Welcome to Litsy!

Bk1 of April is done.🙌A reread, it‘s still one of my favourite thrillers.It‘s not just the cat & mouse chase, it‘s the evocative descriptions of the marshlands of Michigan‘s Upper Peninsula.Reminds me a bit of the mangrove swamps surrounding our Hawkesbury River & of Kakadu National Park in the NT of Australia. Without the crocodiles!There‘s a lot of similarities between Native American culture & the Aboriginal peoples as well.Highly recommend.👇

Look! I‘m reading a book for the 1st time this month. It‘s a reread but at least I‘m reading. This is the worst slump I‘ve been in in over 10yrs, I‘ve read less books so far this year than I usually read in a 2-3 week period!🤦🏻‍♀️ I just watched the movie based on this book, loved Ben Mendelsohn(another Aussie🇦🇺)as the dad but not happy with Daisy Ridley as Helena. Cinematography was beautiful though. Highly recommend this book, my 2017 No1.

Of course all my library holds come in at once and the new Sarah J Maas book comes out soon not to mention I still have a book club book to finish 🤦‍♀️

I read Dionne‘s Wicked Sister and absolutely love that book but this one just didn‘t do it for me. It‘s an ok story but it never really captured me with the plot. It‘s almost painful to read how horribly Helena and her mother are treated by her narcissistic father. Just kinda blah for me….

First finished read of 2024! I listened to this on Spotify through my premium account and it was so easy. I loved the story and loved that it was a Michigan read. Helena‘s story was captivating and I loved seeing her relationship with her parents evolve.

4¼⭐
I liked it quite a bit but I wasn‘t blown away by it. My favorite aspect was the setting. I‘m from Michigan and I‘ve been to the Upper Peninsula a few times, we have ridden (SxS riding) through a lot of the forests up there. All the places that she name-drops in this book are actual places that I‘ve, at the very least, driven through.

1. The Marsh King's Daughter
2. The Sisters Brothers
3. Reading, swimming

@rachelsbrittain #WeekendReads

Nope. I didn't like this one, but I got a bingo! @TheAromaofBooks #teamslaughter @Clwojick

Helena lives in isolation with her parents in the marsh and eventually learns her father kidnapped her mother. Her childhood life goes back and forth with her current life, where her father has just escaped from prison. This is well done but a deeply disturbing look at the human psyche.

I love a great sense of place in a novel - I often place it higher on priority that character or plot. Not always - but I love to really get inside a place with fiction

https://crimereads.com/five-great-thrillers-set-in-wild-places/

#JumpStart2021 #21LettersInTheTitle I didn‘t realise how hard it is to find a book to fit this prompt! Especially one that I actually owned, but in the end I managed to find it. I can‘t believe this month is 3/4 gone already, time flies when the worlds falling apart🧨🌎🦠

This was a solid 3x3 grid of reading. When an entire grid is 4 stars and above, I just can‘t complain. Chose the tagged since I posted this title by the wrong author yesterday and when I edited lost view of who stacked it.

5* = Loved It, want non-reader IRL friends to read. I do/will own a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

I was interested in the story from beginning to end, but I do take issue with it. If a child is born to a narcissist, sociopath, violent kidnapper and his submissive victim, then raised off the grid for 12 years, then not fully embraced by family, then dropped out of school at 15, then receives no mental health.... Well, I think that child would grow into adulthood as a hot mess. But other than that, good story.

#Bookanddrink Tagging this treasure from Karen Dionne, though instead of talking about her own books, she hosts these great conversations with other authors at Back Room. Still space available tonight at 7pm ET with Finola Austin, Melanie Benjamin, Greer Macallister, & Kristina McMorris. What a line'up! Details at https://bksp.org/register-2/

This was disturbing and compelling. Helena's memories of growing up in the marsh with her outdoorsman father (narcissistic, sadistic) and her kidnapped mother (cowed, ineffectual) until her 12th year when they were rescued are interspersed with the current day. Her father has escaped from prison and is coming for her and her daughters unless she can track him and stop him.
This was not 'enjoyable', it's way too dark for that, but it's memorable.

Helena didn‘t have a typical childhood. Turns out her mother was a captive and her dad was the abductor. So she doesn‘t tell people who she really is. But now her dad‘s escaped from prison. Her husband is at risk, her daughters too. But how do you fight a monster, when he‘s your dad, and you still love him? The emotional conflict was well done, and Michigan‘s Upper Peninsula will never look the same. Adored her dog Rambo also.

I read this in a day, y‘all! I thought it amazing yet devastating and horrifying all at the same time. What do you do when you‘re the daughter of an abductor and his captive? What do you do when your father escapes prison? I don‘t know how Dionne did it but she makes you feel for everyone. She makes you feel Helena‘s conflicted feelings about her father. Her love for him. Her devastation at realizing he‘s a monster but yet still loving him.

It took me a while to get into this story, but once the suspense picked up I was hooked. I love nature so I appreciate the setting of living in the marsh lands. The end of the story was emotionally powerful and I loved it. 🥰#MountTBR

Really excited to start this one!

I sort of rushed through this - it‘s definitely a good thriller, and I was intrigued about the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale (I‘d never heard of it before). Slowed down a bit towards the middle, but I actually didn‘t mind the more descriptive parts, it provides insight into other parts of Helena‘s life. ANYWAY! On to the next book 😁

#Movember #day4 #GirlGoneWild This was my top read of 2017. I loved this book, not only was it a great thriller, it taught me about a part of the US I‘d never heard of before. Helena is a wife & mother, but she has a secret. She was born in the marsh of the Upper Michigan Peninsula after her mother was kidnapped by her father. Growing up wild, she learnt hunting & bushcraft & adored her father, before realising the truth of her upbringing.

