Beautifully written going from present to past this is a tale of a normal married mum but her childhood was anything but normal as she grew up in captivity with her child abducting father .
I thoroughly enjoyed this interesting read

I really enjoyed the way this author approached this story of kidnapping. The life story of this little girl who knew nothing but the marshes during her childhood and who had no idea that her mother was the victim of her father to whom she had boundless admiration.
A truly heart wrenching story!

An unusual insight to the rearing of a child whose conception was the result of the kidnap and rape of a girl some twelve years ago. However, this is no tale of a dungeon like imprisonment but of coercive, controlling behaviour in the outback setting of a marsh by a man who would shoot you as soon as look at you. But the child growing up only sees the man as any daughter would a father. The mother is too controlled and scared to do anything but roll with the punches (yes, the man likes to physically punish women). The father teaches his daughter everything about survival and self discipline, although the latter is through extreme punishment. The marsh is an amazing place and is beautifully described. The story takes a darker turn when a stranger happens upon their cabin.
It is a very gripping read but there were a couple of instances which somehow did not fit well, the first is what happens to the stranger at the hand of the daughter and the second is where a handgun can outperform a rifle at a distance. Other than that it's a great novel despite it being quite disturbing.

I loved the title and concept, and the way the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale wove into the story. I did race through this, but I admit I was skimming a lot in the second half. Although the setup was interesting, not much changed after the opening third - it was just her pursuit of her father, and him getting increasingly more horrible in flashbacks. I did enjoy this, but I hoped for some more character development or additional twists in the story.

An utterly fantastic book that had me on the edge of my seat at times. From the very start of this book I was hooked. .

Hunter vs prey will keep you on the edge of your seat. Thoroughly enjoyable, well paced, with good characters. Effective use of time shifts

I am sure this is, in all fairness, a great book. It wasn't, however, a book for me. I persevered until the end but I'm afraid this is the first book I have skim read in parts. The sections set in the present day where Helena was hunting her father were gripping and I really enjoyed them. The sections set in the past where Helena is living with her family in the marsh I found a little repetitive and I became bored - hence the skim reading and occasional skipping. I don't feel able to recommend this book and as such I won't be reviewing HOME on my blog. Thank you for the opportunity to read it though.

I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

Oh wow - I adored this book! This saw a woman whose father has escaped from prison and the only person who truly knows him his his daughter Helen. She lived in the swamp with her father who kept her captive as a child, but she is hiding her secret identity from her husband, daughters and friends. Helen decides the only way she can free herself from her killer father and bring him to justice is to go and find him herself - but that means revisiting skills she wished she had long forgotten - for she will enter the swamp and do anything she can to keep her family safe.
This was full of brilliant descriptions, strong characterisation and twisty secrets - what's more to love? Would definitely recommend!

Great story line, it's honest, tense and really disturbing. I liked the main character who is also the narrator. I loved the descriptions, plus the author made me feel like I was living inside the book. I don't read many thrillers so I thought this one really good and way above my expectations.

I really enjoyed this book. I have nothing in common at all with Helena, she is strong and kick ass, I would have packed up and left the minute I found out my 'father' had escaped! Despite that I found myself really liking her and sharing her ups and downs while she tracks her father, and ultimately wanting her to win. I found her relationship and loyality towards her father interesting and definitely kept me reading. This was a great read, 'couldn't put it down' type of book.

A really great book, I read it in under a day, a definite page-turner and a unique story.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

5 full stars from me for this one.

Recommended.

Helena is deeply disturbed when the news breaks that the notorious child abductor known only as 'the Marsh King' has escaped from the maximum security prison where he supposed to be spending the rest of his life.

Helena knows immediately that she, her husband and two young daughters are in danger. The only trouble is, her family have no idea who she is, and why the Marsh King would be looking for her. But she is the reason that he is in prison, and she knows he won't rest until he finds her.

For The Marsh King is Helena's Father, her Mother his kidnap victim. Kidnapped by Helena's Father as a teenager, her Mother was abused and held captive in the middle of the swamp lands of Michigan, where she went on to give birth to Helena.

Growing up in 'captivity', Helena didn't recognise her Father as a monster at first. For he was the one person who taught her to how to survive in the swamp. He taught her how to shoot, how to use a knife and perhaps his biggest mistake - he taught Helena how to fend for herself.

Over time Helena realises that although she loves her Father he is a violent and dangerous man. When the chance presents itself she and her Mother escape with their lives barely intact. Helena soon realises that she is different from other kids her age, and that she can't express herself in the same way that they do.

Eventually though her Father is bought to justice and Helena grows into her life on the outside. When she meets her husband she is determined to leave her old life behind, and not be 'the Marsh King's Daughter' anymore.

Unfortunately it seems like the Marsh King has other ideas, and Helena must use everything he taught her in order to survive.

Helena receives unimaginable news and soon her life will change forever.

This is a gripping, dark and intense read that had me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. I devoured in an evening and regretted that it had sat on my TBR pile for way too long. The characters had me sucked in, the plot had me reading well into the night and I will definitely recommend this book. I expect it will be soaring up the charts in no time at all.

Helena sets the tone of the book by telling the reader that the story is hers and hers only. It is not the story of her mother who was abducted at a young age by her father. True to her word, as if this is an autobiography, the book is about Helena.

She loved her father, even though he was a cruel monster. He taught her far too much not to love him. He gave her opportunities to become self-reliant, brave and he equipped her to survive in the snow, marshes, and forests.

I liked the analogy of the Hans Christian Andersen story – The Marsh King’s Daughter. But the book was so gripping that I only went back to read the fairy tale after I completed the whole book. Parts of the fairy tale are at the beginning of each chapter.

