The Hostage Book

An intelligent action thriller, Hostage is the first novel by Duncan Falconer, formerly of the British Special Boat Service and British counter-intelligence in Northern Ireland. Unsurprisingly, he writes about what he knows and, more surprisingly, does so rather well. An SBS group running surveillance and similar operations become aware that they have been betrayed when one of their number is kidnapped--the search is on for a mole. The subsequent abduction of an American officer is part of a complex plan to inflict horrific damage on London. This is defeated less by the prowess of Falconer's paragon hero than by teamwork and legwork, convincingly portrayed. Falconer has a propagandistic, but nonetheless subtle, sense of how religion and ethnicity can be used to distort loyalty. He is unusually interested in, and sympathetic to, the traitor whose identity he reveals early on so that he can explore his psychology. This is a book that relies less than one might expect on the author's training and special knowledge, crucial to it though these are, and rather more on carefully blocked scenes of action and a degree of real thoughtfulness--villains whose absolute evil potentially renders them cardboard are given some complexity and understanding. --Roz KaveneyRead More