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

Wonderful clarity of plot and character

Crais is a craftsman. He melds two parallel plots involving a variety of sharply drawn characters and twines them around a very cleanly conceived and delivered framework based on what seems at first to be a familiar hostage standoff. Along the way we learn a good deal about hostage negotiation techniques, but all the elements are integrated in a way which drives the tension and suspense nonstop to the end. I admire the clarity and detail this author brings to his situations and to the action. His descriptions seem effortless but provide the reader with an excellent sense of being there.

There is not a lot of depth or ambiguity in this work, but it functions extremely well as a straight ahead suspense thriller. In addition James Daniels provides a fine, no nonsense rendering of the story and keeps us oriented during the frequent shifts of character and viewpoint.

Listeners who are looking for Crais' Elvis Cole character should be advised that this book is not a part of that series.

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.

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

Excellent thriller!

This is not one of the Joe Pike series or the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. It is a superb standalone thriller.

I have a new favorite author!!

I really enjoyed this book--and highly recommend! It was well written, had a great, suspenseful story, and had the perfect narrator. I loved the way the story kept switching from character to character for the different perspective--I know this is something I have complained about in other books, but this author did it very clearly and seamlessly, and it kept the plot moving right along. I was thoroughly entertained, and that's why I love to read--

This is the second audiobook I have listened to from this author--the first being Suspect (which I loved!)--and I can't wait to see what else he has to offer!!

miles away from Elvis

This book is tense, with a kind of sharp edge all the way through. If that makes any sense. The Elvis books include humor and some "tongue in cheek" attitude within stories that may be very tense and violent in places. For me this book was a lot like "Cujo" by Stephen King. Very often I would need to put the book down and walk around for a while before I went back to it. Not a book I would want to read (or listen to) at night before going to sleep.
In a way, it kind of feels like the book was written to become a movie.

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

Great Thriller, Wish I'd Read Before I saw Movie

I saw the movie and loved the story, but that was years ago. i didnt realize this when i purchased the book. Right away the first chapters jogged my memory. its one of those instances where the movie stayed true to the book, It took alot of the suspense out of the experience. Nevertheless I enjoyed listening and feel certain you will too.

The sherrif is the main character, a man who knows success, but is haunted by past tragedy and is fearful of responsibility under fire. Hence he takes a job in a posh, bedroom community where the worst crime is the occasional shop lifter.

When an impulsive, poorly planned convenient store robbery goes wrong, life spirals out of control for the perpetrators, the sherrif, and the town itself.

An easy 4 star listen.

Surprisingly entertaining.

Would you consider the audio edition of Hostage to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version, but found the audio version to be wonderful. I loved the narrator. His voice is not craggy or accented. His reading is clear and not marred by mispronunciation. I was hooked from the very beginning.

Which scene was your favorite?

This book is full of excitement and surprises.

Any additional comments?

This is my first book by Robert Crais. I was drawn in almost immediately. I really cared about the main character. The plot has turns that were truly surprising. Nothing was really over the top. Great story. Hope to read more by this author.