While reading the book, I could not help but think of the thousands of children who have been abducted and who had children in captivity. Some have never been found. I felt proud of Helena but very sad about the monsters we have in this world.

Well worth reading and is a good read for those who like psychological thrillers, suspense, adventure as well as books that ultimately bring hope.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Helena had the best time and the worst time growing up. Helena’s mother was only 14 when her father kidnapped her off the street and held her hostage in a cabin. 2 years later Helena is born into captivity with no electricity, no modern conveniences. Helena is none the wiser on her hideously unique family environment and worships her manipulative domineering father, whilst is indifferent to her broken mother. Her only link to the outside world is a collection of National Geographic magazines from the 1950s. The family lives from the plants growing in the marsh and from animals Jacob hunts from the nearby forest.

‘I was born two years into my mother’s captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I wouldn’t have adored my father.’

Having escaped at the age of 12, Helena is now an adult with her own family. Helena leads a simple life, using her foraging skills making jams and jellies for a living, and caring for her infant daughters. No one, not even her husband knows her father is the Marsh King, but when he escapes from prison Helena is forced to put all the skills he taught her into practice by hunting him down and putting him back behind bars.

This slow burning claustrophobic tale is a modern interpretation of the Hans Christian Anderson tale of the same title, and every chapter opens with an extract from the old fairy tale. Spanned across two alternating timelines, present day and Helena’s childhood growing up on the marshlands, The Marsh King’s Daughter is both enchanting and troubling at the same time.

The emotional core of this story is the father/daughter relationship that Jacob and Helena have, one that left me with a sick taste in my mouth. Helena is a complex character, torn between her love for her father and by what is right and wrong, making her hard to empathise with at times. Her inflammatory thoughts had me reeling (as I’m sure was the author’s intention) and I myself was torn between my feelings for her. The author has gone into serious depth with the complexity of Helena’s personality and psychology. A by-product of both her parents she shows traits of them both, and raises existential questions: nature or nurture? I found myself still thinking about this long after finishing.

The detailed descriptions of the wilderness in the Upper Peninsula makes the story beautifully atmospheric and authentic, I was lost in the alluring surroundings of the marsh and it’s woodland.

Whilst this is a thriller and it doesn’t have the twist and turns you would expect in psychological suspense, it does have great thriller components: multidimensional, palpable, cultural, and compellingly engaging. On the whole there is no gratuitous violence however there is a hunting scene that I found quite unsettling. I had been warned that others had found the scene distressing but I was not prepared for exactly how disturbing it would be.

The Marsh King’s Daughter is an ethereal and bewitching tale with a dark sense of foreboding that increases throughout as more of Helena’s childhood memories are revealed. A story that will push your emotions and judgement skills to the limit. Highly recommend this one, thanks to Karen Dionne, Little Brown UK and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

Dionne delivers a fast-paced psychological thriller that will keep the reader gripped to the very end, incorporating an engaging plot and interesting characters with a eerie story to tell. From the first page the mystery is one that will grab the reader, creating an urgency to understand what the history of Helena is, a young woman who states that she is the daughter of an abducted girl and the product of the subsequent years of captivity endured by her mother at the hands of her father.
The story moves back and forward continuously, providing the reader with the current information from the present day as it happens, tracking the movements of the father who has escaped from prison, whilst also going back to the past and relaying events that have led to this present time. This movement is handled well and enables the pace to race by from chapter to chapter. The characterisation is also well managed - Helena presents her story, but she is no victim and her constant revelations about her very confused and contradictory relationship with her father are conveyed with compassion and empathy; it is clearly a difficult situation - should she love him or hate him? Helena is shown to be filled with an equal dose of both feelings, which causes her further confusion.
The plot furthers by centring on the cat-and-mouse chase undertaken on the hunt for her father, with Helena using all her knowledge and skills to try to be the one to find him before he finds her and her family. It is through this that Dionne shows her mastery at storytelling and description and the reader cannot fail to be hooked to the very last page as a result.

I loved The Marsh King's Daughter from the first page. It hooked me in straight away and I couldn't put it down. I read most of it in one sitting - being reluctant to leave the house and socialise until I finished it. I ended up reading it late into the evening, realising I wouldn't sleep until I knew the full story. Not many books recently have had such an impact on me.

This book is certainly a fast-paced read, with beautifully flowing writing. It's very visual too, with chilling descriptions of the marshland setting. I love Helena - she's a fantastic gutsy lead character, a mother determined to do whatever she can to protect her family. As for the underlying plot - wow! This may be a child abduction novel, but it's certainly in a league of its own.

The Marsh King's Daughter is totally different from anything else around at present - a breath of fresh air, although it's very very dark. I urge everyone to buy it and read it! I just wish I hadn't left it on my reading pile for quite so long.

Highly recommended!

Sometimes it takes me a while to get into a book - that wasn't the case with this one, as it had me enthralled right from the start. The main character, Helena, is the child of a notorious kidnapper and murderer known as the 'Marsh King' and when he escapes from prison she instinctively knows he is coming after her and her family. Her intention? To get to him before he can destroy her family. The story of her search for him is interspersed with the background into her isolated and harsh childhood and the kidnapping of her mother. At times this book is disturbing and creepy, but it's always entertaining and I enjoyed it.

This story was told both in the present and the past. Helena's past explaining the story being told in the present. The narrative got across Helena's conflicting emotions and the reasons behind these mixed emotions exceptionally well and because of this I could relate to her both in the past and the present. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.