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A review by cheryl1213
The Kept by James Scott
3.0
Elspeth Howell is a midwife at the turn of the twentieth century. Her husband and five children live an isolated and largely self-sufficient life in upstate New York, while Elspeth leaves for long stretches to go work in various towns. This routine is violently interrupted when a gang, marked by red scarves, arrives and slaughters the father and four children. Twelve year-old Caleb survives by chance and he is so afraid that he nearly kills his mother on her return. After helping her mend, the two set off to search for the red-scarfed-men and for many other answers to a life Caleb had begun to suspect was somehow "off." The rest of the book details their journey (in winter, of course) and stay in a tough town where Elspeth hides as a man and Caleb ends up in some unsavory company.
I'm afraid it's only 3 stars for this novel (Advance Reviewer copy provided by Harper). It had promise, but it would have benefited from being cut at least by one-quarter. The characters don't ring very true to me. One "secret" was apparent to me from pretty much the start and there's a bit too much that feels incredibly coincidental as things went on. There is a strong sense of place, always a plus for me but not enough to carry me.
Readers should know the book is quite violent. That's not an issue for my generally, but it does get extreme, especially with the same scenes revisited multiple times (in the novel's defense, I suppose they are scenes that memory would revisit). Wilderness (within people and in the rough climate) and revenge are dominant themes and I think you'd need an interest in both to be pulled through and stay interested.
I'm afraid it's only 3 stars for this novel (Advance Reviewer copy provided by Harper). It had promise, but it would have benefited from being cut at least by one-quarter. The characters don't ring very true to me. One "secret" was apparent to me from pretty much the start and there's a bit too much that feels incredibly coincidental as things went on. There is a strong sense of place, always a plus for me but not enough to carry me.
Readers should know the book is quite violent. That's not an issue for my generally, but it does get extreme, especially with the same scenes revisited multiple times (in the novel's defense, I suppose they are scenes that memory would revisit). Wilderness (within people and in the rough climate) and revenge are dominant themes and I think you'd need an interest in both to be pulled through and stay interested.