Review by Booklist Review
In this suspenseful, tightly written country noir, Foster posits a near-future world in which rural America has seceded from the Union and formed a sovereign state, which eventually crumbles, leaving the rural residents without services and forced to revert to a nearly pre-industrial life (horses have replaced cars, mobile phones are useless). Brooke Holland, once an enforcer in her family's drug war with the rival Cawley clan, has established a new identity with husband Milo, who knows nothing of her violent past, and her two preteen daughters. All seems well until Brooke learns that Stephen Cawley has escaped federal prison. After finding Cawley hiding in her barn, Brooke subdues him and attempts to transport him on foot to a distant federal outpost, thereby claiming the $5,000 bounty, which could save their failing farm. Fearing that other Cawleys will be close behind, she takes Milo and the children with her and begins a harrowing trek across a forbidding winter landscape. Interspersing flashbacks that detail the beginnings of the secession movement, led by Brooke's father, Foster reinvigorates the familiar perilous-journey trope as she portrays Brooke's steely determination to save her loved ones. Exuding that irresistible blend of courage and vulnerability that defined Daniel Woodrell's Ree Dolly in Winter's Bone (2006), Brooke drives this propulsive wilderness adventure, made all the more chilling by its shockingly realistic vision of a country ravaged by culture wars.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
After Brooke Holland, the heroine of Foster's intriguing if uneven debut set in a contemporary world that has feel of the Old West, is attacked in the shed of her family's isolated homestead by Stephen Cawley, a member of one of two local drug-running family, she ties him up and makes her husband, Milo, and their two daughters travel with her on foot in winter weather, to bring him in for the federal bounty offered in Shaw Station, 100 miles away. Brooke tells them that she fears that other Cawleys might be coming, but doesn't admit that the attack on her was far from random, leaving them to have faith in her drive to risk her family's well-being in order to bring a dangerous man to justice. Brooke's backstory unfolds at a natural pace, leading the reader gently into feeling compassion for her. Unfortunately, no other character gets similar care, and a conflict between the two rival drug-running families follows a predictable course. The high-tension setup suggests Foster will do better next time. (Jan.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Foster's The Captive, Brooke Holland lives with her husband and two daughters in a secessionist state, happy to have buried her violent past. When escaped criminal Stephen Cawley attacks their farm, she easily repulses him, but she's convinced that he came to deliver vengeance and persuades her family that they must flee to the nearest sheriff. Her aim: to capture Stephen, claim the bounty on his head, and take her family far from harm (75,000-copy first printing). Thornton's Pickard County Atlas opens one night during a roasting late-Seventies summer in the Nebraska sandhills, as sheriff's deputy Harley Jensen follows young troublemaker Paul Reddick through the streets after the Reddick patriarch finally holds a memorial for a son murdered decades ago, his body never found. That brings Harley in touch with Pam Reddick, eager to quit marriage and motherhood, who's attracted to his dark past (30,000-copy first printing).
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A woman is challenged to protect her family--and her previous history--in this remarkable debut. Brooke lives on a secluded cranberry farm with her husband, Milo, and their two daughters, 13-year-old Holly and 8-year-old Sal. It's a hard life in a rural secessionist state, but they have a home and each other. Then, during Brooke and Milo's overnight trip to a town auction, a fugitive's bounty is announced publicly, and Brooke recognizes the escapee's name--Stephen Cawley. Her immediate reaction is palpable: shock, panic, and a rush of fear-fueled adrenaline. It's clear that Brooke has dark secrets and that she'll do just about anything to keep them hidden: "Deep down, Brooke knew she had no right to this life….She should have run farther in the first place." An altercation back on the cranberry farm quickly confirms the presence of danger, and Brooke takes life-threatening matters into her own hands, setting out with her family across a bleak and unforgiving landscape. With this part--feminist Western, part--dystopian odyssey, part just plain-old nerve-jangling thriller, Foster does a terrific job of maintaining the page-turning pace of her narrative--and of Brooke's angst-ridden story. The action is full of (often violent) surprises, and the plot exposes one secretive layer after another, embedding a highly contemporary feel to the tale despite its futuristic setting. Packed with heart-stopping misadventures, this novel makes outdoor challenge--style outings look like a walk in the park. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
