What a heart-thumping, fast-paced read!!!
This epic story has minor dystopian elements: You feel like you are in the Wild West, with criminals and dope-fiends everywhere - who seem even worse than Zombies! A very human tale of the battle of rival criminal clans, misconceptions, self-perception, and just the over-riding instinct for survival. I was riveted!


It took me a while to figure out that this story is set in the dystopian future, out in the lawless badlands of what used to be North America. Almost from the start, my eyes were glued to each page, desperate to discover Brooke's secrets. I literally got cranky when I would have to put my ereader down and actually do some work! This author writes so well, so vividly, that I was shocked to discover that this is her first published novel. As I read, her characters walked out of the pages like living, breathing people and enacted each scene in my mind's eye.

I loved gentle, kindhearted Milo. His character was designed to be deliberately endearing to the reader, amidst so many ruthless, murderous villains. Thank goodness the descriptions of all the evil doings were kept to the bare minimum. There were some graphic descriptions of a few fight scenes, but I was rooting for Brooke every step of the way! When Milo and her daughters were appalled by Brooke's ability to subdue Stephen Crawley, I stood and cheered! What a total badass Brooke was! (And yet I am a staunch pacifist - so this shows you how good this author is, reeling me in despite my peace-loving beliefs.)



Towards the end, I felt there was a bit of a "pregnant pause" (no spoilers here), but I also suspected that the author refused to be predictable and she added a few unexpected twists and turns to keep us readers alert right to the very end. And just when you thought the worst was over, eh?!!!!

I don't want to give ANY spoilers away. Take a treacherous journey along with Brooke and her family through some lawless, snow covered back country and enjoy the ride, like I did. Highly recommended.
A spectacular read: I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Brooke Holland along with her two daughters and husband are living in a harsh rural environment when violence from her past comes calling. The family strikes out on a journey to bring Stephen Crawley, a criminal from Brooke's past her family is unaware of to the sheriff to collect a bounty.. This journey is hard for all characters involved, each for different reasons. It was a suspenseful read but had almost too much tension for me at times.

The Captive by Fiona King Foster is well written, but was difficult to get a good sense of time and place. I gathered it was present day to futuristic. I had a post-apocalyptic feel of the the story, and just wasn't for me. I so wanted to like the book and thought the blurb sounded good, but it was a struggle. Grammar and punctuation were well done in the story. Thank you NetGalley for this book.

**I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, Ecco, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I enjoyed the setting, story, and characters of this book but would love to see it all be even more developed. I'm hoping that there is a series in the works, because I would love the chance to get to know all of these characters better and see their backstories, especially the history leading up to secession.

I was invested in the characters, especially Brooke and her family, but I would love even more. More detail about their life (both her bio fam and her current fam (husband and kids)) would really enhance the emotional investment in these folks.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable book that could be even better with some fleshing out and further development.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for this copy of The Captive by Fiona King Foster.

Guys, I loved this book. I went to bed at 8:00 pm last night so that I could read the last half before I had to go to sleep. I was bummed that it was over, that's how good it was. Here's a quick, spoiler-free preview if that doesn't convince to The Captive a shot.

Brooke is living a quiet life on a struggling cranberry farm with her husband Milo and their two girls, Holly and Sal. LIfe is pretty good, not easy, but good. The world they live in is a future version of our world, after some parts of the U.S. have seceded, dividing parts of the country into a more modern version of the wild west. Brooke is hiding something from her family and it is about to catch up with her in a big way. Will she be able to keep her family safe from her secrets? You'll have to read The Captive to find out.

Again, I loved this book. I could picture it as clearly as if I was watching it on a movie screen. As a matter of fact I hope they make into a movie so that I can watch it all over again. Enjoy, readers!

One of three essentially dystopian novels read this week, THE CAPTIVE exceeds the genre with its ongoing concern with the workings of family, wrapped in an engaging and suspenseful adventure tale. Well worth my time. Thanks.

