Deadly Captive by Bianca Sommerland

Deadly Captive by Bianca Sommerland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A grim and sometimes confusing read. Not quite as dark and twisted as some things I've read, but it's up there. Characterizations change somewhat throughout the book, and it's hard to know at times whether to feel sympathy for the main characters or be somewhat repulsed by them. No one is entirely innocent in the final accounting, and frequently it's hard to know who, if anyone, you should be rooting for to come out on top in the end.

Lydia begins as a sympathetic character, but as the book goes along she seems to lose her way. At best, it could probably be argued that the things she's made to endure drive her more than a little insane. Then again, maybe she was heavily conflicted to begin with whether or not it was ever obvious before. She goes along with things a little too easily at times, and then at others, she'll suddenly balk and throw a bit of a temper tantrum over the slightest thing, and/or over something you'd think she'd have no objection to.

Joe seems to be a fairly softhearted guy at first. An iron will, and willing to do reprehensible things in the name of saving or protecting Lydia at times, but seemingly a pretty easygoing nice guy underneath. There are flashes of a darker side to his personality at times, and this side comes to the fore more later on making him a much less sympathetic character by the end than he is at the beginning. By the end you're left wondering if Lydia's really better off with him or if she's just traded one captor for another.

Not an easy read by any means, anyone with a weak stomach or who's easily upset by things such as graphic rape, torture, and other violence should steer clear of this one. Even if such things don't bother you overmuch in a book, this one will likely make you uncomfortable at best, and will probably leave an uneasy feeling in its wake once read.

In the end, I'm not entirely sure what to think about this one exactly - I'm not entirely sure I really liked it, and yet it held a definite morbid fascination for me and I found it hard to stop reading once I'd started. Kind of like watching a train wreck I suppose; you want to look away from the horror of it, but you can't quite seem to tear your eyes away. Approach this one with caution if you choose to read it.

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