Top 16 Books About Stockholm Syndrome Updated 04 /2024

Kidnapping must be one of the most terrifying crimes anyone has ever had to deal with, right? As with other violent crimes, kidnapping isn't over in a few minutes or hours. It can be a long-term celebration of stress, abuse, and staring into the abyss. And yet, Stockholm Syndrome, where the victims of a kidnapping identify with, and even start to like, their captors, is a real thing, too.

As with most things, the Stockholm Syndrome has been used by writers, and sometimes to surprising effect. Here are six books about kidnappings that turn into something else.

Stolen, by Lucy Christopher

Stolen is a disturbing book even though it's written in the second person and aimed at young people. He drugged her and took her away from the airport. She woke up tied to a bed in a desert wasteland. There's no way for her to get in touch with the outside world, and Ty looks like he's having a bad day. Even so, he's also kind to her in his own way. He's honest and open and emotional. Christopher makes a great decision: even if Gemma overpowers Ty and runs away, she's likely to die before she can get help. This is why she has to stay and learn how to live with her captor instead of fleeing and resisting. It will be hard for the reader to figure out at the end what kind of story this is.

The Good Girl, by Mary Kubica

A twisty plot like Gone Girl on steroids makes The Good Girl a lot more than a story about a woman who falls in love with her captor. This is how it started: Mia was kidnapped by someone who has done this many times before. She was taken to an isolated cabin where she was forced to fight for her life against the elements. When Mia finally comes home, she can't remember who she is and calls herself by a different name. The truth of what's going on isn't clear until the last few pages of this gripping story, which is told from different points of view and switches between flashbacks and the present.

Empire of the Sun, by J.G. Ballard

Jamie Graham, the protagonist in Ballard's semi-autobiographical story about a young boy who was separated from his parents during the chaos of the evacuation of Shanghai after Pearl Harbor, has Ballard's first and middle names. It is one of the best World War II stories of all time. Jamie lives in abandoned homes and eats food he finds. When his supplies run out, he gives up and is taken to a brutal, inhumane prison camp. There, he grows to like his captors. This part of the story is interesting because the child's age makes it logical: he needs someone to take care of him, feed him, and protect him, and he naturally likes people who do that. It's only when we become adults and learn the truth about the situation, which is often shown in the story by Dr. Ransome, that we see the tragedy of Jamie's survival.

Captive, by A.J. Grainger

Robyn, the daughter of the prime minister, is kidnapped by a terrorist group that threatens to kill her unless one of their members is freed from prison. They try to use her captivity as a way to expose alleged corruption in the government. Among her three captors, a young man named Talon is one of the kindest and most reasonable, while the other two are terrifying and unpredictable. What makes her go from terrified to sympathetic is that her father doesn't seem to want to "negotiate with terrorists." That kind of bitter pill could do a lot of damage to anyone's mind, giving the story the weight it needs.

I look around. The cell is filled with sunlight, and the window is a small piece of pale blue. There are a lot of tiny dust particles moving in the sparkling light. They whirl in a golden line from the window to the other side of the cell, where they seem to form shapes and lines. It's like looking into a kaleidoscope, but with a lot more color.

Dad isn't at home. None of us are.

As the daughter of one of the world's most powerful men, Robyn Knollys-Green has become a well-known person in her own right. It isn't even the paparazzi who can find her now, though.

There's a lot of global corruption and deception, and the boy who has to protect Robyn might not be an enemy after all.

The Getaway, by Jim Thompson

After the death of Jim Thompson, his dark view of the world spread to his fellow humans as well. This classic noir story of criminals with and without honor (mostly without) is violent. In his job as a career criminal, Doc McCoy comes up with what he thinks is the perfect crime, but he's betrayed and must go on the run with his partner Rudy. It doesn't look like Rudy has Doc's charisma, and he doesn't have any friends or allies. So he kidnaps a married couple, the Clintons, and forces them to help him in his search. Harold Clinton is scared and intimidated by Rudy's size, but his wife, Fran, is enamored, excited, and, in the end, smitten. This story is about how betrayal can have a long-term effect on people, and Fran's is one of the most shocking and heartbreaking to see.

Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady

Condor is a low-level CIA analyst who happens to stumble across a secret code used by a group of rogue agents. This is the story of how Condor came across the code. A group of people tried to kill his entire station to hide the fact that they had found something. When he survives, he has to live by his own rules without knowing who to trust. Overhearing a woman named Wendy talking about spending a vacation in her apartment, he kidnaps her and forces her to keep him safe. She quickly falls for him, which is a little more plausible in the movie version, where the character is played by Robert Redford.

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