{"product_id":"the-captive-a-novel-isbn-9780062990983","title":"The Captive: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA rural noir about a\u003cbr\u003ewoman on a pulse-pounding expedition to deliver a fugitive—and forced to\u003cbr\u003econfront her own past on the journey\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a\u003cbr\u003esecessionist rural state that has cut itself off completely from urban centers,\u003cbr\u003ewhere living is hardscrabble and poor but “free,” Brooke Holland runs a farm\u003cbr\u003ewith her husband, Milo, and two daughters. Their life at the fringes of modern\u003cbr\u003esociety is tenuous—they make barely enough from each harvest to keep going—yet\u003cbr\u003eBrooke cherishes the loving, peaceful life they have carved out for themselves.\u003cbr\u003eShe has even begun to believe she is free from the violent history she has kept\u003cbr\u003ea secret from her family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen escaped\u003cbr\u003ecriminal Stephen Cawley attacks at the farm, Brooke’s buried talents surface,\u003cbr\u003eand she manages to quickly and harshly subdue him. She is\u003cbr\u003econvinced that he has come in retribution for the blood feud she thought she\u003cbr\u003eescaped years ago. Brooke sets out to bring Cawley to justice, planning to use\u003cbr\u003ethe bounty on his head to hide her family far from danger. Fearing that other\u003cbr\u003emembers of Cawley’s infamous family will soon descend, Brooke insists Milo and\u003cbr\u003ethe girls flee with her, travelling miles on foot across an unforgiving\u003cbr\u003elandscape to reach the nearest marshal. Their journey, started at the onset of\u003cbr\u003ewinter with little preparation, brings already strained family dynamics to the\u003cbr\u003ebreaking point. As Brooke’s ghosts—both real and imagined—close in, the\u003cbr\u003eruthlessness that let her survive her past may become the biggest threat to her\u003cbr\u003ehopes for a different future. What follows is a harrowing exploration of family\u003cbr\u003eloyalty, trauma, and resilience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs haunting and\u003cbr\u003epropulsive as it is powerfully written, \u003cem\u003eThe Captive\u003c\/em\u003e is a thrilling debut novel about the impossible choices we make to survive and\u003cbr\u003eprotect the ones we love.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“[A] suspenseful, tightly written country noir…. 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 \u003cem\u003eWinter's Bone \u003c\/em\u003e(2006), Brooke drives this propulsive wilderness adventure, made all the more chilling by its shockingly realistic vision of a country ravaged by culture wars.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Remarkable….  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…. Packed with heart-stopping misadventures.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Fiona Foster has written a tension-wire novel, suspenseful from the first line to the last. A story about a fractured country quickly transforms into a study of the ways in which the darkest parts of our history follow us around like shadows. There is something gripping here, a nuanced dissection of how violence begets violence, damage begets damage.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOmar El Akkad, author of American War\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In this riveting debut\u003cem\u003e,\u003c\/em\u003e King Foster vividly brings to life a gritty, hardscrabble and all too plausible near-future and a resolute heroine who defends those she loves throughout a harrowing ordeal. \u003cem\u003eThe Captive\u003c\/em\u003e is a propulsive, word-perfect thriller about the ghosts that haunt us and the strengths that lie within.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSaleema Nawaz, author of Songs for the End of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fugitive story layered in frigid atmosphere, Foster's modern-day-set corker carries an Old Western appeal.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In this intense literary thriller, a family ekes out a precarious but peaceful living on a remote farm in a dystopian future. As is often the case in thrillers, an interloper arrives to disturb the careful balance in the household—in this case, it is an escaped prisoner whose chaotic presence will most likely cause all sorts of revelations to come to the fore.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dark as an ice cold winter's night, Fiona King Foster's debut novel is a pitch-perfect noir thriller, set in a rural tundra in a world populated by loners, homesteaders, and the kind of people who most typically lurk in the shadows.… Foster keeps the tension high, running at a constant throbbing pulse, and showing all the things we'll do to protect our family and our future.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRefinery 29\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Beguiling. . . . Part adventure novel and part crime novel. . . . Foster keeps the tension high. . . . [Foster] effectively keeps readers in suspense all the way through.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Captive\u003c\/em\u003e is a wonder, a wild horse in the sure and steady hands of the brilliant Fiona King Foster. Electrifying and otherworldly, \u003cem\u003eThe Captive\u003c\/em\u003e gives us a new feminist heroine, an Offred traversing Cormac McCarthy’s hazardous dreamscapes. Through the ingenious and fierce-hearted Brooke Holland, King takes us to the very sheer edge of survival, love and loyalty. This debut novel reads like a lightning storm, and then it stays with you, leaving a profound impression—ghostly, gorgeous and moving.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eClaudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889588039909,"sku":"NP9780062990983","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062990983.jpg?v=1730231555","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-captive-a-novel-isbn-9780062990983","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}