HOSTAGE by Clare Mackintosh

This was a cracker of a read! A story line that we think we know where it is going - how much can you really do with a plane hijack - they either all die or they don't. But no, a good number of twists and turns in this thriller, right to the very last page. This is tightly held story, great variation in pace with the everyday taken over by the extraordinary, possibly all quite plausible which gives it a ring of truth too. 

Mina is a senior flight attendant, her next flight is special. She is one of the chosen few to crew the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney - some 20 hours in the air. This is a very big deal. Plenty of publicity, press exposure, important passengers, and not so important with their own reasons for travelling to Sydney. 

Mina is married to Adam, things haven't been going so well between these two in recent months, Adam moving out, but he does come home when Mina goes to work. Adam seems to be on some sort of path of self-destruction which Mina is increasingly unable to deal with. They have a daughter, Sophia. Now five years old, she was adopted by Mina and Adam. Her early life was not easy resulting in a child who is not easy to parent. But easy to love. She is a delightful child, unusual and challenging but comes across in the story as bright, curious, knowing. 

Mina begins her work day, stressed out by what is going on at home, Sophia unsettled by her loved nanny unexpectedly leaving, the replacement nanny still not yet part of the furniture. Not long into the flight Mina is given a note - the plane is being hijacked, and if she wants to see her daughter again, alive, then there is something she has to do. If she doesn't, they all die. What do you do? Save your daughter, or save a plane load of hundreds of people? A dilemma to be sure.

What follows is tension ridden, especially when it becomes clear who the hijackers are, how they behave and interact with each other, the passengers and the crew. It is very very good. We have all flown long distance, especially when you are from NZ - 12 hours to Los Angelos is just what you have to do. This is all very realistic and relatable. And how little do we really know about the passengers around us? So much blind faith.

Meanwhile, back home, Adam is having troubles of his own, managing Sophia, the new nanny, and finding that his gambling debts are catching up with him. Who is going to come out of this alive? 

Terrific stuff. And what a movie it would make!