The Captive by Fiona King Foster (Review by Amanda Woodruff)

3 stars

In the opening of this book by Fiona King Foster, Foster introduces us to Brooke and her family. Brooke lives on a farm with her husband Milo and her two daughters, and they live a very modest lifestyle. Each and every season Brooke counts each crop to ensure they will be able to make ends meet, which they hardly manage to do. Despite all of their hardships Brooke enjoys the life she has made for herself on the farm.

Brooke and Milo attend an auction looking for items to use on the farm to help them make a profit. While there they hear a bounty being placed on a wanted person. Brooke freezes once she hears the name of the person the bounty is on.

Brooke has kept her past, her real name and her family a secret from Milo. Brooke notices things aren’t as they seem in the garden shed and ends up finding the person who the bounty is on (name withheld to avoid spoilers).

Brooke decides to take the person captive and turn him in herself. She moves quickly fearing that the captive’s family members are on the way, packs a few items fearing for her safety and the well-being of her family as well as the life she has built and takes her husband and children on a horrendous journey in the dead of winter to another town miles upon miles away to collect the bounty, leave town, continue to remain who she says she is and start over.

This book contains a lot of flashbacks to Brooke’s life with her siblings and parents as well as a Rival family, and the things they were into such as “chalk” which is a homemade drug that Brooke’s family begins to produce in order to survive.

We follow along on this journey to deliver this wanted fugitive to the deputy, the family is not prepared for all that they will encounter on their mission and my heart broke for the children and her husband (who had no idea what was going on).

I was a bit confused due to the lack of technology the lack of cell service and the over reliance on horses for transportation. I’m not entirely sure what time period this book is based in.

Some parts of the book are described in graphic detail and I would caution a reader who may be sensitive to such topics.

I found the book to end quite abruptly and was looking for a little bit more. Overall I rate this book 3 stars.