Thursday, March 8, 2018

The Marsh King's Daughter - #BookBeginnings on Friday and The #Friday56

    Karen Dionne is a master at leaving "hooks" at the end of each chapter. One time I got to the end of a chapter and the cliffhanger was so intense that I was forced to take a break and stop reading for a while, just to catch my breath. I didn't intend to spend all day reading this book, even though I had a cold and wasn't leaving the house, but I just couldn't stop. If you like novels with unique characters, a strong female protagonist, twists and turns, and plenty of suspense, you'll definitely enjoy this thriller.
    A short fantasy by Hans Christian Andersen, also titled "The Marsh King's Daughter," is the source of the book's title. That story weaves through the book. The opening of Andersen's story forms the prologue of this book. The first actual chapter starts like this:

Book Beginning:

Helena

     If I told you my mother's name, you'd recognize it right away. My mother was famous, though she never wanted to be. Hers wasn't the kind of fame anyone would wish for. Jaycee Dugard, Amanda Berry, Elizabeth Smart - that kind of thing, though my mother was none of them.
     You'd recognize my mother's name if I told it to you, and then you'd wonder - briefly, because the years when people cared about my mother are long gone, as she is - where is she now? And didn't she have a daughter while she was missing? And whatever happened to the little girl?

Friday 56 from 56% on my Kindle:

The ice moved up and down as I walked, like the river was breathing, like it was a living thing and it was offended by this arrogant human girl-child who dared to walk across its frozen surface. I imagined the River Spirit reaching an icy hand up out of the water from one of the many gaps in the ice, grabbing my ankle, and pulling me in. 

Genre: Psychological Suspense
Length: 314 Pages
Amazon Link: The Marsh King's Daughter
I borrowed this ebook from my local library.

Synopsis (from Amazon): 
Helena Pelletier has a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a business that fills her days. But she also has a secret: she is the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped as a teenager by her father and kept in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Helena, born two years after the abduction, loved her home in nature, and despite her father’s sometimes brutal behavior, she loved him, too...until she learned precisely how savage he could be.

More than twenty years later, she has buried her past so soundly that even her husband doesn’t know the truth. But now her father has killed two guards, escaped from prison, and disappeared into the marsh. The police begin a manhunt, but Helena knows they don’t stand a chance. Knows that only one person has the skills to find the survivalist the world calls the Marsh King—because only one person was ever trained by him: his daughter.

                             


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Twitter: @SandyNachlinger
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17 comments:

  1. It looks like it could be an okay story. Enjoy your current read!

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  2. Hi Sandy!

    I was asked to review this and it never arrived... lol Wasn't too sure about it, to be honest.

    Here is mine for today! http://bit.ly/2FtihiX

    Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.

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  3. The synopsis and the 56 excerpt send chills down my spine. This must be a thrilling read. Happy reading!

    My Friday post

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  4. I really loved this beginning and this book has been on my TBR for awhile. It sounds like a page turner!

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  5. I like the idea of hooks at the end of each chapter. Only problem I can imagine is stopping so I can get some sleep and not feel like a zombie at work the next day. LOL

    My 56 from Alice In Murderland

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  6. This does sound excellent. I'll have to add it to my wishlist. This week I am featuring Under the Shadows by Gwen Florio - a mystery from my review stack. Happy reading!

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  7. Ooh, I do love the sound of this one...and I also enjoy those cliffhanger chapters that keep us reading. Sometimes we lose sleep while reading such a book. Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “THE FRENCH GIRL”

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  8. Definitely an interesting sounding thriller-hope you enjoy it!! I am currently reading a cozy mystery-hope you will come see!
    http://justmeandmyblogreviews.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-friday-56_9.html

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  9. I've read Jaycee Dugard's memoir, so I know exactly what the beginning refers to. I'd like to get better at writing cliffhangers, so this is definitely going to my TBR list.

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  10. This one sounds like a real thriller. Glad you enjoyed it. I often wonder if cliff hangers at the end of a chapter mean the book was originally published in a newspaper, like Dickens used to do. My Friday Quotes

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  11. I started reading this book a few months ago and thought it was good. Unfortunately, I had a library copy that I couldn't renew at the time, and have been meaning to get back to it ever since. Enjoy!

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  12. OMG! This one sounds so good!

    The premise and both excerpts are definitely enough to make me want to read this one and on the whole, the ratings and reviews reflect my own enthusiasm.

    I don't mind cliffhanger chapter endings, so long as the end of the book itself is final and completes the story.

    Thanks for sharing and I hope that you enjoy the book :)

    Yvonne

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  13. Ooh this sounds like an excellent thriller! Hope you have a great weekend! :)

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  14. I am fascinated. I feel like I need to know who their mother is. :-) Happy weekend!

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  15. These kinds of books are so wonderful! I love that you were so immersed in it. Your 56 is such a vividly written passage. I will have to add this to my TBR. :)

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  16. This sounds fascinating. I'm getting ready to read Room soon. It's been on my TBR for a long time, and this sounds like something to read after I finish it.

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