This was written from an interesting perspective - rather than about a girl and the story of her abduction - this was the story of the child who was the product of that abduction. Well well-written and loved the characters. The author weaves suspense into this truly sad story of two people being held captive by a narcissist in the back woods of upper Michigan. Recommended for an engaging read. ( )

Awesome and suspenseful as read by Emily Rankin. I think if I read it myself I would have stumbled over the Indian phrases and lost the feeling of being in the story. It ended a bit abruptly hence the 4 stars, but I really liked it ( )

3.5 stars

This was an interesting book, but to be clear up front, I would never describe it as suspenseful, which is how it was marketed.

The book alternates between two timelines: current day, when Helena finds out her kidnapper/rapist father has escaped from prison and decides to hunt him down on her own, and back-in-the-day, when she was being raised by said father and didn't realize there was anything strange about her life.

Helena was raised in a marsh (obviously...) and the best part about this book were the parts that depicted her family's "back to the land" lifestyle: the hunting, fishing, berry-picking, hand-washing, etc. that went on, and the few "treasures" she had, like 50-year-old National Geographic magazines.

Because it was set in my home state of Michigan, there were various references to the state that made me happy. (The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald song, and the Michigan Out of Doors TV show, in particular.)

The excerpts from the original story of the Marsh King's daughter by Hans Christian Anderson only served to detract from the actual story, in my opinion. It would have been enough for me to read an author's note explaining the inspiration.

As far as content goes, there were a few brief sexual references, but nothing very graphic, and God's name was used in vain a couple of times.

I really enjoyed parts of this, but I was expecting some sort of crazy twist at the end since it was classified as suspense, and was quite disappointed to that end. ( )

Read by Emily Rankin
THriller
great story. girls gets abducted and then has abductees daughter. Enjoyable. Fast read. ( )

At times I found this difficult to read. The brutality and abuse were visceral. I felt such compassion for Helena's mother, and Helena herself. I didn't quite buy Helena's marriage relationship. Helena was so damaged it's impossible to believe she could maintain any sort of normal relationships. I was on the fence as to what I thought of the fairy tale interjections. At times it seemed too much on the nose. At times it felt intrusive and pointless. I also wasn't sure what to make of the characters Cousteau and Calypso. But. Other than that, the story was gripping, pulling me along until the end. ( )