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Kidnapped: The true story of my captivity in Iran. A terrifying and redemptive memoir
What happens when the life you love is ripped away?A real-life memoir from international bestselling author Linda DaviesShe was a bestselling author whose thrillers are celebrated by The New York Times, The Washington Post and Vanity Fair. Strong, independent and accomplished, she lived a happy life she had worked hard to build. But on a fateful day she was thrown into a situation that could have been ripped from one of her own books.
She was on the maiden voyage of her new catamaran alongside her husband when the boat’s captain unknowingly sailed into sharply contested waters off the coast of Iran. Within minutes, a dozen heavily armed Iranian marines stormed the boat and took them prisoner. Over the next two weeks, Linda was held hostage by one of the most feared regimes in the world, separated from her 3 young children, terrified for her life, with no reason to expect anything but the worst.
In this riveting book, she tells the story of her kidnap, interrogation and imprisonment in candid and shocking detail. With clarity and black humour, Davies pulls back to layers to reveal not only the physical hardships she endured but the harrowing psychological path she took to understand who she truly was when everything has been taken away.
Praise for Linda Davies’ best-selling “Page turner.” Vanity Fair“Fast and suspenseful.” Cosmopolitan“Fabulous characters.” The New York Times
She was on the maiden voyage of her new catamaran alongside her husband when the boat’s captain unknowingly sailed into sharply contested waters off the coast of Iran. Within minutes, a dozen heavily armed Iranian marines stormed the boat and took them prisoner. Over the next two weeks, Linda was held hostage by one of the most feared regimes in the world, separated from her 3 young children, terrified for her life, with no reason to expect anything but the worst.
In this riveting book, she tells the story of her kidnap, interrogation and imprisonment in candid and shocking detail. With clarity and black humour, Davies pulls back to layers to reveal not only the physical hardships she endured but the harrowing psychological path she took to understand who she truly was when everything has been taken away.
Praise for Linda Davies’ best-selling “Page turner.” Vanity Fair“Fast and suspenseful.” Cosmopolitan“Fabulous characters.” The New York Times
181 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2020
45 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Linda Davies
20 books83 followersWith the publication of her debut novel, Nest of Vipers, a book that would become a celebrated international bestseller, Linda Davies launched a new genre and a new career. But long before the global book deals and stellar reviews in the New York Times, Linda was logging 80 hour work weeks as one of the first women investment bankers in the City of London. At nights and weekends, she’d squeeze in time working on her first novel.
Born in Scotland and raised in South Wales, Linda inhaled books as child and dreamed of becoming a writer. But she was the daughter of an economist and a homemaker, and therefore, raised to be practical. So she went into investment banking instead. For the next eight years she worked in the City of London where she saved her running away money. One day, to her horror, she figured out a way to commit the perfect financial crime. After considering it for 3 seconds, she opted to instead write a novel about it.
18 months later, she decided to confront reality and test whether it really had been wise to give up her day job. She pitched her book to an agent... A week later he presented her with a stunning book deal that would see Nest of Vipers published in over 30 territories and optioned by MGM Studios. Since publishing Nest of Vipers, Linda Davies has gone on to publish twelve more books, seven for adults and five for children, which collectively have sold millions of copies and won various awards.
She has lived in Peru and the Middle East with her husband and three children. In 2005, in what could have been ripped from the pages of her own books, she and her husband were kidnapped, interrogated and held prisoner in Iran. She went on to write about this experience and what she learned from it in her first work of non-fiction, Kidnapped: The true story of my captivity in Iran.
Linda’s fast-paced page turners explore risk, identity, temptation and who we really are, when the things we value most have been taken away.
Born in Scotland and raised in South Wales, Linda inhaled books as child and dreamed of becoming a writer. But she was the daughter of an economist and a homemaker, and therefore, raised to be practical. So she went into investment banking instead. For the next eight years she worked in the City of London where she saved her running away money. One day, to her horror, she figured out a way to commit the perfect financial crime. After considering it for 3 seconds, she opted to instead write a novel about it.
18 months later, she decided to confront reality and test whether it really had been wise to give up her day job. She pitched her book to an agent... A week later he presented her with a stunning book deal that would see Nest of Vipers published in over 30 territories and optioned by MGM Studios. Since publishing Nest of Vipers, Linda Davies has gone on to publish twelve more books, seven for adults and five for children, which collectively have sold millions of copies and won various awards.
She has lived in Peru and the Middle East with her husband and three children. In 2005, in what could have been ripped from the pages of her own books, she and her husband were kidnapped, interrogated and held prisoner in Iran. She went on to write about this experience and what she learned from it in her first work of non-fiction, Kidnapped: The true story of my captivity in Iran.
Linda’s fast-paced page turners explore risk, identity, temptation and who we really are, when the things we value most have been taken away.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 26, 2020
This is a short, punchy and evocative memoir of a brief but terrifying ordeal. I couldn’t put it down.
Davies’ bravery and focus under pressure is remarkable, and her account is shot through with unpretentious candour, black humour, and wry observation of human nature (both Western and Iranian). The life lessons she draws from this terrifying experience are both memorable and inspiring.
Told in a fresh, direct and easy style, this book moves quickly and makes for a short, absorbing evening’s read which will keep you thinking (and thanking your lucky stars) long afterwards.
My favourite bit: Postscript Two, “Did we get our boat back?” A glorious rumination on the many excuses an insurance company can throw at you... Even after you’ve survived a hostile kidnap attempt...
Davies’ bravery and focus under pressure is remarkable, and her account is shot through with unpretentious candour, black humour, and wry observation of human nature (both Western and Iranian). The life lessons she draws from this terrifying experience are both memorable and inspiring.
Told in a fresh, direct and easy style, this book moves quickly and makes for a short, absorbing evening’s read which will keep you thinking (and thanking your lucky stars) long afterwards.
My favourite bit: Postscript Two, “Did we get our boat back?” A glorious rumination on the many excuses an insurance company can throw at you... Even after you’ve survived a hostile kidnap attempt...
Displaying 1 of 1 review