Hostage [Paperback]

R.D. Zimmerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1998

Todd Mills is getting ready for the coup of his career: an exclusive interview with right-wing congressman Johnny Clariton, whose positions against gay rights and AIDS research promise to make his appearance with Minneapolis's only openly gay journalist an explosive television event. Things are also getting pleasantly serious between Todd and Steve Rawlins, although Rawlins' grieving over the recent end of his closest friend's long struggle with AIDS is beginning to take its physical toll on the police detective.

Coup turns to chaos, and grief to despair, when Todd's interview ends with the Congressman abducted by gun-wielding kidnappers--and a tragic discovery puts an unsuspecting Rawlins on the trail of the abductors, a trio of unlikely domestic terrorists in the final stages of AIDS, willing to risk what's left of their lives to give violent expression to their desperate AIDS rage. Their goal: to make the world know what it's like to live--and die--with AIDS. Their weapons: a Congressman, a video camera, and a syringe full of HIV-infected blood. Their conduit to the global viewing audience: Todd Mills, who knows more about their plans--and has more at stake--than he first realizes.

Unsettling, unpredictable and unapologetic in its dramatization of such hot-button issues as right-wing hypocrisy, AIDS activism, HIV infection and assisted suicide, Hostage is Zimmerman's darkest and most suspenseful tale yet, a bold step forward for this acclaimed series.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When two men and one woman suffering from AIDS kidnap an antigay U.S. congressman in Minneapolis and threaten to inject him with the virus, they unwittingly thrust an enterprising gay television reporter into the limelight. On the scene during the kidnapping, Todd Mills (recently seen in Tribe, Dell, 1996) shows his mettle in the ensuing media frenzy. He is further tested when his detective lover, Steve Rawlins, goes missing and then finds himself caught up with the kidnappers. Nitty-gritty details and a credible and fast-moving story; recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Desperate to dramatize the plight of AIDS victims and furious at homophobic Congressman Johnny Clariton--whose presidential speeches, identifying AIDS as a punishment for immoral behavior, are calling for a moratorium on government assistance for AIDS sufferers and research into a possible cure- -three friends in the terminal stages of the illness kidnap the Congressman from a fund-raiser, planning to videotape themselves as they tell him how they contracted the HIV virus and guarantee his sympathy for AIDS research by injecting him with their blood before they turn him loose. Since they don't plan to hold him more than a short time in their undetectable hideout and they're not making any demands (except on detestable Clariton), the plan seems foolproof--and it would be if (1) one of the witnesses to the abduction, uncloseted WLAK reporter Todd Mills, already the toast of the Twin Cities, hadn't roused himself from his shock and grief over his current lover's infection to notice some telltale clues to the kidnappers' whereabouts, and (2) the last stages of AIDS hadn't left the would-be terrorists, running on adrenaline and rage, so pitiably weak. Veteran Zimmerman (Red Trance, 1994, etc.), as if knowing this high-concept snatch has nowhere to go, punches up Mills's hardcover debut with such ferocity and horrific physical detail that it transcends its pulpish story to become a full-throated howl of anger and pain. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Delta (September 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385318928
• ISBN-13: 978-0385318921
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,097,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, Compelling Mystery!, January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hostage (Todd Mills Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is a great novel. The action was fast-paced and the story was compelling. This was not a cut-and-dry who-done-it because Zimmerman crafted this story in a morally ambiguous area. AIDS is such a polarizing force in our society, yet Zimmerman finds the gray area and expolits it. More so than solving the crime, I found myself asking "Are these people right?"... That, I believe, is the true testament to Zimmerman's craftsmanship. A must read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a good beach mystery, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hostage (Todd Mills Mysteries) (Hardcover)

After reading Closet and Tribe I was excited to see a new book by Mr. Zimmerman featuring gay newscaster Todd Mills. Although, this mystery follows the earlier high standards of the earlier works it is much darker. My disappointment could have been due to the fact that I purchased this as one of my "read at the beach" books and it was more emotionally based than I expected. Even though I was disappointed I would still recommend it to friends.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good novel on a hard topic, May 25, 2001

By 

"govt_atty" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hostage (Paperback)

Although this is not Zimmerman's first novel in the Todd Mills series, it was the first one of his I read. And I think it was a good choice for my first one.

Todd Mills is a gay TV reporter who is still adjusting to being out. He's currently seeing a studly cop named Steve, and life seems to be going well for the both of them. Then during an interview between Todd and a congressman who loves to rant and rave his anti-gay agenca, everything changes. A small group of young people with AIDS became tired of his yelling, and kidnapped the congressman during the interview. Todd's now on the case. But that's not all - something's wrong with Steve, and he later disappears as well.

Zimmerman makes an interesting tale through his vivid descriptions of the conflict between groups when the anti-gay banner is waved, the impact of AIDS on relationships with family and friends, and the continued questions facing the recently outed.