Hostage

When I opened this book I thought it was just another thriller by a Swedish bestselling writer with a familiar theme of terrorism and aircraft and which seemed far too long at 486 pages.

It was not. Thriller, Swedish and bestselling yes, but familiar? And far too long? No padding in this novel and its theme and pace break new barriers.

It is the fourth in the series, but having come new to it, this was no drawback. It didn’t take long to be fully in the picture and a tense and scary picture it is. Kristina Ohlsson was until recently a Counter-Terrorism officer, and has worked at the Swedish Security Service, their Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Defence.

Flight 573 has taken off from Stockholm for New York with 400 passengers and a message found on board warns the pilot that there is a bomb on board. If the aircraft lands it will explode unless certain demands are met. The Swedish government must revoke its decision to deport Zakaria Khelifi, an asylum seeker who had come to Sweden from Algeria in 2008. There is another condition too, both of which present major obstacles for the international governments and security organisations of the countries involved. The main burden falls on Sweden however, where the case is handled by the brilliant and glamorous Eden Lundell, of the counter-terrorism unit. She works with the Police Superintendent Alex Recht and Fredrika Bergman, both established in the author’s earlier novels in this series.

The twists and turns of this complex and powerful plot are mind-boggling, as the action moves to and fro from the aircraft to the security personnel and the unravelling of the background to the story – all the while with the knowledge that time is running out for Flight

Translated by Marlaine Delargy