The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

The Marsh King's Daughter

by Karen Dionne

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER—NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!

“Brilliant....About as good as a thriller can be.”—The New York Times Book Review

The Marsh King’s Daughter is the mesmerizing tale of a woman who must risk everything to hunt down the dangerous man who shaped her past and threatens to steal her future: her own father.
 
Helena Pelletier has a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a business that fills her days. But she also has a secret: she is the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped as a teenager by her father and kept in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Helena, born two years after the abduction, loved her home in nature, and despite her father’s sometimes brutal behavior, she loved him, too...until she learned precisely how savage he could be.

More than twenty years later, she has buried her past so soundly that even her husband doesn’t know the truth. But now her father has killed two guards, escaped from prison, and disappeared into the marsh. The police begin a manhunt, but Helena knows they don’t stand a chance. Knows that only one person has the skills to find the survivalist the world calls the Marsh King—because only one person was ever trained by him: his daughter.


“[A] nail-biter perfect for Room fans.”—Cosmopolitan

“Sensationally good psychological suspense.”—Lee Child

A Michigan Notable Book!

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

3 of 5 stars

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Borrowed from a friend at work. Got sucked in pretty quickly with the dual timelines amping up the tension. Don't know about the white woman writing about indigenous people though. My friend who lent it out is cool with it, for what's its worth. 

I was with MC all the way to the end until she made dumb dumb dumb decisions that just bugged the shit out of me. Bit of a let down there, and the eplilogue was anticlimactic without a message or point. I'd never heard or read the fairy tale of the marsh king's daughter before and I find the connection nebulous. But whatever. 

TL;DR: Enjoyable enough. Lackluster ending. Questionable how memorable it'll be. Only time will tell. Glad I only borrowed it. 

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 14 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 14 December, 2019: Reviewed