This was such an interesting and thrilling ride thoroughly enjoyed it, I kept reading it in one session as it was such a roller coaster of a ride.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Another cracking read from the author. Thoroughly enjoyed the tension and action. A good plot that keeps you hooked.

The premise for this is relatively simple, Jermone wakes up with guns in his face, his wife is kidnapped and he needs to steal $50 million from the company he and his wife Alecia work for, to ensure the safe return.
What follows is a mad crazy full on action chase, where Jermone tries to do everything he is asked by the kidnappers, but also tries to find his wife, there is nothing he wont do for her.
This is good as the things he is asked to do take him to the very darkest murkiest corners committing acts he never thought he was capable of.
This is the first of Johns book's ive read, and i really enjoyed the pace and writing style, I didnt want to put it down, and despite being quite dark, the love between Jermone and Alecia shone throughout and the characterisation of those two in particular made it feel more real.

What a ride. I loved this book so much. From the trilling start to the twisted end, this story is based on a run and rescue and blackmail and what not you can think of. The rush of adrenaline grew so much on me while reading this story. I got captivated from the first chapter and really wanted to see where the author is taking this story. I had my theories earlier in the book but I was so wrong, nothing was adding up as I was expecting and I was so surprised by that ending. Perfect storyline overall.

Yet another explosive thriller from the authors imagination. A standalone book that delves into the mindset of a man put into a corner in order to save his wife. A man who never strays from the path of truth and honesty. Yet he’s a man on a mission , to save his wife and bring down the bad guys. The action starts from the first page and only gets more intense as the plot unfolds. The tension mounts with every new step the villains make . The character of Jerome comes across as the guy next door who shares his tools with the neighbours ,quiet , unassuming and forgettable. Yet cross him and be dammed because he will find you and hurt you . In fact someone you need when your back is against the wall . If you enjoy the movie franchise Taken then this is the perfect book for you. If you are a fan of all out action thrillers , that pump adrenaline at every full stop then go out and buy it too.

This was a thriller that kept me engrossed and wanting to keep reading the next chapter. This is a great way to read books, and there are only a few authors I know that get me to do this.

The book starts off as a fairly straightforward thriller, and as you keep reading you think you know where it's going, when there is a flip and part of the story is resolved at a time you don't expect, and then builds the pace up to the finale. It reminds me of how some of the early series of the TV show 24 in that the story was typically flipped to keep you in suspense.

As a reader I loved this book, and will be keeping my eye out for future books by the author.

I was provided a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for my honest review.

Jerome has a good life, a good job and a beloved wife. Everything changes one night when he is woken up to masked men in his home kidnapping his wife, Alicia. Jerome has one chance to get Alicia back unharmed, embezzle money from his employer in exchange for the return of his wife. While Jerome will do anything to get his wife back unharmed, he is also unwilling to betray his job without attempting to gain information into who kidnapped his wife and is attempting to rob his employer. The book is fast paced and kept me guessing from the start. I enjoyed this story. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to John Ryder, and NetGalley and the publishers, for this ARC in exchange for this honest review

Jerome Prentice opened his eyes to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

You get us what we want. Or your wife dies. And we will make it hurt.”

Jerome Prentice is a good guy. Loyal to a fault, he always stays on the right side of the law.

But everything changes the night he is awoken by the sound of masked kidnappers entering his home. Holding him at gunpoint, they drag his beloved wife Alicia out of the house with a promise to kill her if he goes to the police. Their demand: betray the company he’s worked for his entire adult life.

Jerome Prentice really is one of life's good guys. He is very much the underdog just an average guy fighting to save his wife.

They think he’ll do anything to save his wife. But they don’t know that they’re messing with the wrong man. Because Jerome might be a good guy. But betrayal doesn’t come easily to him. And he’s not a man who will go down without a fight.

What’s more, he will hunt the people who’ve taken Alicia to the ends of the earth. And if they’ve hurt even one hair on her head, he’s going to make them pay…

Why a three star, the first half of the book was better than the second half, it became a little, no quite far fetched, over the top, from normal human beings to super human.

It was good pace, but just seemed to be to go downhill.

Three Stars

New York accountant Jerome Prentice’s breath catches when he awakens one night with a gun in his face, another trained on his adored wife, Alicia. The gunmen snatch Alicia and it quickly becomes clear the hostage takers don’t intend to return her until Jerome embezzles fifty million dollars from his employers..

Rather than go to the police, Jerome jumps through hoops to obey the kidnappers’ orders, which results in committing deplorable acts he never thought himself capable. But upon discovering Alicia’s whereabouts, he gives into an overwhelming urge to rescue her despite the obvious risk.

While there’s plenty of action for diehard suspense fans, some may find Ryder’s treatment of parts of those sequences clumsily executed. Likewise, romance fans may find the dialogue between Jerome and Alicia somewhat stilted. Regardless, overall the novel is entertaining, the protagonist cheer-worthy, and I look forward to reading other titles by this author. Much appreciation to NetGalley, Bookouture, and John Ryder for the ARC.

