“No thriller can be as thrilling as the true story told by Davies.” Edward Jay Epstein, investigative journalist and author
She was a bestselling author whose thrillers are celebrated by the New York Times, The Washington Post and Vanity Fair. Strong, independent and accomplished, she lived a happy life she had worked hard to build. But on a fateful day she was thrown into a situation that could have been ripped from one of her own books.
She was on the maiden voyage of her new catamaran alongside her husband when the boat’s captain unknowingly sailed into sharply contested waters off the coast of Iran. Within minutes, a dozen heavily armed Iranian marines stormed the boat and took them prisoner. Over the next two weeks, Linda was held hostage by one of the most feared regimes in the world, separated from her three young children, terrified for her life, with no reason to expect anything but the worst.
In this riveting book, she tells the story of her kidnap, interrogation and imprisonment in candid and shocking detail. With clarity and black humour, Davies pulls back to layers to reveal not only the physical hardships she endured but the harrowing psychological path she took to understand who she truly was when everything has been taken away.
Read the reviews
“An example of how dangerous even idyllic parts of the world can be… The waiting and fear of the unknown; how hard it is to keep up morale; and how innocent acts can turn dangerous. Even though their captivity was fairly short – two weeks – the effects of the ‘emotional maelstrom’ are evidently long-lasting.”
Professional Security Magazine
“Linda reminds us that despite suffering horrible tragedies that we can and must move on with our lives and learn from our experiences. This memoir is an inspiring and uplifting read.“
The Book Binder’s Daughter
“The story of her imprisonment and harrowing escape, which she has worked so hard in the past to forget, is told in candid and shocking detail. Crackling with tension, it is also laced through with black humor and insight. Iran is perhaps the most hated and least understood country in modern society and Linda’s account gives a rare, illuminating glimpse into the realities of the oppressive regime.”
The Gal in the Blue Mask
I know it’s all going horribly wrong when I see two gunboats approaching at full speed. They are bristling with men wielding Kalashnikovs.
Before they’ve even slowed to a stop in a giant wash of salty waters, armed men leap onto our boat. They are shouting and screaming and gesticulating with their weapons. Anything could happen. By design or accident.
From the Prologue to Kidnapped: A True Story, by Linda Davies
Press coverage of the kidnap
Iran frees British couple after 13-day detention
The Guardian, 11 November 2005
Captured Britons released in Iran
BBC News, 11 November 2005
Straw `very glad’ British couple released by Iran
Payvand Iran News, 11 November 2005
Britons seized at sea and held hostage by Iran
The Daily Mail, 12 November 2005
Writer tells of Iran kidnap ordeal
Wales Online, 12 November 2005
“We set sail on a perfect summer’s morning. Within hours we were in fear of our lives”
Article by Linda Davies for The Daily Telegraph, 12 November 2005
Kidnapped at sea
Article by Linda Davies for The Times, 27 September 2014
A wrong turn in Persian Gulf made me a hostage
The Sunday Express, 5 October 2014
Experience: I was held hostage
Article by Linda Davies for The Guardian, 24 October 2009