
Save hundreds of lives. Or save your child?
You’re on board the first non-stop flight from London to Sydney. It’s a landmark journey, and the world is watching.
Shortly after take-off, you receive a chilling anonymous note.
There are people on this plane intent on bringing it down – and you’re the key to their plan.
You’d never help them, even if your life depended on it.
But they have your daughter . . . So now you have to choose.
DO YOU SAVE HUNDREDS OF LIVES? OR THE ONE THAT MATTERS MOST?
Described as “a nail-biter of a thriller” by Shari Lapena and “a propulsive read” by Karin Slaughter, Clare Mackintosh’s Hostage has already garnered some rave reviews (including this one from the lovely Stephen over at Stephen Writes) and is set to be one of THE thrillers of the summer.
I am, therefore, delighted to be able to help celebrate the paperback publication of Clare’s latest thrilling read by sharing an extract with you on The Shelf today! Plus, keep your eyes peeled for a full review of Hostage in the next few weeks!
Extract
OPERATOR: What’s your emergency?
CALLER: I’m near the airport . . . I can see . . . Oh my God!
OPERATOR: Can you confirm your location please?
CALLER: The airport. There’s a plane . . . it’s turned over. It’s coming down so fast. Oh my God oh my God!
OPERATOR: Emergency services are on their way, caller.
CALLER: But it’s going to be too late – it’s [inaudible]. It’s going to crash, it’s going to crash . . .
OPERATOR: Can you confirm you are at a safe distance?
CALLER: [inaudible]
OPERATOR: Caller, are you okay?
CALLER: It’s crashed, it’s really crashed, oh my God it’s on fire . . .
OPERATOR: Fire crews will be on scene in less than a minute. Ambulance too. Is anyone with you?
CALLER: The whole plane is smoking – it’s [inaudible]. Oh God, something’s exploded – it’s like a huge fire- ball…
OPERATOR: Fire crews are on scene now.
CALLER: I can hardly even see the plane any more, just smoke and flames. It’s too late. It’s too late. No one’s getting out of that alive.
About the Author

Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of five Sunday Times bestselling novels, including I Let You Go, which was the fastest-selling debut thriller in the year it was released. Translated into forty languages, her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide, have been New York Times and international bestsellers and have spent a combined total of 64 weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller chart.
Clare spent twelve years in the police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant and is the founder of the Chipping Norton Literary Festival. She now writes full time and lives in Wales with her husband and their three children.
You can find out more about Clare and her work via her website (www.claremackintosh.com), by following her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ClareMackWrites), or by following Clare on Twitter (@ClareMackint0sh).
Hostage by Clare Mackintosh is published by Sphere and is available now from all good booksellers and online retailers including Hive, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Wordery.
If you can, please support a local indie bookshop by ordering from them either in person or online! Some of my favourites include Booka Bookshop, The Big Green Bookshop, Sam Read Booksellers, Book-ish, Scarthin Books, and Berts Books.
My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for organising and inviting me onto this blog tour. The tour continues until 08 July 2022 so please do check out the other stops for more reviews and content!
Reviews on The Shelf are free, honest, and unbiased and I don’t use affiliate links on my posts. However if you enjoy the blog please consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi!