The chapters of this action packed thrill ride alternate between the perspectives of Jerome Prentiss and his wife Alicia. The story opens with Jerome waking in the early hours of the morning to discover that two masked individuals have broken into his house and one of the intruders was waving a gun in Jerome's face. He is forced to watch in horror as the two intruders kidnap Alicia, telling Jerome to wait for further instructions and that there will be consequences if he dares to contact the police. Jerome was one of life's good guys but the people behind Alicia's abduction had obviously forgotten that you should always watch out for the quiet ones. They had seriously underestimated both of their victims guts,tenacity and determination to survive. Whilst Jerome channelled his inner Liam Neeson and began a search for his beloved wife, Alicia was doing everything in her power to stay strong and have faith that her husband would find a way to rescue her, not only from her kidnappers but also from the numerous spiders who had made their homes in the dark corners and crevices of the room where she was being held captive.

But why had the seemingly innocent and ordinary couple been targeted by their tormentors? Who were the kidnappers and what was their endgame? As all thriller readers know,characters are very often not who they appear to be, Jeremy and Alicia came across as a apparently devoted couple but was there more to one or both of them than met the eye?

I love reading thrillers in which ordinary people find themselves caught up in situations which push them to their limits and are packed full of action, danger and intrigue. If you are like me and enjoy reading books by author's such as Simon Kernick, T.M.Logan and Richard Parker then I guarantee that you will love The Hostage as much as I did. It's a fast paced, breath taking roller coaster ride that hooks you in from the first page and keeps you captivated as the story rockets along through the various plot twists and turns. The story doesn't have a very large cast of characters but the individuals who do appear are realistic and believable. This is the first book that I have read that was written by this author and it most definitely will not be my last. A gripping, addictive thriller and very very highly recommended.

After reading this book, I found myself lost and confused. The very idea of Jerome Prentice's wife being kidnapped and held for ransom was an engrossing theme. The kidnappers gave him a timeline and what would happen if he didn't succeed. However, as the talk unfolded about financial and offshore accounts, that completely lost me! I am not and have never been a whiz at math!

All is all, I guess I'm not being fair to John Ryder. I was expecting something along the lines of First Shot, Final Second and Third Kill (those was just very fast paced thrillers). I'm pretty sure there are those who will enjoy this book.

Thank you #NetGalley for providing me with AC of the book!

Jerome and Alicia are law-abiding citizens of New York, hard working and devoted to each other…. Until one night Alicia is kidnapped, forcing Jerome to bend his moral code and do whatever it takes to get his beloved back.

The rollercoaster of this pickle (understatement of the year) that he finds himself in really pushes Jerome to his limits, risking everything to do the kidnappers’ biding. What a man going from mild mannered accountant to criminal mastermind so quickly! Amazing what can happen when your hand is forced.

But I didn’t just get to follow Jerome around trying to get his wife back. I spent time with poor Alicia. Ripped from her bed in the dead of night in nothing more than some silky nightwear and a sleaze ball on site making sure she stayed out and making her feel extremely uncomfortable. I feared for Alicia more and more the longer she’s held, especially with her roommates 🕷🕷 *shudder*

The Hostage is one helluva read that made me catch my breath several times and I didn’t realise I was holding it as the story hit its climax. Ryder’s second standalone transported me into the Prentices’ predicament and got me rooting for this loved up couple right from the off. I didn’t want Jerome to be stripped of all he stands for and I was desperate for the kidnappers to be caught and unmasked. Action packed with tension galore. Loved it!

The Hostage by John Ryder

Powerful first paragraph that gripped and made me wonder just what Jerome Prentice would do to save his wife. Would he steal for her? Kill for her? Just what laws would he be willing to break to keep her safe?

What I liked:
* Jerome: loving husband, intelligent, invested at work, professional, methodical, detail oriented, and more capable than he knows.
* Alicia: Jerome’s wife, lawyer, works for the same company as Jerome, not cowed, willing to do what it takes.
* Ed: Jerome’s best friend, computer guru, called in to help out when Jerome found himself in a tight place.
* The idea for the plot
* The twist at the end
* Finding out who was beHhind the kidnapping and pressure put on Jerome
* That the hero and his wife came out okay at the end of the story

What I didn’t like:
* The bad guys and what they were trying to do
* That I couldn’t invest myself in the nitty gritty details of the story...the financial stuff went over my head and held little interest for me...so the book in that section dragged
* I felt it was not as believable as it could have been and had some difficulty investing in the characters and outcome as a result

Did I enjoy this book? It was okay but I enjoyed the author’s previous books read much more
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

Not all accountants are boring.....
This is quite an unusual thriller. It is well paced and just the right length.
A little twee sometimes (even the bad guys aren't always that bad) but the characters (Especially Jerome) are likable enough to have you rooting for them all the way through.
A good investment in weekend reading.

' The Hostage' by John Ryder was a thrilling ride for sure. This is the first book that I have read by this author and the author's work definitely goes on my list of To be read.

