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

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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.

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? Sacrifice your child to save hundreds or sacrifice hundreds to save your child? Which would you choose? For what it’s worth,” she said quietly, “I think you’ve made the right decision.” I wondered if she would have said the same if we’d asked to keep him alive, if she was simply giving us the validation we so needed to hear. I hope not, because in the years since I’ve clung to her words for reassurance. 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. Mina is a flight attendant who deliberately places herself aboard an inaugural non-stop flight from London to Sydney, Australia. This subterfuge, of a sort, is intended to give her a break from her husband, Adam, whom she believes has cheated on her, and her five-year-old, special needs daughter, Sophia.

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Mina is a flight attendant with a London-based airline who is launching its inaugural 20-hour, nonstop flight to Sydney, Australia. It’s a high profile event with lots of press attention and public anticipation. Not long after the flight begins, Mina gets a message that threatens her family…her 5-year old daughter Sophia…unless she complies with demands that will certainly mean the takeover of the flight by persons unknown. Will Mina put her daughter before the lives of those on board the plane? What an absolutely amazing book. I honestly could not put it down and while I was desperate for it to end, I didn’t want it to end!!! Five star read - highly recommended. The ending was incredible. My favourite part of the book was actually the last few chapters. The genre changed into a psychological thriller and I loved it! I just wish there was more of it. The Novel and Award Winning Comic 21st Polar". Sud-Ouest. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Just a short way into the flight, Mina receives a note that she can't ignore, calling on her help to derail the flight, or her much beloved adopted daughter will suffer the consequences.

Secondly, I found it exhausting to live inside Mina’s head with the same thoughts/fears/resolve. Honestly, there were times I wanted to kill her myself just to shut her up. But then I considered how I would feel if I were her, and decided I’d be even more annoying so I forgave her. But why do we readers have to hear about it incessantly? We learn a lot about Mina before she boards that flight. She’s separated from her husband Alex and they are the parents of Sophia who they adopted when she was 10-months old. Sophia has been a difficult child as she is still suffering from the effects of separation anxiety. Mina is feeling guilt for having looked forward to some time away from the daughter she loves and she’s also keeping a big secret that’s reshaped her own life. Husband Alex, a police detective, also has a secret life that’s brought some huge threats to his career and family, so big that he’s allowed Mina to believe a false reason for their separation. So, the threat on that plane takes on even larger meaning and danger as those involved have layers of complexity and angles. Every time I thought I knew who might be involved and what was around the next corner, a new revelation would blow that to bits.Celebrating our inspirational female authors - Higher Online". Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. After finishing the book, I had a nightmare about a different hostage situation on a plane. The intense and propulsive storyline must have had a stronger effect on my emotions than I felt while reading it. With air travel beginning to open up again, this book and Falling may add to the reluctance to fly. Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2016, Cognac Prix du Polar Best International Novel

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?! The options were both straightforward and impossible. Keep Alex alive or let him die. Seeing it like that, written with such starkness, is as horrific as it felt that day. I recall the sensation of the ground shifting beneath my feet, as though some seismic change were taking place. Whatever we decided, life would never be the same again. The consultant was gentle and compassionate. “You need to imagine two futures,” she said. “One with a profoundly disabled son, one without that son at all.”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. 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. Mina has one of the coveted cabin crew spots onboard and takes off whilst Adam is left with Sophia and his own demons to deal with....