August 1, 2023
One woman's quest to survive the harsh Alaskan wilderness and the even harsher people is a riveting read of determination and perseverance from Townsend (The Thin Edge). Growing up poor, abused, and isolated, Liv is working as a waitress when she meets and falls hard for charismatic filmmaker Mark. When Mark's film career implodes, he convinces Liv to travel with him, getting temporary jobs only when they run low on funds. When their son Xander is born with a rare genetic condition, Liv and Mark settle down. Life is hard but Liv is happy, even though Mark is moody and sometimes disappears for days. When Mark dies by suicide, Liv is devastated but soon discovers signs that Mark might have faked his death. Following clues to rural Alaska, Liv finds him. Mark, a follower of a philosopher who preaches hedonistic pleasure above all else, encourages Liv to join their group. When she refuses, Mark holds her prisoner. In desperation, Liv pretends to change her mind while plotting to escape with Xander. VERDICT Jumping between the past and present, this novel is recommended for all collections. Readers will sympathize with Liv and applaud her grit.--Lynnanne Pearson
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September 4, 2023
Room meets The Simple Wild in this disturbing thriller from Townsend (The Thin Edge) about a mother and son being held captive in the Alaskan wilderness. For months, Liv Russo has believed her husband, Mark, died after jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. But when a series of cryptic texts and emails lure her and her developmentally disabled seven-year-old son, Xander, from California to a compound in southeastern Alaska, Liv finds Mark alive, cohabitating with another woman and a 10-year-old boy who calls him “Dad.” Stunned, Liv threatens to leave with Xander and return to California. Mark responds by locking her in a shipping container for weeks until she convinces him that she’s accepted their new polyamorous, off-the-grid lifestyle. Once she’s freed, Liv begins to plot her and Xander’s escape, but Mark becomes increasingly violent and unhinged. Townsend elevates the proceedings above standard-issue genre fare by zeroing in on Liv and Xander’s relationship, which she renders with aching sensitivity. The mother-son bond at the heart of this tense melding of domestic suspense and survival thriller makes it tough to shake. Agent: Heather Jackson, Heather Jackson Literary.
September 15, 2023
How little can you know about the husband you love? A Sacramento woman is about to find out. Liv Russo awakens in a storage building in far-distant Alaska to the bitter memory that the husband whose death she's mourned has imprisoned her and has no plans to let her go. Zigzagging between Then and Now, Liv gradually reveals the circumstances behind Mark Russo's phony suicide: After Rick, who'd hired him at his motorcycle shop, started smuggling drugs to cover his debts, Mark agreed to help in exchange for a cut of the profits, then lost a truckload of methamphetamine to a thief and decided to fake his death and not tell his wife. Liv, who's recently been through some unwelcome highs and some devastating lows, uncovers evidence that sends her and their 7-year-old son, Xander, up north on his trail and finds him shacked up with Angela, a much younger mate whose relations with him clearly aren't platonic, and 10-year-old Rudy, whose parentage isn't entirely clear. When Liv says she's leaving to find a divorce lawyer and tell the authorities where Mark is, Mark swipes her phone, wallet, and car keys; locks her up; and refuses to release her until she accepts her place in what he high-handedly styles his alternative utopian community. Even after Liv toes the party line far enough to earn release from her confinement, her subordination to the man she once loved renders her status not only dangerously marginal but grindingly creepy. The finale is stuffed with so many surprises that it feels like a long-deferred Christmas morning. Still another salvo in the suspense genre's attack on the sanctities of marriage.
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October 1, 2023
Liv Russo is being held captive by a man she believed to be dead--her husband, who disappeared and left Liv to care for their son alone. Visible through the single window in the shipping container where she's being held are his small cabin and the vast Alaskan forest. As Liv reconciles her feelings and prepares for escape, she must wrestle with the choices from her past that brought her to this terrifying present. Facing starvation and the harsh winter will push Liv past her own physical and mental limits. Townsend (The Thin Edge, 2019) constructs a lush and dangerous Alaskan landscape, using it to build tension and suspense. Liv is a strong and flawed protagonist whom readers will admire for her determination and feral need to protect her son. The shifting perspectives and fast-paced plot will keep even the most avid suspense readers on the edge of their seats. Recommended for fans of scrappy female leads facing the most dire circumstances, such as those in titles by A. J. Finn, Greer Hendricks, and Ruth Ware.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.