The Captive

I enjoy genre books of all kinds. I love a good kidnapping story as a well-oiled plan starts to unravel. I also like a horror story about the Old Gods, of human sacrifices and bloody gore. What you don’t normally get is a story that is both. The kidnapping crew in Kit Burgoyne’s The Captive have taken the wrong person; not only is their victim heavily pregnant, but strange and deadly events seem to follow her. 

The Woolsaw family are a reclusive bunch. Most of the public are unaware that they control many of the Government contracts and in doing so control a lot of the power. When their only daughter Adeline is kidnapped, it shines unwanted attention on the family, but who would not want to use the media to get their daughter back? What are the family trying to hide? 

I have read some bizzarro books in my time, the recent Chuck Tingle’s Lucky Day springs to mind, but whilst Tingle is happy to go full gonzo, Burgoyne has chosen a different route. Captive is a tale of two stories; a kidnapping thriller and a horror. These two elements could easily work together, but for me they felt separate and detached. One could easily work without the other. 

As a straight crime thriller, it is excellent. We meet a tight knit group of kidnappers, mainly following the reluctant Luke, as they kidnap Adeline, who is heavily pregnant. What ensues is exciting enough, will they get away? How will the relationship between the trio of kidnappers develop with their victim? A victim who does not want to go back home. 

This part of the story works well; it is the horror that does not gel. It starts off as odd instances, but we are soon told the truth about the Woolsaw family. Suddenly, it becomes full body horror and human sacrifice. The issue is that you could pull back from the supernatural and tell a cleaner story. A rich family using threats, influence, and even murder to find their daughter again, is action enough.  

I am a horror fan, but in this case the horror did not bring anything more to the story. There are some gruesome and entertaining set pieces; a garden party gone wrong stands out. It is just that the kidnap element and the horror element feel separate. Burgoyne may write by creating characters and allowing them to tell him the story, leading the narrative. This would explain some of the disjointed and meandering nature of the story. A little more time spent on structure and integrating the horror would have helped. 

Despite me noting an oddity in the stucture, this is not to say that Captive is not an entertaining book. It is a page turner; the kidnapping element sees to that. The characterisation is interesting, with three kidnappers who all have different agendas. There is some interesting exploration of hidden powers and the superrich, and the horror is grisly at times. It is a little Frankenstein’s Monster of a book, but the Frankenstein's Monster who could. One for horror fans looking to read a curio.