Hostage

A Novel

By: Robert Crais

Narrated by: James Daniels

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Jeff Talley was a good husband, a fine father, and a frontline negotiator with LAPD's SWAT unit. But the high stress, unforgiving job took an irreparable toll on his psyche. After a despondent father murders his wife and son and takes his own life, Talley hits bottom. His marriage ends, he resigns from SWAT, and he struggles to escape from his former life by taking the chief-of-police job in a sleepy, affluent bedroom community far from the chaos and crime of Los Angeles.

But Talley's pursuit of peaceful small-town life is about to change when three young men, fleeing the robbery of a mini-mart, invade a tightly secured home and take the family hostage.

Plunged back into the high-pressure world that he has desperately been trying to put behind him, Talley finds his nightmare has barely begun, because this isn't just any house. It belongs to a brilliant white-collar criminal who launders money for L.A.'s renegade franchise of La Cosa Nostra. And the accountant's records of the incriminating money trail that lie within will put L.A.'s most lethal and volatile crime lord, Sonny Benza, behind bars.

As Talley desperately tries to save the innocents inside, the full weight of Benza's wrath descends on him, putting Talley and his own family at risk. Soon, all involved are held hostage by the exigencies of fate and the only one capable of diffusing the crisis is the least stable of them all.

©2004 Robert Crais (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

Great storyline

We’ll-written. Narrator was very good. Kept my attention. I really like Craig’s’ books—never a dull moment.

There is nothing remarkable about Hostage...

...it just a good, satisfying listen with a predictable characters and ending but, attention grabbing and THANK GOODNESS, no segue into a political discourse or social commentary....a characteristic all too common in these PC days. A great book to wash dishes or garden. I cannot, however, forbear from noting that Glocks do not have “safety levers” and cannot be “clicked off safe”...the “safety” mechanism (if you care to call it such) being in the trigger. A small criticism but a red flag to those of us hoping for realism in our escapist fantasies!

good listen

easy to listen to, suspenseful, story moves along nicely worth your time if you like intrigue.

excellent!!

very interesting story, action all thru the book, you never know what the author is going to tell you!

I’m sorry I purchased this book.

The story would be good if it had less background. I’m bored! I have listened for several hours and I’m getting lost with all of the characters.

Thrilling!

Now THIS is a thriller! What a ride! The characters are well rounded, complex and unpredictable. The author paints one tense scene after another, making it almost impossible to stop the story for ANY reason. It will keep you up all night and in the morning you get to play the Creativity Game -- trying to think up a believable excuse to be late or completely absent from work. I told them I was held hostage. I don't think they bought it.

The downside of this book is that it ruins the listener for so many others. Great story, tightly written, perfect narration. Tough act to follow

Thrilling!

Now THIS is a thriller! What a ride! The characters are well rounded, complex and unpredictable. The author paints one tense scene after another, making it almost impossible to stop the story for ANY reason. It will keep you up all night and in the morning you get to play the Creativity Game -- trying to think up a believable excuse to be late or completely absent from work. I told them I was held hostage. I don't think they bought it.

The downside of this book is that it ruins the listener for so many others. Great story, tightly written, perfect narration. Tough act to follow

Enjoyed the first 3 hours

I was interested in the synopsis. So when I started the book I expected this to be pretty interesting mainly because it seemed like a lot of research had gone into it, then about 3 or 4 hours into it I could tell It was going to be a whole different feeling while listening. I didn't like any of the characters not even the kids, nor the former hostage negotiator, Tally. But at the same time I think that was intentional and I was able to finish the entire book. Though I lost interest I will say the plot twist were a little surprising. Not different, just surprising. But the last hour was just too fast that I had no idea what was even happening.

probably my favorite Robert Crais book ever

complex plot, with heroic characters, surprising betrayals. just a beautiful novel. bring on more like this.

Gripping

Cap this entire story takes place in one day. Every minute is exciting. There are twists and turns along the way. You will be on the edge of your seat for the whole thing.