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

Wowed

I didn’t see that one coming!! Excellent book!!! Crais intertwined two great stories into one thrilling saga

FANTASTIC!

Narrator James Daniels is awesome in this book! A must read, I couldn't put it down. Fast moving page turner!

Good Story Line . . . Unnecessary Language

I bought this one based on how much I loved Suspect by Robert Crais. Hostage is good, but doesn't compare. What turned me off from the beginning was the unnecessary use of GD and other over the top bad language ALL THE TIME in this book, and by the GOOD GUYS. I listened to the end, and now that it's over I still feel kind of cheated, not satisfied like I usually do after finishing a really good book.

Really held my attention and interest

When I started listening I was a little skeptical and thought I knew what the book would be about. Much to my delight, the author added more dimension than I expected and by the time I hit the second half of the book I was fully addicted. I will definitely look for other offerings by this author.

Good, but the Ending is Without Suspense or Climax

I liked this book until the ending. . . then it was so anti climactic there was hardly a need to finish listening to the last 45 minutes. Too bad, because it had great potential and good narration. The story built and built and then just collapsed on itself with predictable events that made for an oh so happy ending. Too, too bad. Three stars at best.

Good suspense!

This book was well worth the time and credit. I got it because I enjoyed a later book by this author. Plus James Daniels is a favorite narrator. All in all a good book.

Well worth the credit

This book kept my interest all the way thru, I was really into it so much that I finished it in one day..it kept me in suspense till the end, I would recommend you get it..

very good listen

this was my first audible book through amazon. the person reading spoke at a good pace and articulately. the story was suspenseful and the time went quickly.

Entertaining Hostage Thriller

As a disillusioned ex hostage negotiator struggles with family issues, Jeff Talley has taken the position of a small town sheriff thinking this will get him away from the crisis and pressures he endured in his last job. Unfortunately, this is short lived after a robbery gone wrong put three felons in the home of an accountant and his two children. What follows is a well paced listen which explores the motives of the hostage takes, Talley, and the siblings who are caught up in the situation. Throw in a mob connection, a twist toward the end, and you have a decent listen from Audible available from the Plus Catalog.

James Daniels does a fine job with the telling and the overall listening experience does peak the interest in looking up other works by Robert Crais.

Ridiculously overuse of foul language

Overall this is probably a good story. My challenge is that it is impossible to stay with it with the overuse language. It feels lazily written or lack of editing. There are so many other more efficient ways to demonstrate characters feelings and character development than having them swear constantly. For me - I lose the opportunity to escape into a good story when constantly jarred out of the scene with the language.