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The Captive

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The Captive

By: Deborah O'Connor
Narrated by: Rose Robinson, Ed Hughes
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About this listen

Times Thriller of the Month

Hannah knows the cage intimately. Small, the size of a shopping mall parking space. A bed, a basin, a table and chair. A hatch and metal drawer through which to exchange food and other items.

Then there's him. Always there on the edges of her vision, no matter how hard she tries to block him out.

Every day, the same thoughts run through Hannah's mind:

What if he speaks to me?

What if he hurts me?

What if he gets out?

A brilliant, high concept, intensely gripping thriller perfect for fans of THE SILENT PATIENT, THE CAPTIVE is a standout new thriller from one of the most exciting new voices in crime fiction. It will keep you guessing till the very end . . .

©2021 Deborah O'Connor (P)2021 Bonnier Books UK
Crime Thrillers Psychological Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

"Part thriller, part dark, unpredictable love story. A gripping page-turner." (Adele Park)

"Oh my god, it’s fantastic! Highly original, thrilling and emotional, The Captive is set to be one of the best books of 2021. I adored it." (Jo Spain)

"An ingenious premise that turns into a smart, pacy and highly entertaining thriller - Deborah O'Connor shows once again why she's one of the most original writers around." (T. M. Logan)

All stars
Most relevant
i loved this . its twists and turns in the book had me totally hooked Looking now for a new by the author

brilliant story

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I really liked the concept to begin with, but it’s not particularly thrilling. The ending is a little bit too happy and there’s no real twist. Performances could have been better.

An average thriller

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Imagine a world where the penal system has been replaced with an ultimate form of restorative justice where victims of crime are responsible for the captivity of criminals in their own homes. This near future dystopia is closer to Charlie Booker's Black Mirror than the pulp thriller it initially appears. Deborah O'Connor manages to ensure that the remarkable scenario she has created is merely the backdrop to this very human story about a captive and capture and, whilst it would be surprising if there was not an element of Stockholm Syndrome in the storyline, there is enough here to ensure is it fresh and surprising and the author does not fall down any of the obvious traps with the plot that is both compelling and, strangely believable.

Black Mirror-esque dystopian thriller

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