Hostage To Murder

Lindsay Gordon #6

by Val McDermid, V.L. McDermid

Spraining an ankle is rarely a stroke of luck, but for Lindsay Gordon, jobless in Glasgow, the injury is her introduction to young freelance journalist Rory McLaren and the opening of a new chapter in her life. Rory’s invitation to work alongside her in her booth at the Cafe Virginia is irresistible. From there it is just a short step to political corruption and other juicy stories–all welcome distractions from Lindsay’s problems at home. But when a local car dealer’s stepson is kidnapped, Lindsay and Rory are invited to trade journalism for detection. The trail leads them to St. Petersburg and a dangerous snatch-back operation that will test Lindsay to her absolute limits. Hostage to Murder, the long-awaited sixth Lindsay Gordon mystery, is a lightning-paced story spliced with crackling action and an intense emotional dimension.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, LGBT, Audiobook, Thriller, Lesbian

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Val McDermid is a No. 1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold over eleven million copies.

She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2010. In 2011 she received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award.

She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just crap. A weak implausible story made worse by a nauseating icky lesbian sub plot. It was real "Pass the Sickbag Alice" stuff.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was another good edition to the series and showed the changes in the lives of the main characters. I hope the author finds time to add to add to this series.

[Jackie Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite a ride through Lindsay Gordon’s person life as well as involved international mysteries and crimes. It is set in Glasgow and sees Lindsay at quite a low although that doesn’t stop her recruiting Team Gordon to rescue abductees and deal with violent terrorists.

I’m as comfortable with reading about lesbian as about heterosexual sex but I’m not comfortable with infidelity as I remember from the first books in the Lindsay Gordon series. So there are some awkward bits as Sophie and Lindsay negotiate the next stage in their relationship with Sophie gainfully employed and Lindsay not.

There is also an unexpected foray into Eastern Europe and onto the sea exploring more about Lindsay’s family than I think we’ve seen before. (Or, I’ve forgotten it if we have.)

I really enjoyed it as I always do Val McDermid’s work. It’s a shame that I am now nearly up to date with all her series. What will I do? (Wrings hands.). I guess I’ll have to wait with the rest of the population for the next book.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt different to the previous books in the series and not really for the better. There was a lot more story around relationships and emotional conflict and at times it felt like I was reading a romance novel and not a crime thriller. I'm not really into romance novels so this just didn't feel as enjoyable.

But it's still worth reading.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series really fell apart once they introduced extreme violence and moved away from murder investigation.

[Ruth Brumby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately I wasn't very gripped, although I remember greatly enjoying this when I first read it. I like the way themes are pointed up by the interleaved stories in McDermid's writing. In this case parenthood, from the points of view of a couple's disagreement over planning for pregnancy, a step-father who risks all for recovering a snatched child, a terrorist who has no children in his marriage and is determined to reclaim his illegitimate son. However I found the characters' relationships to be described in an over-simplistic and sensationalistic style reminiscent of soap opera. I was inclined to turn to 'Visual Methodologies' for a more gripping read, so it clearly wasn't much of a page turner. I think that's partly because I think I was supposed to sympathise with characters whose behaviour annoyed me too much for that to be the case.

[Cloud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another novel where the protagonist cheats on her partner. Wow fam.
I have never come across a genre where cheating is as excused as in lesbian detective fiction. You all can say that fanfiction is trash until you're blue in the face but at least in fanfiction when a character cheats on their partner, there are always very negative consequences up ahead. And fanfiction is free. I can't believe I had to pay for this.

[Kate Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series - the plot was more of a thriller than a detective story and I didn't love where it went with Lindsay's personal life. But I still really liked this series overall and I'm excited to try some of McDermid's other books.

[Judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this book to find out if Sophie gets pregnant; I skipped over the whole kidnapping retrieval plot in Russia just to find that out. Again, I found most of the the characters unlikable, including the protagonist. And the author's view of the world is cynical and unpleasant.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to the series.

