‘I was born two years into my mother’s captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I would have been a lot more understanding of my mother. I wouldn’t have adored my father.’
When the notorious child abductor known as the Marsh King escapes from a maximum security prison, Helena immediately suspects that she and her two young daughters are in danger.
No one, not even her husband, knows the truth about Helena’s past: they don’t know that she was born into captivity, that she had no contact with the outside world before the age of twelve – or that her father raised her to be a killer.
And they don’t know that the Marsh King can survive and hunt in the wilderness better than anyone… except, perhaps his own daughter.
Packed with gripping suspense and powerful storytelling, The Marsh King’s Daughter is a one-more-page, read-in-one-sitting thriller that you’ll remember for ever.
My review: The Marsh King’s Daughter is a story about Helena, a young woman with 2 daughters, a loving husband and a thriving business making jam and jelly, who grew up in captivity in a cabin with her mother and father who happens to be a child abductor and murderer and has just escaped from prison. The Marsh King’s Daughter is a beautifully written story that is so much more than your average run-of-the-mill crime thriller. It is an incredibly descriptive, atmospheric and captivating account of Helena’s life. Switching between present day and the past the author brings to life Helena’s relationship with her father and mother, examines her complex and emotional feelings towards her father’s ranging from love and adoration to fear and anger. Focusing mainly on emotions, feelings and the relationships between families, this is a stunning book which is original and powerful. My thanks to Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
About The Author: Karen Dionne is cofounder of the online writers community Backspace, and organizes the Salt Cay Writers Retreat held every other year on a private island in the Bahamas. She is a member of the International Thriller Writers, where she served on the board of directors as Vice President, Technology.
Genre – Thriller / Mystery – Published 13 June 2017
