Captive: A Novel

A rural noir about a
woman on a pulse-pounding expedition to deliver a fugitiveand forced to
confront her own paston the journey

In a
secessionist rural state that has cut itself off completely from urban centers,
where living is hardscrabble and poor but free, Brooke Holland runs a farm
with her husband, Milo, and two daughters. Their life at the fringes of modern
society is tenuousthey make barely enough from each harvest to keep goingyet
Brooke cherishes the loving, peaceful life they have carved out for themselves.
She has even begun to believe she is free from the violent history she has kept
a secret from her family.

When escaped
criminal Stephen Cawley attacks at the farm, Brookes buried talents surface,
and she manages toquickly andharshly subduehim. She is
convinced that he has come in retribution for the blood feud she thought she
escaped years ago. Brooke sets out to bring Cawley to justice, planning to use
the bounty on his head to hide her family far from danger. Fearing that other
members of Cawleys infamous family will soon descend, Brooke insists Milo and
the girls flee with her, travelling miles on foot across an unforgiving
landscape to reach the nearest marshal. Their journey, started at the onset of
winter with little preparation, brings already strained family dynamics to the
breaking point. As Brookes ghostsboth real and imaginedclose in, the
ruthlessness that let her survive her past may become the biggest threat to her
hopes for a different future. What follows is a harrowing exploration of family
loyalty, trauma, and resilience.


As haunting and
propulsive as it is powerfully written, The Captiveis a thrilling debut novel about the impossible choices we make to survive and
protect the ones we love.

A rural noir about a woman on a pulse-pounding expedition to deliver a fugitive—and forced to confront her own past on the journey

In a secessionist rural state that has cut itself off completely from urban centers, where living is hardscrabble and poor but “free,” Brooke Holland runs a farm with her husband, Milo, and two daughters. Their life at the fringes of modern society is tenuous—they make barely enough from each harvest to keep going—yet Brooke cherishes the loving, peaceful life they have carved out for themselves. She has even begun to believe she is free from the violent history she has kept a secret from her family.

When escaped criminal Stephen Cawley attacks at the farm, Brooke’s buried talents surface, and she manages to quickly and harshly subdue him. She is convinced that he has come in retribution for the blood feud she thought she escaped years ago. Brooke sets out to bring Cawley to justice, planning to use the bounty on his head to hide her family far from danger. Fearing that other members of Cawley’s infamous family will soon descend, Brooke insists Milo and the girls flee with her, travelling miles on foot across an unforgiving landscape to reach the nearest marshal. Their journey, started at the onset of winter with little preparation, brings already strained family dynamics to the breaking point. As Brooke’s ghosts—both real and imagined—close in, the ruthlessness that let her survive her past may become the biggest threat to her hopes for a different future. What follows is a harrowing exploration of family loyalty, trauma, and resilience.

As haunting and propulsive as it is powerfully written, The Captive is a thrilling debut novel about the impossible choices we make to survive and protect the ones we love.

• | Author: Fiona King Foster
• | Publisher: HarperCollins
• | Publication Date: Dec 07, 2021
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language: eng
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780062990983
• | ISBN-10: 0062990985