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

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Mina and Adam’s marriage has hit a really bad patch, and Mina isn’t sure it will survive, doesn’t know if she even wants it to. Her 5 year old adopted daughter Sophia, is also a challenge, and quite honestly, life isn’t looking too great, but things are about to take a further nosedive, when Mina receives an anonymous note onboard from a passenger, telling her that he/she will ensure that the inaugural flight never reaches its destination, and furthermore, that Mina will help them to carry out their threat - or else her family will pay! Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2016, Cognac Prix du Polar Best International Novel Heartbreaking story of a broken marriage and their gifted adopted five years old daughter suffering from hyperlexia ✅ Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide. What if we don’t agree?” There was the longest pause before the doctor replied. “You have to,” she said, “because the alternative is unthinkable.” It would be to the unthinkable I would return, years later, when I wrote After the End, although it was far from my mind then. Instead I was standing at Frost’s crossroads, trying to see 10 years down each path.

Mina's marriage to her husband, Adam, has been strained due to his secrets and lies. Their very bright adopted daughter has had attachment issues and a unique mindset. Both parents have felt inadequate and under strain caring for Sophia. Adam is at home caring for Sophia to the best of his ability with the help of a new, young babysitter. That’s the choice before Mina, a flight attendant. In an attempt to avoid marital conflict and get a break from domestic troubles, Mina volunteers to work the inaugural twenty-hour long-haul flight from London to Sydney.Writing After the End was a deeply emotional experience. What happens in the book is Max’s and Pip’s story, not mine, and the filter of fiction finally enabled me to grieve. The story broke my heart all over again, but it mended it, too, and I finally made peace with our decision. None of us can predict the future, but we can shape it as it happens. We can choose to live again. Mina is a senior flight attendant, she is also mother to a 5 year old girl and an estranged wife. She is flying on the airline’s inaugural non-stop flight from London to Sydney. The atmosphere is buzzing and there are celebrities, journalists, social influencers and normal everyday people aboard the flight. It will take 20 hours to get to Sydney ... a lot can happen in 20 hours and when Mina is presented with a note from an anonymous passenger which basically gives her the choice to save the live of her daughter or those of our fellow passengers, her life turns upside down. What would you do? There is discussion of adoption and the challenges of raising a difficult child who doesn’t quite fit well in an average school setting. The Novel and Award Winning Comic 21st Polar". Sud-Ouest. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Mina is a flight attendant on an inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney. It comes at the perfect time. She and her husband, Adam, are having problems in their marriage. She is not sure what the future holds for them, so this opportunity is just what she needs. Adam, a police officer, will care for their five-year-old daughter, Sophia while Mina is away.

The first point of view is that of Mina and what happens aboard the plane.The atmosphere on board is electric and tense, there are many celebrities and politicians and they are already demanding attention. There is an open bar in first class and many are setting a party atmosphere before they have been in the air more than a couple of hours.

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This is the 4th book that I’ve read from this author and I have enjoyed them all. There were several things that I really loved about this book. Special thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS LANDMARK for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

All onboard for this claustrophobic thriller set on the inaugural non-stop, direct 20-hour flight from London to Sydney. The over 350 mostly excited passengers and flight crew will face terrifying danger. There will be twists, unrelenting tension, suspense, action, and complexity of plot. This could be optioned into a great, edge of your seat movie experience. There were so many brilliant surprises, twists and turns along the way making this a truly unforgettable story. I was constantly evaluating my thoughts on certain characters and felt bad when certain suspicions I had turned out to be entirely misplaced! The final reveal and the final chapter left me speechless! It was so incredibly clever and I just didn’t see it coming!I thought of the poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood / And sorry I could not travel both.” I wanted to see both roads, to know for certain what lay ahead. I wanted to know how the story ended. Mina is a flight attendant living separated from her police officer husband, Adam. They both have secrets but they have a strong enough relationship that they can amicably share custody of their young daughter in the family home. Mina is part of the flight crew working on a record breaking 20 hour non-stop flight which is the first time for any airline. Soon after the flight takes off, Mina receives an anonymous note from a passenger and it becomes evident there is a scheme on board the flight that Mina is caught in the middle of. The days that followed are a blur. Grief and disbelief morphed into guilt. What had we done? The doctors had said might never walk, not would. They had said unlikely to swallow, not would never. Miracles happen all the time – Alex could have recovered, he could have laughed, could have loved, could have lived. “What if?” was the constant whisper in my ear. What if you’d let him live? Celebrating our inspirational female authors - Higher Online". Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Is it me or did Sophia escape way too easily? When the fire started in the house I had no idea how Adam and Sophia would escape. But it turned out there was an easy way out?! Why on earth did they not get Sophia out earlier?!

As you can tell by the title HOSTAGE it’s plain but not at all simple and straightforward as to why or how this hostage takes place. It soon unravels though. Once Mina's flight is underway, she receives a note informing her that if she does not comply and do as she is told, her daughter will pay the price. What is a mother to do? But Mina’s mind is not entirely focused on the tasks at hand as her heart is still firmly on the ground, with her husband, Adam, and daughter. Her marriage is in trouble and Sophia, their daughter, is facing difficulties that make Mina long to be home even before the flight takes off. 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. The atmosphere on board the inaugural non-stop flight from London to Sydney is electric. Numerous celebrities are rumoured to be among the passengers in business class and journalists will be waiting on the ground to greet the plane.Sacrifice your child to save hundreds or sacrifice hundreds to save your child? Which would you choose? 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. What I didn't like is the audiobook! The publisher needs more than one narrator if the reader has one voice a.k.a NO VOICE TALENT. She shouldn't be cast for a multiple POVs story. I totally thought this is a LGBTQ couple and Mina calls her partner husband (yea Adam), but no wait...they were trying to have a baby so must be a he. Forget trying to differentiate any of the passengers. I didn't even try. Nine-year-old Sophia sounds just like mum and dad...what da hell...?