Thank you SOO much @Chrissyreadit for such a thoughtful & perfect cozy gift!! I‘m soo excited to finally have that book! 👏🏽👏🏽 The decoration is well-needed, & I love the pumpkin spice mug 🎃😍 + the cozy mystery candle is so perfect. ♥️♥️♥️I also needed the pick-me-up, so it was also well-timed! 🥰🥰🥰

Top-left: #nightmareswap pkg sent!

Right: buggy picking a pumpkin this weekend 😊

@BethM your #coffeebeanbookclub pkg is also on its way!

Where better to read about being tracked through the woods by a serial killer! #readingonlocation

I‘m supposed to be ‘working from home‘ today - writing a grant application. But I have new birthday present books that are begging to be read! New book it is, work can wait!

#bookishproblems

Oh @AmyG I love it all - thank you honey. I new to me author ( so exited by that!) and fabby socks and stationery. Thank you for thinking of me xxxxxxxx #litsylove

Ps. hope you‘re doing well 😘

This actually falls somewhere between a pick and so-so—it was good, but not stellar. I liked Dionne‘s use of the fairy tale, and her taking on the challenge of an unconventional narrator. She didn‘t succumb to stereotyping, either. But—-I wish she had explored the mother-daughter relationship more, and I wanted to understand her marriage better, too. Definitely not a waste of time, but not outstanding.

Are you okay with abandoning books?

These are my two DNFs from March. Sometimes we have to just acknowledge that we are not the right reader for certain books. Life is too short to force ourselves through something we aren‘t enjoying, especially when it pertains to one of our beloved hobbies!

Both of these books are worth checking out, even though they didn‘t work for me.

Currently reading....

Helena kept her father‘s identity a secret from her husband and now that her father has escaped from prison, the secret is out. #secrets #literarylove @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88

I‘m really having trouble with how indignantly she speaks of her mother and how deluded her view of her father seems to be. His actions are inexcusable and she expresses it all as if it‘s no big deal. Sure, he‘s her father, but he‘s also an abductor, child molester, rapist, and physical abuser. But he‘s not a monster? It‘s grossing me out. I hope this redeems itself.

She must be an introvert!

Only 1.5 stars out of 5. Almost couldn‘t finish this one. The concept had promise and the start of the book was strong. But the story was not terribly suspenseful or engaging and I lost interest fairly quickly. I found the main character wholly unlikable and her behavior and decisions completely unbelievable. If you are looking for suspense, look elsewhere!

Loved this one too!!

Helena lives a quiet life close to nature with her husband and two young daughters. She's never told her husband the truth about her past: she lived off the land in a remote cabin in Michigan's U.P. with her mom and dad. Her dad abducted her mom when she was a teen and Helena was born a couple years later.
Now in the present, her dad has escaped prison and it's up to Helena to track him down and keep herself and her family safe.

Started this book last night for book club and had a tough time putting it down to go to sleep!

Helena, who appears to be living a normal life with her family in small town in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula, for the non-Michiganders out there 😁). Her life is upended when The Marsh King (a notorious child abductor) escapes from prison & her dark secret is revealed, she is the product of that abduction & raised by this man on The Marsh. With deft hunting & tracking skills, she risks it all to hunt her father. A heart pounding, page-turning read!

Just seen this for the Kindle at 99p ......(not marsh kings daughter...but HOME not on Litsy yet)

*Finally* starting this one after a busy few days.

Photo is from Friday, when I tried to start reading it while out to lunch with my husband but never got past taking this photo because Little Dude decided to pull himself to a standing position for the first time while sitting in his car seat caddy. #neveradullmoment 😮

Heard about this in a writing podcast and immediately bought it. Although it's in first person, which I tend not to like, I really enjoyed this one, save a few moments here and there (which I understand were necessary for character development).

This was such a good read and not your ordinary thriller! It‘s a steal on Amazon today!

Creepy page-turner that keeps you interested until the end. The book moves between current day and the childhood years of Helena. Helena and her family lived in isolation is Michigan‘s Upper Peninsula. Helena believes her childhood is completely normal until she learned how brutal her father actually is. After 20 years, her father escapes from prison and she is forced to face the the past she so completely buried.

Not a lot of love for this one. I get the tie in to the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, but it didn‘t work for me. Slow suspense, but I knew where it was going all along. I see that others have liked it, but meh. 2/5⭐️

I enjoyed this one. I can‘t imagine how difficult it must be to love your father knowing that he is a monster.

Karen‘s breakout novel was a joy to read. After many years honing her craft and being one of the most supportive people in the writing community she has gone back to her roots with great success. Set in the wilds of Michigan this book tosses aside many thriller conventions to deliver a gut wrenching story about family and how twisted parents can influence their children. A rewarding read for just about anyone.

Slow burn yet constantly suspenseful as Helena told her current and past stories. Complicated feelings of love and hate for parents as her perspective and understanding of situations shifts. A really fascinating read and I wish I chose it for a book group so I can discuss it.

Good read. Not super suspenseful; but compelling and worrisome. #2018 #bookclub #noveldiscussions

Great book club discussion tonight about this one! I absolutely loved it. Helena and her father Jacob are characterized so well. I love the way the story focuses on Helena as the child of the kidnapping and isolation; she had very complex feelings toward both her mom and her dad. So interesting! I liked her past POVs most. The survivalist element of this story was excellent as was the way nature and the landscape were featured.

My book club‘s current selection and I‘m completely HOOKED!

I was really enjoying the book so far, until the mention of New Kids on the Block being a four member group. Now I‘m questioning the accuracy of everything else in the book. I mean, I know it‘s fiction, but still...😅

Book club book; I‘m at about the 120 page mark and so far for me it‘s just ok.