#CJSReads REVIEW: The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne @KarenDionne @PutnamBooks
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen DionnePutnam Books / G.P. Putnam's Sons
Releases TODAY 6/13/17
Happy book birthday!!
I went right into this story without even reading the premise. So, let me just tell you how surprised I was about where the story went, the way it was told and how the author just pulled me right into Helena's character. I read other reviews after writing mine and it certainly is eye opening. Definitely a highly anticipated title and I can see why. But what's the best things about books? How they affect people in such different ways - scroll down to see what each of us thought of this beauty of a book!
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The suspense thriller of the year - The Marsh King's Daughter will captivate you from the start and chill you to the bone.'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 wouldn't have adored my father.'
When 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.
When 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:
Purely from Helena's point of view, the author takes us into her past, the way she viewed the world, living without any other human contact but her parents for more than a decade of her life - to her present, where she struggles with emotions she kept hidden for so long. So long that her own family has no idea of this torturous past. This is not a happy story. This is somber, real, emotional, raw and atmospheric. The author pulls you right into Helena's psyche and holds nothing back. In my fascination with the human mind, one subject that has always been extremely interesting has been the concept of learned helplessness. "There is a psychological component to controlling a person that can be just as powerful as the physical pain you inflict on them...." Just how much can a human take, physically and emotionally, before they completely break? And how much stronger do they become when someone else's life becomes more important to protect than their own? A compelling novel that has you reeling, Karen Dionne knows what she's doing. This is not your typical psychological thriller. There are no full on twists but if you like to dig into the mind of a person's journey from child prisoner to primal mother, you'll love this book as much as I do.
5/5 Stars for me!
Jessica's Thoughts:
The story begins with a news bulletin - notorious child abductor, known as the Marsh King, has escaped from maximum security prison and was last seen disappearing into the marshlands of Michigan's upper peninsula.
Helena seems like your average mother and wife in her small town. Little does everyone know, she was in fact born in captivity, had zero contact with the outside world until she was the ripe age of 12, and that she grew up in the marshes and taught how to kill. No one in her life, not even her husband, knows that she's the Marsh King's daughter. Now that he's escaped, Helena knows that she and her children are his next targets. She knows all too well that the Marsh King can survive and hunt in the wilderness better than anyone else - but can he outlast his daughter?
Reading the intro, about how Helena's mother was taken by Jacob Holbrook (aka Marsh King) at the age of 13 out into the wilderness, and then only two short years later she gave birth to Helena, was crazy. When they finally escape, their story becomes an International sensation and Helena did everything she could to keep her real identity a secret so she could lead a normal life.
This was a fantastic domestic/abduction thriller. I binged on this one when I finally was able to get to it. I loved Karen Dionne's writing style and her character development and story telling were amazing. We go back and forth from present to past. As Helena uses her childhood learned skills to track her father we get some flashbacks. Overall, the suspense was great, characters were complex, and the story telling was phenomenal. I'd highly recommend this to anyone that loves a fast paced, abduction thriller!
This was a fantastic domestic/abduction thriller. I binged on this one when I finally was able to get to it. I loved Karen Dionne's writing style and her character development and story telling were amazing. We go back and forth from present to past. As Helena uses her childhood learned skills to track her father we get some flashbacks. Overall, the suspense was great, characters were complex, and the story telling was phenomenal. I'd highly recommend this to anyone that loves a fast paced, abduction thriller!
I give this 5/5 stars!
Sam's Thoughts:
When a notorious child abductor, known as The Marsh King, escapes from prison, Helena knows her family is in danger. For what no one knows, not her husband or her children, is that she has many secrets from her childhood. No one knows that she was born in captivity. No one knows she had no contact with the outside world until she was twelve. No one knows she is The Marsh King’s Daughter and that he taught her how to be a killer. And now, her target is him.
I must say that this novel was absolutely binge-worthy. I loved the twist on the ever-popular abduction story (think Room). I always find novels like these ones so interesting to read about since the psychology around such an incident is so complex. Naturally, Helena was a seriously complex character. Struggling with what she knows is right and what she was raised to believe is right, she was such an interesting character to have the novel narrated by.
Told partially in the present, as Helena uses her hunting skills to track her father and in flashbacks to her childhood in the marsh, Native symbolism and culture made this one stand out from the rest.
Now, the one issue I had with this novel was Helena herself. I loved how complex her character was, I loved how I was wondering if she was suffering from PTSD or maybe she truly was in cahoots with her father, but I didn’t find her necessarily too likeable. Perhaps that was the point since her childhood upbringing made her quite “hard” and, rightfully so, but I found it hard to connect with her.
Overall, if you are a fan of the abduction thrillers and want something with a bit of a twist, The Marsh King’s Daughter would be a perfect next read. 4/5
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