When I first started reading Fiona King Foster’s, debut novel, THE CAPTIVE (Ecco/HarperCollins), I felt as if I’d entered another world. I couldn’t fully understand whether it was a western or an anti-government survivalist book or perhaps a domestic terrorist thriller. I also wondered about the time line, because people were riding horses in town, yet they used cell-phones. I decided to put that all aside and just read, and I’m so glad I did. THE CAPTIVE grabbed me and didn’t let go until the very end.
Brooke Holland left her violent life fifteen years ago. She starts fresh when she meets a man named Milo King and has two daughters, Holly 13 and Sal 8. They live in a secessionist rural town cut off from urban cities, and life is very difficult on the cranberry farm. They barely make enough to make ends meet. All is well until a wanted fugitive shows up in their shed and Brooke takes him down. At first, her family doesn’t know Brooke recognizes the captive.
Brooke talks Milo and their family into taking the captive to the marshal, over a hundred treacherous miles away in the winter. The story of who Brooke really is begins to reveal itself, while the family finds themselves in more danger, wrapped up in Brooke’s lies.
The environment during their travel, on foot in the cold and snow is a character unto itself, which presents a melancholy picture. There’s always this looming danger which makes the story dark. Lies and truth shift and blur over the miles, while Miles, Holly and Sal begin to fear who Brooke really is. THE CAPTIVE is about family, protecting the ones you love and facing the truth.
THE CAPTIVE will have you on the edge of your seat for the entire novel. Take a breath first.
Thanks to NetGalley, Ecco/HarperCollins and author, Fiona King Foster for an advance digital copy.

I enjoyed this book so much! Thank you Net Galley and Ecco for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my opinion.

I wasn’t sure about reading this, the subject matter seemed a little heavy for our current times, but boy am I glad I did! The story is about a woman who captures a fugitive and takes him to turn him into the marshals for the bounty. Or is it? The magic of this book is how Fiona Ling Foster gives you glimpses and glimmers slowly about the protagonist’s past and current life, and the world they are living in. I found myself so engrossed in the book I couldn’t put it down. I recommend this as a must read— it will grab your attention and is an amazing story of survival.

I am also amazed and impressed that this is a debut novel. The story and characters are well developed and thought out in the style of someone with much experience. High praise for Fiona King Foster and I anxiously await what she writes next.

thank you to netgalley, ecco books, and harper collins for this arc of “the captive” by fiona king foster in exchange for an honest review!

“the captive” is a rural noir that follows brooke and her family as they travel through a harsh winter to deliver a wanted criminal who has a connection to brooke’s past.

i requested this one from netgalley a few months ago because it sounded exciting and different than other books out there. after finally starting it last week during a reading slump, i realized i was becoming increasingly uninterested in the story and the characters at about 35%, and couldn’t entirely see the point of the plot. that’s not to say the author’s writing isn’t good; it’s just not what i was expecting and not what i wanted to read at the time.

“the captive” is out and available to purchase now!

Brooke, Milo and their two kids Sal and Holly are living a happy but hardscrabble life in a secessionist rural American South in this alternative history novel. When a criminal named Stephen Cawley comes to the town and into her life, Brooke has to face her violent past and act. Brooke decides to take Cawley to the closest “city” and to collect the reward. We get the feeling that Brooke is running, with her family, from her past. She’s definitely running for her life, and the secrets she has kept from her family, and as they make their way through the wilderness, more and more of the life she has kept hidden is revealed.

At first I found this book off-putting—set in the near future/alternative present in which a significant chunk of the American South has seceded hit a little too close to home in this times. But I got through that feeling and I’m glad I did. The author avoided a lot of the stereotypes you could imagine in a narrative about the rural south—the family eats chia pudding and savory oatmeals, and Brooke and Milo are in an interracial relationship.

I couldn’t put this down and stayed up until way too late/early to finish it. I highly recommend this.
TW for child abuse, drug abuse, and violence.