Jerome and Alicia are a loving married couple working in the same company, ' Beck Holdings'. One night they are woken up from their bed and Alicia is kidnapped with instructions to Jerome to steal 50 million dollars from the company account.
Jerome is known to be a very conscientious and honest accountant. Would he go against his innate nature of honesty to steal for his wife's life? Read the book and know what he decides to do.

It's been a long time since I read a story of this kind. It was almost a how journey rather than a who why or how journey and boy does the journey keep you on your toes? The story is written well with lots of suspense. For me I felt that it got a bit dragged in between but to all those who like technicalities of chases would enjoy it.

I liked and enjoyed the book. If you love to read the how's and get a glimpse into the hard core chases n fights then this book is for you.

I thank Bookouture and Netgalley for approving my request to read this book and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

Fast-paced action packed story. Slightly unbelievable and unrealistic but a great fun read. I read it in just a few hours.

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.

Jerome wakes up and is being told to do what they want or his wife, Alicia pays the price. So he quietly waked up his wife and tells her what is going on. The wife is kidnapped and Jerome is on his own to get the millions that are asked of him. Jerome loves his wife very much and will do anything to get her back. He contacts a friend, who he trusts and is computer savvy, to help him. He knows he can't go to the police or his wife dies.
Jerome decides to also find his wife and rescue her.
Meanwhile he has to go to work to set up what needs to be done.
As he goes to try to find his wife, he also finds out who the kidnappers are and is surprised by one of them.
I thought this was action packed and fast pacing. For some reason I thought maybe one of the spouses was behind all this and then I thought maybe Jerome's friend was behind this. As I kept reading I kept waiting for everything to fall into place differently than it did and was surprised at the end.
I highly recommend this book and I received it from Bookouture and NetGalley for review

The Hostage is a action packed crime-mystery-thriller.
The story starts out strong….woken up in bed with scary men holding guns staring at you and your wife……what’s going on?
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book started out quite good but then for me it took a turn that I didn't like. Too much technology. Too much about the job. Just a bit too much for me. I liked the story but some of it was just too much. While this couple truly do love each other and will do anything, including steal from Jerome's company to save his wife, Alicia's life. All the details were a bit much. And his best friend lying was a bit over the top for me. While I understand that it is a story and that the best friend part was vital to the story it was just the principal of the thing. Best friends don't lie to each other no matter what. And the probability that Jerome's best friend was what he was sure was a coincidence. While I did like the story from Alicia's pov the parts from Jerome were a bit boring to me.
Waking up with a gun pointed to you is not a good way to awaken. Taking his wife right then and there not even allowing her to change clothes was just mean. I think they would have at least taken a change of cloths to reinforce their reasons for this whole thing. Even though that was a lie too.
Jerome's boss seemed to be a bit much too. At first. The way Jerome handled him in the first meeting was a bit out there for me. I guess I expected the man to fire him. Glad he didn't though. Although I don't believe Jerome would have taken that chance. His wife's life was on the line for goodness sakes.

I'm sorry but this book just didn't do it for me. I found it to be unbelievable in so many parts. A man who never breaks a law all of a sudden is ripping off a stranger. Stealing from his job. Taking down someone. Possibly solving this all on his own. I just didn't enjoy it.

Thank you #NetGalley, #JohnRyder, #Bookouture for this arc. This is my own true feelings about this book.

2.5/5 stars. I recommend you read it for yourself as you may love it. Or at the very least like it. It just wasn't for me.

If desperate times call for desperate measures, then I'm free to act as desperately as I wish. These words by Shakespeare sum up this thrilling book by John Ryder. Jerome Prentice and his wife Alicia were accosted. However, they let Jerome go and kept Alicia. In fact, they kept her in stark fear. Why did they let Jerome go?

The kidnappers are certain of one thing. Jerome will go to the ends of the earth to get Alicia back. They were right. Jerome may have been a law-abiding citizen his entire life, but that changes when Alicia was taken right before his eyes.

The kidnapper's demands are murky, leading Jerome down many a dark path while he strives to get Alicia back safely. But, he follows the instructions the best he can until he has had enough. He will get Alicia back - and by any means necessary. Actually, from the outset, this is exactly what the kidnappers told Alicia. They said to her: "You sell your husband short. He's not one hundred percent the man you think he is. You may think he's lily-white, but his hands are far dirtier than you think. Than perhaps even he realizes. You and he have been deliberately selected."

Alicia is terrified. Jerome is terrified. Who are the kidnappers and what do they want? What do they mean when they say that Jerome is not the man Alicia thinks he is? What do they have in mind and why is it that this couple is part of their nefarious plans?

What a thrilling book! Imagine being woken from a deep sleep. Guns pointed at you. In this case, a gun pointed at Jerome. A gun pointed at Alicia. Instructions given at the outset, and that included no police involvement. Jerome became a desperate man. A man desperate to save his wife. A man desperate enough to take any action imagined or unimagined as long as it meant one day soon having Alicia in his arms again.

While this story was fast-paced with an uncertain conclusion, one thing rang clear - Jerome and Alicia loved each other beyond words - and it was that love that gave them strength as they found their way back to one another. Factor in their strong bond and the actions Jerome took, and this exciting story came to a thrilling conclusion.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.