[AD/Gifted - I received a copy of this book to take part in the blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Deborah O'Connor's latest novel, 'The Captive', published by Zaffre Books.
The Captive by Deborah O'Connor - 5/5
Blurb:
"The cage is installed in Hannah's kitchen, the size of a shopping centre parking space. A bed, a basin, a table and a chair. A hatch and metal drawer through which to exchange food and other items.
Then there's him. Always there on the edges of her vision, no matter how hard she tries to block him out.
Every day, the same thoughts run through Hannah's mind:
What if he speaks to me?
What if he hurts me?
What if he gets out?
In a near-future justice system, Jem, the murderer of Hannah's husband, arrives at her home to serve out his twenty-year sentence in a cell. There it's hoped he will learn the true cost of his terrible crime.
But Jem tells Hannah he's innocent, and not only that, her husband had been lying to her. Soon Hannah begins to question everything she thought she knew. Was Jem wrongly convicted? Or is he simply a desperate man, willing to say and do anything that might grant his freedom?
Only he can unlock the truth. Only she can set him free."
Review:
My first read of 2021 and what a book to start the year! It had my head spinning, had me feeling so many emotions and blew my mind!
Hannah Cavey's husband John was a Met detective and was murdered in what appears to have been a mugging gone wrong. Prisons have been slated as being "too comfy" for criminals so as part of a new type of restorative justice, criminals now must be held in a cell in the victim's family home. This means Hannah has her husband's murderer in her basement kitchen. As a baker, she sees him every day and also has to feed him.
The story is told from the perspectives of both Hannah and Jeremiah (Jem), the prisoner. Hannah is obviously distraught following the death of her husband and relies on best friend Aisling to be her shoulder to cry on and reminisces with her about the good times she had with John.
Hannah's elderly neighbour Pru has dementia and Hannah often helps her out because in times when Pru is not lucid, Hannah likes that someone speaks to her as though John is still alive.
Jem tries his best to convince Hannah that he is innocent and played no part in John's death, even going as far to tell her that John was keeping secrets from her. But can she trust him, or would he say anything to get her on his side?
I absolutely loved reading about Jem's childhood and backstory and although he is the antagonist of the book, I liked the depth of his character and it really helped you understand him.
This is such an amazingly written book with so much packed into it. I would thoroughly recommend this to everyone.
Blog tour info:
A massive thank you for Zaffre Books for a copy of this book to review and thank you to Compulsive Readers for organising the tour. If you want to check out the rest of the reviews from the tour, you can find the blog names/Twitter handles in the image below.
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