Brooke Holland is always on the lookout. She grew up in an atmosphere of suspicion and resistance against the government. She has skills her husband cannot imagine,until the day his wife captures a man with a bounty on his head . A sum which could mean salvation to their meager lives. Fate has brought this man , who knows her history to her in one last stance against her past. It is a thrilling read. It never lets go , while Brooke struggles with the past, it is those skills which protects her family . Happy reading

The Captive is a riveting, face paced yet character driven novel which foregrounds a strong female narrator and her experience while also deeply evoking place and setting.

Captive by Fiona King Foster is the author's debut novel. She has created an intense suspenseful story that kept me reading all night.

Brooke lives in a rural community that has seceded from the government. The citizens here live a life that is void of most modern comforts and technology. They prefer a quiet farming life. However, there is still crime.

Brooke has escaped from her crime family and settled on a farm with husband Milo and their kids. She has almost forgotten her former life until an escaped prisoner shows up and threatens her family. Brooke turns the tables on him and once she has subdued him makes the decision that her, Milo and the kids will travel by foot, in the winter, with no money, to turn him in and collect the reward money. Their trek through the cold not so isolated woods is a harrowing journey that will have grave consequences.

This is a quick read partly because the need to see the ending is so strong. There were some frustrating and unbelievable moments for me. First Brooke's husband knows nothing of her crime family or her relationship with the prisoner. Her stubborn selfishness to keep her secret endangered all their lives. Second why would you risk the lives of your children not to mention the trauma they will have to live with forever. Lastly, Brooke performs intense surgery to remove a bullet on a very awake patient. She has no medical degree! All these decisions infuriated me. I wanted better decisions from the protagonist or a hint of she is changing her ways from this experience.

I have to give the author props though. If she had not written such an intriguing premise I would not have cared so much. I think crime thriller fans will love this non stop adventure.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

In The Captive, the exact year and setting are left vague. Brooke and Milo—parents of two daughters—live on a small farm and harvest cranberries. Society has collapsed. And people are now mainly divided by rural or city living.

With palpable tension between the two factions: those living in cities typically lean toward federal governing, while those outside the cities are governed by militias. Both factions also claim rule over events and citizens of their respective jurisdictions and take offense when the other faction attempts to intervene.

Due to societal breakdown, past technologies still exist, their availability is sparse, especially depending on where one resides. Those in cities live a more modernized lifestyle, with those in rural settings have fallen back to past living-standards.

While attending a public auction, Brooke learns from a federal marshal that a violent man from her past has surfaced in the area and is searching for her. Brooke also knows if this man is close by, other members of his family—some even more violent than he—certainly won’t be far behind. Brooke, with a secretive past of her own unknown to her family, realizes sudden measures must be taken to avoid not only danger to her, but also to the lives of her unsuspecting family.

The Captive is a well written, descriptive, rural noir that falls along the lines of a “road” or “pursuit” novel, with Foster introducing interesting, three-dimensional characters. As the story then unfolds in current times, flashbacks fill in Brooke’s past.

While the novel could be characterized as being a dystopian-type novel, Foster does not overemphasize societal breakdown in a way that might otherwise overshadow the characters and story.

Those who have read novels such as The Outlander by Gil Adamson and The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis should enjoy The Captive.

This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com

Netgalley provided an ARC of The Captive upon the promise of a fair review.

This was a slow start for me. It is a bit dystopian. It is the story of a young woman who has escaped from her drug dealing family and married an innocent man with two young girls. They do not have an easy life. While making last minute preparations for a bog harvest, a man from a rival drug family appears. He is captured and the family attempts to rake him to federal law enforcement to collect a bounty. It is a hard journey in wild country with uncaring law enforcement and gangster moms. This was a stark story but a good one.

Thank you to Netgalley, Fiona, and Ecco for an ARC of The Captive.

