Clare Mackintosh channels Idris Elba in Hostage

I felt like I was in the middle of an Idris Elba movie when I was reading Hostage. The book seems quite similar to Elba's first Hijack series on Apple TV. I'm not sure if Idris took inspiration from Clare or the other way around, but either way, Hostage is a cracking story, perfectly written for a television or film adaptation.

You can also read my review of Mackintosh's Ffion Morgan series and her deeply personal story of impossible choices about a couple's child's serious illness.

Hostage | Published June 2021 | Read August 2024

Hostage tells the story of Mina, a flight attendant on the inaugural and landmark non-stop flight from London to Sydney. Mina has plenty on her mind, with her marriage at a crossroads (as she suspects her husband, Adam, of cheating) and a gifted but challenging adopted daughter, Sophia, to raise. The flight has barely begun when Mina receives an anonymous note from one of the passengers intent on ensuring the plane does not reach Sydney. The hijacker needs Mina's help and has taken her husband and child hostage to force her to comply.

There's a lot of love about Hostage. The premise promises a suspenseful, locked room drama and who doesn't love a good hijacking story? The dual stories and points of view that centre the story - Mina's on the plane and Adam's on the ground - captured my interest and both are written with loads of tension and proper pacing.

The main part of the action (on the flight) is complex and it takes some attention from the reader to unpack it all as events unfold. Mina is a constant voice in the reader's head and there's a lot of space dedicated to her thoughts. This could have been cut down a bit, but I get that she was placed in an impossible situation. I did love the trip through her backstory, though.

There's loads of suspense as the team of hijackers is slowly revealed through their own chapters and points of view. I thought this part, while a bit convoluted, was intelligently done, as the story switches from "here's a description of the passenger" to an insightful reveal about their role in the hijacking. I enjoyed reading about how and why these seemingly ordinary people became involved in a cause. The extreme action of hijacking a plane did feel a bit over the top, but I guess not out of the realm of possibility.

As if the hijack situation is not enough to grip the reader, there are several weighty subjects tackled in the novel, including marital relationships, adoption, neurodivergence, and radicalisation. There are two other super important and relevant topics that I won't mention as they're spoilers 😉, but I will say that one is to do with the hijack situation and the other with Mina's backstory.

The ending is a surprise and I'm still not sure how I feel about it or about Mina and Adam's adopted daughter, Sophia. At times her thoughts and actions seemed way too sophisticated for a 5-year-old. Hostage is still a wild ride that also made me think about some important contemporary topics. I give props to Mackintosh for crafting an intricate and suspenseful story.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