremism, childhood trauma, grooming, infertility and probably others I missed. The plot, which in itself could have been thrilling, is practically being drowned in not-so-subtle messages about things we see every day on the news. All that was missing was the pandemic. And to be honest, I would have found it more believable if a bunch of anti-vaxxers had threatened to blow up the plane. Adam’s narrative added very little to the plot for me and fitted too many stereotypes to make him believable. The scenes on the plane were just bit too much over the top dramatic and some of the other passengers’ stories just hung there without context. And the final “killer twist” that hallmarks most of the author’s books was so far-fetched that it merely induced an eye roll from me.

In summary, I felt that the book needed some serious editing. Pick three issues and concentrate on them rather than just about every first-world problem we have right now. That way, Mina’s decision under pressure could have included a bit more soul searching before she went with Option B in the famous trolley dilemma. Adam could have been a normal bloke and father, and it would have made zero difference to the plot and been more believable than the stereotype he had to live up to. I could go on, but that would give spoilers and I would hate to take away any reading pleasure from others who can enjoy the story without analysing it too much.

Ah well. *Shrug* Not every book can be winner for everyone and this one just missed the mark for me. But will I line up to read Mackintosh’ next book? Most definitely!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

It is non stop action both on the ground and in the air. Definitely one you don't want to miss.

Reviewed in Australia on 24 June 2021

Make sure your seatbelts are fastened - this is on thrill ride that you will not forget in a hurry. Hostage by Clare Mackintosh is a tense and twisty thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Good job nobody is flying anywhere anytime soon as it will make you think twice before boarding that plane. As always, the author has a way of making you feel as though you are going along for the ride with her characters - some that you will be hoping make it and others that you will be glad to see the end of - but who do you trust??

Mina is a flight attendant and is part of the flight crew for the first London to Sydney non stop flight - all 20 hours. Once in the air she is given a note from an anonymous passenger - give them access to the flight deck or her family will die. What an impossible choice? What would you do? Her family is her police officer husband Adam who is keeping secrets from her and her 5 year old daughter who they are still trying to help with her own troubles.

It is non stop action both on the ground and in the air. Definitely one you don't want to miss.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Niobe

Wow.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2021

Verified Purchase

Wow. Just wow.

Normally I can be much more articulate with my reviews but gahhhhhhh. I am lost for words (my husband would be happy!)

This book reads like a blockbuster movie. Unputdownable is not a word I use very often, but it sums up this book perfectly. Slow to start, but I absolutely devoured it; locking myself away from my family to finish it.

I was equal parts eager to chew through it as quickly as possible, and conscious that I should savour every word of it because it's not very often that you get a read as delectable as this!

Mina, Adam, and Sophia are well rounded characters who all developed as the story moved on, and as with any good book I grew to care about their ever after. But for me, the thing that clinched the 5* review, aside from the ups and downs, the well paced suspense, the nagging whodunnit, the burning desire for a favouable outcome, the mic drop of this entire ride was the epilogue.

Wow. Just wow.

Highly recommended, but please keep your seatbelt fastened... you're going to need it!

26 people found this helpful

Sorry I saw through this all the way

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2021

Verified Purchase

The book jacket reviews put pay to any surprise twists and I’m afraid I saw through this all the way.
And I’m sorry but really you would have to be a very shallow person to allow this to happen. I’m pretty sure that there are other ways of alerting the crew and this scenario would be well rehearsed.
I love Clare’s books and read it to the end but this was only because of loyalty to the writer.
Clare I know that it is difficult to keep coming up with new plots and twists but please make your story believable I love your writing and want to be thrilled by your story.

23 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

An effort to keep reading to the end.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2021

Verified Purchase

Not one of Clare Mackintosh's books has matched her first one - I Let You Go - which was brilliant. This latest one, Hostage, is like reading a telephone directory. It is so slow and boring and the characters not particularly likeable so that I don't really care what happens to any of them. The plot is only faintly believable and dull. I'm certainly glad I only paid £6 for it from Amazon because, had I ordered it from an independent bookshop and paid the proper price I would have been quite annoyed. It seems to me that she's running out of ideas for new books if this is the best she can come up with. Wouldn't recommend buying it. Waste of money. It'll be off to a charity shop very quickly.

20 people found this helpful

Superwrong

Nothing gripping about this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2021

Verified Purchase

Ok, looking for a good holiday read I was taken in by the 4.5 stars from 1700 reviews. The jacket told me this was a best selling author and the book had been in the radio 2 book club. All good signs?
WOW this book is SO BAD. What could have been a thrilling and fast paced read is mind numbingly terrible. I can suspend a certain amount of reality for fiction and indeed love a bit of escapism. This was just beyond ridiculous. Not only was the story line terrible. The whole narrative was boring. The characters unlikable and one dimensional. Adam - who cares? Mina - how stupid do you need to be to do what she did? Everyone else - meh. Who cares? I read a lot and this is the worst book I’ve read in a long time. Absolute struggle to finish it. Avoid.

17 people found this helpful

The Cookster

Highly entertaining.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 June 2021

Verified Purchase

Rating: 4.0/5

There is something about a hijacking scenario that makes for compelling reading / viewing. The concept is certainly nothing new - there is a long history major cinema blockbusters dating right back (at least) to the first "Airport" movie in 1970 and numerous examples since then that cinema-going audiences have readily consumed. The basic premise is generally pretty familiar, but when it is done well, it is a format that keeps bringing its audience back for more and perhaps picking up a few new devotees along the way. So, when an accomplished writer like Clare Mackintosh decides to pen a hijack-based thriller, the temptation to read it is a very difficult one to resist!

Mina finds herself as one of the hand-picked flight attendants on-board the inaugural non-stop flight from London to Sydney. The publicity surrounding the flight is huge - there are a number of celebrities on the flight and it is very much at the centre of media attention ... which also makes it an appealing high profile target for a group of people with their own agenda.

Once again, Clare Mackintosh has delivered a highly entertaining novel. The book's title, cover graphics and synopsis will have already provided the reader with a broad idea of what to expect, but there is enough about the background and the actual execution of the story to make this sufficiently fresh and appealing. I will be deliberately light on any detail in this respect, as even "minor" spoilers could potentially detract from your own enjoyment.

Suffice to say anyone who enjoys crime fiction, adventure stories or previous books by Clare Mackintosh should definitely add this to their reading list.

18 people found this helpful

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Hostage Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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