The Captive is an isolating and cold book. It bent genres for me, best described as a dystopian noir with a western feel.

Brooke is our main character, she lives in a seceded state running a cranberry farm with her family. One day she sees a man on their farm and immediately recognizes him as escaped inmate Stephen Cawley. Jumping into action under the belief that Stephen has come to her farm to settle an old family feud, Brooke's survivalist past comes rushing back and their present becomes a game of cat and mouse, miles from civilization, in the snow with no technology, and a family who is rapidly discovering that their wife and mother is not who they thought she was.

Plot-wise, there were some times that seemed to dragged a little bit, but I think it adds to the atmosphere of the book. A lot of ground is covered and many characters are involved, but the author still managed to make me feel alone and in danger. The end wrapped up nicely. It feels much more about the thrill of the history of Brooke and back and forth of the chase and less about any twists and turns throughout the book, which some readers may have issues with, but I found it refreshing to have a story focus on telling a good story versus making sure there were plenty of good twists.

The characters were developed well, we get a very good sense of who Brooke is, she's easy to empathize with, even if you cannot relate to her story. All of the side characters were also sufficiently enough to be invested in them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fiona King Foster for the advanced copy in return for my honest review. The Captive is available for purchase on January 12, 2021 - be sure to grab yourself a copy.

Brooke is a mother of two, trying her hardest to make her ends meet. She is with her husband Milo at an auction, trying to stock up on food, when there is notice of a warrant out for Stephen Cawley. Brooke instantly recognizes the name and races back to her farm, hoping to find her girls safe. Milo doesn’t know, but Brooke has a secret past that includes a war between families. When she gets to her farm, her worst fear comes true, Cawley has found her. This book follows the story of Brooke trying to bring Cawley into the marshal in hopes of ending the feud all while keeping her family in the dark about who she really is.

This book started off fast for me, then it slowed down, and picked back up towards the end. I actually love the way the book ended and wanted a little bit more. Towards the end I even felt bad for Cawley, which I was not expecting. This is a fun read, somewhat dystopian and I had a hard time figuring out if I should picture something modern or old school. This was a quick read with some fun twists and turns at the end. Be sure to add this one to your bookshelves!

I received this book from Netgalley! What a riveting story!! I loved the heroine, as I called her, who goes to the very end to protect the ones she loves!! A must read book. Thank you for this crime/adventure book!!!

THE CAPTIVE by Fiona King Foster is a novel that was unfortunately not captivating to me. We follow Brooke Holland who tries to deliver a fugitive through a rural state. This is not what I would categorize as a thriller and although it starts off with a bang of an inciting incident it just didn’t hold through. About half the book is spent walking through the woods. All the characters are unlikeable and I felt no connection to Brooke to root for her. Brooke seems emotionless even with her children and husband. Maybe that was a result of her upbringing and a part of her character but it was a detriment to the story. This book isn’t even a mystery or thriller. It’s a really slow burn with every plot point predictable.
.
Thank you to Ecco Books via NetGalley for my advance review copy!

Heard of rural noir? I hadn't and that's what drew me into The Captive. Our story takes place in the near future with the idea that some states have succeeded from the Union. What's odd about this setting is that although it's in the future, families have had to revert to a lot of things from the past. People are riding on horses and farming, yet have cell phones and computers. I felt like we were on a modern Oregon Trail quest. It took some adjusting on my end, but I did enjoy the rural, dystopian setting.

My issue with the book was the main character, Brooke. She drove me insane. She's apparently the only one who knows how to protect her family. Although, she wouldn't have to protect her family on her own if she tried a little honesty for a change. The characterization was pretty unbelievable on most accounts.

I did enjoy the plot and storyline. I actually preferred learning about Brooke's past and family history opposed to her current situation. The family drama and drug involvement were intense. This inclusion did help us understand why Brooke was the way she was. It did make her more relatable. There are several twists I didn't find predictable, which I loved.