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- Romance - |
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The Hostage |
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T he Hostage bySusan Wiggs Mira Books 389 pages, 2000 ISBN 1551665921 Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde On October 8, 1871 the city of Chicago is burned almost to the ground, as a stray spark is fanned into an inferno by the wind. Suddenly, the confusion throws rich and poor together as they flee the flames. Fortunes are lost and gained in a single night. Deborah Sinclair has just turned up at her father’s mansion to tell him that she doesn’t want to marry her fiancé, when they are confronted by a total stranger who tries to kill her father. When the stranger fails, he kidnaps Deborah instead. On Isle Royale, Tom Silver’s adopted son Asa and many other inhabitants of the close-knit community have been killed, when an unsafe mine belonging to Arthur Sinclair blew up. Since then, Tom Silver has lived only for vengeance. Instead of killing his enemy, he has the daughter instead: a rich, pampered heiress who knows nothing of life in the real world. This is the first in a trilogy about Deborah, her maid (whose family are thought to have started the fire unwittingly) and her finishing school friends. Wiggs is a practised storyteller at the peak of her skill. The tale roams from the confusion in Chicago to the long river journey and to the misty, self-sufficient wilds of Isle Royale. Deborah gets to know the folk of the island and ultimately, she discovers her true self during her captivity. I enjoyed reading about her blossoming relationship with the moody Silver. Although no groundbreaker or model of originality, The Hostage is a most enjoyable romance and I will certainly look out for the next part of this trilogy. |
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