2 out of 4 stars
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Innocent Hostage by Vonnie Hughes is a book in the romantic thriller genre. It follows the story of Breck Marchant and Ingrid Rowland, as they team up to shield four-year old Kit, from the seemingly unpredictable and dangerous actions of his mother.
Breck genuinely believed that his son, Kit, would be better off staying with his wife, Tania, post their divorce. He was convinced that his own childhood, largely devoid of affection and loaded with unreasonable expectations, did not prepare him for being a single parent. Persuaded by his ex-wife, he handed over his son completely to her, only to find his son a hostage in the hands of his ex-wife’s current husband two years later. Though he manages to rescue his son, he realizes too late, that Tania and her present husband have treated Kit cruelly and used him to bleed Breck dry in the name of child support.
Now, Tania has disappeared without a trace and Breck has to face up to his fear of parenthood alone. In this frightening scenario, Ingrid, Kit’s preschool teacher, steps in to help Breck and protect Kit. Before things could normalize, however, suspicious circumstances unfold, hinting that danger is just about to erupt again, and this time a rescue might not be possible.
The author has sketched pretty likeable characters in Breck and Ingrid. The story is set in New Zealand. Breck had a troubled childhood courtesy his parents, noted academicians, treating him like their guinea pig. Consequently, he becomes a cop and joins the Armed Offender’s Squad instead of following in their footsteps. Ingrid has an unhappy relationship with her parents as well. As Kit’s preschool teacher, her concern for the emotionally bruised child, throws her in Breck’s path, and forces them to work together.
The author skillfully navigates to and fro between their individual struggles. How Breck gradually assumes the role of father, is willing to sacrifice his ambition for his son and tries to overcome his under-confidence in his abilities, is heartening to read. Ingrid’s troubles in running her pre-school and how she balances between teaching and administrative hurdles, is surprisingly quite relatable. The author interestingly develops the slow paced romance between these two characters and how they face their personal demons.
The problem begins when this steady narrative is burdened with needless over-plotting. The careless ex-wife transforms into dangerous criminal on rampage, with an unreasonable vendetta against Ingrid. Another fact that didn’t sit down well with me was Ingrid’s, often discriminatory, over-concern for Kit. The plot twists seem illogical and as a whole the plotline is a bit hard to digest.
I wish the author had conceptualized this story as a romantic novel or something similar, and avoided dumping the thriller element on a potentially good plot. I wanted to rate this book two and half stars, but since that’s not possible I’ll settle for 2 out of 4 stars.
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Innocent Hostage
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