Hostage

Rating:
Summary: An exciting thriller
Review: Robert Crais' "Hostage" is a stand alone thriller that at first glance, didn't seem like it could hold my interest because the action occurs over one night. But Crais does a masterful job of creating enjoyable characters and injecting enough twists to carry the novel through the slow middle parts.

The action begins with losers Kevin, Dennis and Mars deciding to rob a convinience store in the suburbs. The robbery goes bad and a man is shot and on the getaway the car breaks down, forcing the thugs to escape through a ritzy neighborhood on foot. They plan to steal a car and make their getaway but the police are on their tail. Before they can escape, the police have them trapped. Dennis, the older brother and the leader, Kevin, the younger brother who really is an okay kid if it weren't for the influence of Dennis, and the loner Mars are all trapped in a house and they hold the Smith family hostage.

Jeff Talley, chief of police, is called to the scene. Talley has experience in these situations as a hostage negotiator. One bad experience forced him to quit the SWAT team and caused him to lose his family. Now he has to overcome his fears to ensure the safety of the family inside the house.

The novel seems pretty straight forward up to this point when Crais throws in a new plot twist. George Smith, one of the hostages, is an accountant for the Mafia with evidence that would incrimate families in LA and NY. The mafia then takes steps to ensure none of the evidence reaches the police.

The story moves back and forth between the point of view of Talley, the mafia, the hostages and Dennis and Kevin. Crais does a great job with the characters of Dennis and Kevin. You really can understand why Dennis has turned to crime and why Kevin is following him. Mars is an intriguing character (almost comical when listening to the audio book) whose motives are much more sinister than they appear.

The ending is satisfying and expected. I'll definitely look into more Crais novels.

Rating:
Summary: Intense! This crime novel is hard to put down....
Review: Set in suburban Southern Calif. Jeff Talley is Chief of Police, former LAPD SWAT negotiator, trying to forget ghosts of the past. He is forced back into action as a situation develops in his normally quiet high-class little town outside of L.A. Three small time punks rob a mini-mart, the owner ends up dead, and the robbers take off, to be left stranded by a disabled vehicle. They take cover in a large home in an affluent neighborhood, where they take a family hostage, a father and his two children. They pick the wrong house to take refuge in. As the story unfolds we see that others are interested in what could be found in that house and what lengths they will go to, to protect their secrets from surfacing. This is my first time to read Robert Crais. I think he is very good. Reminds me of James Patterson in that his chapters are short and intense. His characters are totally believable. He keeps the reader involved, with Talley, the punks and the hostages. Something keeps happening in each chapter to make you want to turn the next page. I read it in two sittings, and will definitely be looking at his previous novels.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't measure up to Crais' earlier works
Review: This police thriller succeeds because of sheer drama and sustained tension, but the characters are not very multi-dimensional. And readers who love the wonderful humor of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in Crais' other books won't find it here; the characters and style are different in this book. Jeff Talley, the central character, has made himself emotionally numb after failing to save the life of a child hostage. He's separated from his wife and daughter and unable to cross the chasm between them and him. He's created a life in which, because he is so overqualified for his job as a small-town police chief, he can succeed without much effort. This book is about the series of events that forces him to come to terms with his past and his present. The story develops with tremendous reliance on coincidence, luck and the stupidity of the many and various bad guys, and thus is a little predictable. That said, don't let the nit-picking of this review or others stop you from reading "Hostage" if you are a big Crais fan or if you like hardcore police procedurals and suspense thrillers. Despite my complaints, I was disappointed when I finished this book, but only because I wasn't ready for it to end yet. It isn't great literature, but it's a great way to spend the hours it takes to read it.