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

Leave go. It's the little things

Nobody says, "Leave go of me." In this book, everybody does. Why? It just sounds silly and distracts from the story.

Great listen...wanted more

What made the experience of listening to Hostage the most enjoyable?

Fast pace and not knowing what was coming next.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hostage?

When the fake FBI arrived on the scene and at the hotel, it was like watching Client Eastwood corner the bad guy...there was no way out for them.

What does James Daniels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice was real you could picture yourself at the theater watching it on the big screen. He really brought the characters to life.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending...when he was able to share with his wife something that had bottled up inside of him and he would not release to anyone!

Any additional comments?

It's worth the credit, you will not be disappointed.

Good story

Glocks don’t have safeties. Otherwise a good story that I enjoyed in my car. Thanks.

Gripping

This book gets you and you can not stop listening. One of my favorites and I encourage all to listen . Job well done

It's not Suspect

I have listened to a few Crais novels. Suspect was very good. The Two Minute Rule was good. The first three Elvis Cole novels were bad. Hostage sits somewhere behind The Two Minute Rule. It's alright but not much more. The overlay of too many improbable stressors and the paper thin bad guys doom the book from being much more than ok pulp. The last Lehane book I read, A Drink Before War, was probably better although still not good. The writing was better but the story wandered. Here the writing isn't as good but the story while not good doesn't wander.

Intense !

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this, I was on pens and needles. I couldn't focus on my day to day.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hostage?

There were several moments, one in particular was the negotiation over the zip disks.

What does James Daniels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Suspense

Any additional comments?

Excellent listen. My attention definitely captivated with the narrator's voice. Excellent way to spend my credit :)

who's in charge

a good story, easy to follow. and believable. made you wonder what will happen.

SO GOOD!

This had me on the edge of my seat the entire ride. I’m surprised it was free. I couldn’t turn it off. I truly felt like I was there experiencing every second described by the author. Highly recommend. Narrator was superb!!

So many twists!

There is so many twists to the story I almost got dizzy but the narration and the performance was done so well it was fun to see how it was going to end I am looking forward to reading more of this author

Highly recommend

Author does a great job providing so many different vantage points on the same situation. Chapters are even titled with the persons perspective so there’s no confusion. Plot twists galore so it’s not your typical suspense.