Hawk O'Toole's Hostage [Paperback]

Sandra Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

From the one and only Sandra Brown comes a searing novel of romantic suspense. . . as a beautiful young mother falls victim to a brazen crime. . . and a seductive captor. . . .

When her divorce was finally granted, Miranda Price thought the worst was behind her.  Now she could get on with her life, far from the public scrutiny and private misery that went along with being Representative Price's wife.  But when Miranda decides to take their young son on a vacation out West, she stumbles into a mother's worst nightmare.  Snatched off a train full of vacationing sightseers, she and her son become the captives of an enigmatic stranger.  Miranda knows she will do anything to save her child. . . even if it means fighting her own treacherous feelings for the man who holds her hostage. . . even if it means facing up to a shocking revelation that will make her question her past, her choices, and the woman she's become.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Published in 1988 when Brown was just another budding romance novelist, and soon out of print, this tale of a kidnapper who falls for his captive is being resuscitated in hardcover.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"No one understands sexual fantasy better than Sandra Brown. . . . Ms. Brown inventively blends a variety of fantasies into the fabric of her very real romance."
--Romantic Times

"Ms. Brown's larger than life heroes and heroines make you believe all the warm, wonderful, wild things in life."
--Rendezvous

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553297511
• ISBN-13: 978-0553297515
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.5 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty New York Times bestsellers, including RAINWATER (2010), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), HELLO, DARKNESS (2003), THE CRUSH (2002), ENVY (2001), THE SWITCH (2000), THE ALIBI (1999), UNSPEAKABLE (1998) and FAT TUESDAY (1997), all of which have jumped onto the Times bestseller list in the number one to five spot.

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program "PM Magazine."

She is much in demand as a speaker and guest television hostess. Her episode on truTV's "Murder by the Book" premiered the series in 2008 and she was one of the launch authors for Investigation Discovery's new series, "Hardcover Mysteries."

In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer's Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An 'okay' read...hero is too unlikeable...., July 8, 2003

By 

Tracy Talley "Book Addict" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hawk O'Toole's Hostage (Paperback)

This is a early book from Ms. Brown and written in the 80's for those out there who were curious. The hero was what made me not like this story as much as I would've.
He was very broody and unlikeable in his manner and personality. I think she was trying to portray him as being very mysterious and lost, but he just came off as mean and illogical.
His whole reason being that his father sold some land for money for the reservation and the people swindled him and closed down a silver mine that the reservation needed. The hero, Hawk, is determined to get it back, even if it means kidnapping a woman and her child to force the hand of the senator.
Hawk is so angry for the plight of his people that he mistreats the woman and pretty much emotionally abuses her simply because she is white. (Mind you, he isn't all Native American and he even went to a big college in the city so the hate doesn't make sense in the scheme of things.)
Miranda the heroine tries to explain to him that she isnt married to the senator any longer and they hate one another, so he wont help her. Hawk doesn't see it that way and continues on the collision course.
Love blooms between the two and they find themselves trying to save the mine and themselves.

It was an okay read, but Hawk's mistrust and downright hate for white people chilled the book to the point of a mutual hate for the hero from the reader. The ending didn't make him any better a person in my eyes and just confirmed my dislike. My sympathies are with Miranda and her son for putting up with the guy.

Tracy Talley~@

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall Okay Book, December 21, 2004

By 

Angel Karmer "SerenaMoon" (GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hawk O'Toole's Hostage (Paperback)

This book is not great but it will keep you reading until the end. The first chapter piques your interest because of the incongruousness of the situation--a group of theives allowed to kidnap a boy from a crowded train because the passengers thought it was a performance. Things like this and the bits of humor throughout keeps you flipping the pages. The shortness of the book helps too, though. I read it in three hours and I don't read all that fast.

Brown captures the love a mother has for her child beautifully. One of my favorite parts was when Miranda said if you have to kill me, don't do it in front of my son. Brown also captures a child's feelings well. How a child can change from happiness (at being kidnapped) to terror because his mother is afraid but then his quick trust (for his captor).

However, I had to deduct the two stars because I really did not like Hawk. He kept humiliating her, forcing himself on her, and taking advantage of the love Miranda had for her child. To get Miranda to comply to everything, Hawk threatened her with taking her child away. Moreover, I could not feel the spark between the two characters or understand how Miranda could fall for him in the first place when he put her child's life in danger.

Better to get this book from the library than to actually buy it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hawk O'Toole's Hostage, April 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hawk O'Toole's Hostage (Paperback)

I've read several of Sandra Brown's romance novels and loved them all. But Hawk O'Toole's Hostage was the best romance novel by far! It wasn't as predictable as all her other books. It had great suspense. It took many unexpected turns. I checked the book out at the library and read it three times before I had to return it. It was too good to put down and I had to reread it to catch tiny bits of the plot I missed the first time. Excellent book! You've got to read it!