[Evander · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. It feels a bit strange to have finished this series as I technically started it in 2013 but didn't read them as often as the Tony & Carol books (which I've not finished yet, mind you). I like the characters but there wasn't a lot of mystery in this one, tbh. A few parts were mildly irritating. I did find it cute that in Rory's poem where she wrote "I love you" in Russian, she got it wrong ("Я тебе люблю" instead of "Я тебя люблю"). I don't know if it was an author error but it fitted as a character error because she wasn't meant to know two words of Russian, haha. The setting in the West End of Glasgow was killing me with nostalgia as I've recently had my years living there on the brain a lot and missing it a lot! I liked Lindsay a lot although she wasn't always the easiest to like (an example from this book was the whole "You knew I was an asshole anyway and it never stopped you loving me" which was meant to be part of an apology for cheating on Sophie) and I'll miss her!

[Sheila · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don’t like Lindsay Gordon as a main character. Rory is a young immature journalist with (also) no redeeming features I could see.

Far fetched story of two journalists who manage to secure the escape of a kidnapped child in Russia. Convenient details enable the situation. And then they broadcast their ‘adventures’ in newsprint and wonder why there are repercussions from the real father, an Irish IRA dissident?

Whisky as a favourite drink of young women? I still say not likely.
Cheating lesbian sub plot is sickening in so many ways. Lindsay wants her cake and to eat it! No remorse. Soap opera with unbelievable carnage that Lindsay apparently gets away with. No forensics?? My last McDermid book I’ll read. Consistently disappointed despite some rave reviews.

[Celia Tuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this as an audio book for £1 on an Audible offer and I’m so glad it didn’t cost any more! I’m now at Chapter 20 and that’s enough. So far the plot is dire and the narration worse with a constant whining tone. There central character comes across as shallow and unsympathetic - her female partner had just slapped her face - and I’d quite like to do that too!

[David]

Perhaps a more unlikely plot than usual, involving snatching back a snatched child, Russia, the IRA, artificial insemination, and baby dykes! McDermid says she hadn't planned o write another Lindsay Gordon story and in some ways it shows. The ending is also at once satisfying and somewhat dubious.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first of the Lindsay Gordon stories I have read (OK, I realise the last one in the series is probably not the best place to start) and I enjoyed it very much - I'll be on the lookout for the others now.

[Jane B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the first Lindsay Gordon book I’ve read and I’ll happily read more. Each of Val’s characters are different , Lindsay is a journalist. It’s a change from reading a story from a police point of view .

[Jan Heppner · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was a lot more story around relationships and emotional conflict and at times it felt like I was reading a romance novel and not a crime thriller. I'm not really into romance novels so this just didn't feel as enjoyable.

[Faron Bloomfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now I’ve finished the Lindsay Gordon series I think this is the end of the road for me and Val’s books. Unfortunately finding the characters, themes and writing very repetitive at this point. This book in particular was a struggle - with numerous references to doing X ‘in spite of herself’.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Val McDermid mystery, Lindsay Gordon is a lesbian detective

[Debby Hallett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lindsay Gordon is self centred and hard for me to like. She’s cheated on each of her lovers, and in this tale she kills two men and gets away with it.

[Nyssy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series was flat to me, usually i look forward to VM's books but this was disappointing. 😕

[Jill Andrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first Lindsay Gordon Read. Disappointed. Found the plot implausible and the main characters downright annoying.

[Karen Kneller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the whole series of Lindsey Gordon am bereft now they're finished!

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of action. Well done Val!!

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Journalist Lindsay Gordon is back in Glasgow and gets caught up in a child kidnapping while personal life gets complicated and for me this distracts from the story. Only 3 stars this time.

[Conrad Toft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing too thrilling with the twists and turns signalled well in advance so no real surprises, but I enjoy the ambiguity and flaws of the main character, Lindsay Gordon.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was too far much focus on personal relationships, to the detriment of the thriller/mystery aspects of the story.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but surprised at the focus of the book being the main character’s love life rather than the crime aspect.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

The crime seemed to take a backseat to the various personal issues of the characters but it was great to see her dad take a starring role in the unlikely escape from Russia by sea

[Christie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't mind some of it - there was a fairly simple and vaguely enjoyable bit of action going on. But the writing was clumsy and the love-life subplot was tedious and took up too many pages.