a fresh idea

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BEWARE - this novel will make you think!

Deborah O'Connor has written a novel which grabs your attention from the start. One simple idea turns punishment and victimhood on its head by making the victim responsible for the imprisonment of the criminal in their own home. She explores this idea in many vignettes scattered through a main plot focused on just one woman and her prisoner.

Science fiction often imagines one aspect of life being radically different and, to do so, usually adopts a setting on a different planet or in the future. This story is in our time and set in suburban England. I think this homeliness gives more impact to the situation and the dilemmas and choices spotlighted. i would call this 'social fiction'.

The pace is good, the settings painted well and the dialogue is superb. It's the kind of novel which you practically see playing out as you read it. It would make an excellent three act play. I recommend The Captive to readers of thrillers, mysteries and science fiction.