ELEVEN HOURS.

ELEVEN HOURS by PAULINA SIMONS.

Didi Wood is nine months pregnant, doing some last-minute shopping before the baby is born. Stepping out of an air-conditioned Dallas shopping mall into the cruel heat of the parking lot, she hears a voice behind her .... and the nightmare begins.

Abducted by an increasingly unstable young man, Didi must endure an epic drive across the Texas plains, heading through the relentless heat towards a destination that only he knows.

Meanwhile, her anguished husband Rich is on the trail with an FBI agent who may or not be as good as he says he is at rescuing hostages.

...... Outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: Didi Wood was walking to the mall from her car when her pregnant belly began to tighten until it felt like a taut basketball.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: He is not Winnie-the-Pooh, and I am not Piglet. This is not the Hundred-Acre Wood. I have to stat right here.

KEEP IT OR NOT?: A charity shop buy, this will certainly be going on our shelves.

Only the other day JENNERS made the comment that as for as my choice of reading material went I seemed to be having more misses than hits of late so I'm delighted to let you all know that this was a hit - a big hit.

I know we are not yet a quarter of the way through 2011 so it's early days yet but I have to say that this has been my favourite read .... so far.

Fast paced, gripping and with lots of twists and turns, Eleven Hours had me engrossed with the fate of Didi from page one, so much so that I couldn't put the book down.

That said, this was not always an easy read and at times, I have to admit, I did find it very dark and, at times, very very disturbing but given the subject matter I suppose that was only to be expected.

With only four main characters (Didi,  her kidnapper, Lyle and 'good guys' Didi's husband, Rich, and FBI agent, Scott Somerville) you really got to know the characters and felt their pain (Scott's to a lesser extent).

Didi's desire for a drink had my mouth dry and her growing fear, my heart hammering in my chest. As for Lyle, my favourite character, you felt him growing more and more sinister by the chapter, his actions becoming increasingly desperate, and yet despite his horrendous actions there were times I actually felt a little sorry for him. Rich and Scott we did not get to know so well but I could easily imagine the lack of power Rich must have felt in being unable to do much to aid his wife and as yet un-born child.

As for FBI agent Scott - the one weak link in the story, we never really got to know his story and I don't think he really grew as a character though his growing realisation that this was actually about saving the victim and not about capturing the bad guy was interesting. Not a realistic character to me, I'm pretty sure that no FBI agent would allow a victims relative to take such an active part in the rescuing of their loved one, he was also a bit of an egotist and, it has to be said, at times, came across as a bit of a Rambo, action man type.

A book that I'm sure men will find just as enjoyable, I will be surprised if this is not made into a film at some stage.

The 25th book in my 100+Reading Challenge and the 4th book in my What's In A Name Reading Challenge (Book with a number in the title category).