Book Review: "Hostage" by Clare Mackintosh

Like we needed something else to worry about when boarding a flight? Now we have Clare Mackintosh's new locked-room thriller, Hostage.

It’s the inaugural nonstop flight between London and Sydney. Twenty hours long. Mina, a flight attendant on that flight, is a little worried about leaving her troubled five-year-old daughter Sophie, especially with her husband, from whom she’s separated, but she really doesn’t have a choice.

And then she is passed a note: “The following instructions will save your daughter’s life.”

If Mina doesn’t help a group of passengers hijack the plane, her daughter will die. She knows the thread is real. But of course, if she helps the group hijack the flight, everyone on board, including her, will die. What choice does she have? And who on board is involved with the hijackers?

I read Falling earlier this summer, so this is the second hijacked plane thriller I’ve read in a few months. They’re very different although reading both has made me even more reluctant to fly than I already was!!

Mackintosh is a terrific thriller writer, and this, well, takes off pretty quickly and throws in lots of twists and turns along the way, especially at the end. The alternating narrators provide interesting perspectives into the parallel drama happening in the air and on the ground.

The thing with hijack dramas is the reason for them happening always irritates me a bit. At times the pacing of book got a little slower than I would’ve liked given what was going on, but ultimately Hostage was quite a rollercoaster.

If you’re looking for a nail-biter, here you go!! Just don’t pack it in your suitcase…

Book Review: "Falling" by T.J. Newman

If you’re looking for a thriller that reads like a movie, here’s one for you: T.J. Newman's upcoming debut thriller, Falling!

Are you a good flyer or a nervous flyer? If you are a white-knuckle flyer you’ll probably want to skip this one so it doesn’t give you something else to worry about when you get on a plane!

Captain Bill Hoffman is ready to fly 143 people from Los Angeles to NYC for Coastal Airways. He’s done his preflight checks and his favorite flight attendant, Jo, is in charge of the cabin. Bill and his first officer are ready to go, and they expect a smooth flight across the country.

Then he receives an email message: his wife and two young children have been kidnapped and have bombs attached to them. If Bill doesn’t crash the plane, the kidnapper will kill his family. His choices: kill everyone on board (including himself) or let his family die. And he can't involve the authorities, because his family will suffer the consequences.

Falling was written by a former flight attendant who wrote most of this during cross-country flights when her passengers were asleep. It definitely reads like a book written by someone who knows her s—t!! (Plus, I've heard from two friends who are flight attendants that it's pretty authentic.)

This was one of those books that you frantically turn the pages of, as you can’t wait to see what unfolds. It’s a tremendously entertaining thriller, fast-paced in many ways, with a diverse and enjoyable supporting cast. As I was reading it, I was totally casting the movie in my head!

If I had any criticism, I felt the kidnapper was a little too stereotypical, but as my friend Phil and I discussed in our impromptu buddy read, it could’ve been problematic any way Newman went. But the book had more emotional depth than I expected, which was great. I devoured this in one sitting.

NetGalley, Avid Reader Press, and Simon & Schuster provided me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Falling publishes 7/6.