THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER “Brilliant….About as good as a thriller can be.”—The New York Times Book Review “[A] nail-biter perfect for Room fans.”—Cosmopolitan “Sensationally good psychological suspense.”—Lee Child Praised by Karin Slaughter and Megan Abbott, 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 … 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 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 Michigan Notable Book!
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Set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this book will take you to the Far-Away next door. A gripping story of a young girl born into captivity in the wilderness. Loved it.
WOW!!! What a fantastic book. I was disappointed when it ended. Highly recommend!
An unbelievable story with an unexpected ending. It’ll keep you interested and engaged throughout.
I love a capable heroine.
I loved this woman from the first page and never stopped loving her, despite how badly (and understandably) damaged she was. If this were a true story, the damage would have been much worse, I get that. One must agree to suspend disbelief at some point – this is fiction, after all. But I absolutely loved every minute of the book and will definitely be reading it again.
The Marsh King’s Daughter drew me in from the very beginning. I was unable to put it down! The author’s prose was very poetic at times, and built a very vivid image of life in the marsh. It was different from anything I’ve read before. I did not like the protagonist at the beginning of the book but felt I grew to know and understand her as the book progressed, drawing me in and putting me, the reader, in a very empathetic frame of mind. I started rooting for her and, while I couldn’t wait to get to the climactic ending, I also enjoyed every page of the drama leading up to it. I’d definitely like to read more by this author. I would highly recommend this book.
I really enjoyed this book—I loved that the setting was in the upper peninsula of Michigan and the main character was well developed. It was sad at times but was entertaining to read. I recommend it.
This book gives you more than a glimpse into the darkness that inhabits some souls. It is intense and riveting.
Wanted to like but story was just to much.
Really kept me engaged and the ending was a stunner
Did not like this. Book
While it was suspenseful it was also very disturbing
I keep wavering between 3 and 4 stars for this one. It was an amazingly suspenseful and intense start. The writing and descriptions were unbelievable. The problem was that after about the halfway to two thirds mark things really started to slow down a bit and I felt like things were too descriptive. It was just taking too long to get to the point. I knew where it was going almost as soon as the story started but because of how it was written and how interesting it was that was ok. Then it got a little tedious and it began to feel sluggish and I wanted things to just get going and for something new to just happen. I really did enjoy it though. The writing and the descriptions of the marsh were beautiful. The character development was top notch and incredibly well thought out. I just would have liked the pace to have been kept up in the third quarter.
Just….WOW. There’s a lot in this book. The Marsh King’s Daughter is well written and I think does a good job of bringing the age old question of nuture or nature to fruition. I loved that we got a look at both sides, Helena’s old life and her new. The only thing I disliked were the inserts of the fairy tale at the beginnings of the chapters. The don’t really offer that much to the story to me. I found myself skipping those as what I really wanted was more of the actual story.
Couldn’t put it down.
An excellent psychological thriller. Great detail. Well drawn characters. I listened to the audiobook and the reader did a wonderful job. This story had moments that were hard to listen to because of the intensity and subject matter of the story. The story and characters have stayed with me. Recommend.
A beautiful, dark story about a family that lives in the woods. Until the daughter who always suspected something was wrong with their parents, the fact that she never saw other human beings except het mom and dad. She’s a happy young girl, she knows better than anyone this art of America that is so well described in this book until something, someone will tell her the truth about her family. Nature is very important too in Karen Dionnes book! It’s a character and this is something I love about books! My english isn’t really good, I’m belgian and my mother and father languages are french and dutch but I tried to read as much as I can in (american) English. So please excuse my mistakes!
Did not finish the book, which is rare for me. I bought it for the suspense and because the story takes place in my home state but it just didn’t deliver. Could not keep my interest. Disappointed to say the least.
WOW! Another fabulous and unique read. The Marsh King’s Daughter is suspenseful thriller set in the remote swamps of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. It is the story of Helena Pelletier, born to a woman who was kidnapped at the age of 14 by a sociopath. Taking the reader back in time to an isolated setting; a cabin with no electricity or running water, and where the sun is the only light to live by, Helena’s connection to the outside world is a National Geographic magazine and the occasional drone of a plane.
The book alternates between two time frames. The present, where Helena is married with two daughters and the past where we learn how Helena came to be. In the present, her father escapes from prison, having killed two correctional officers, and Helena is the only one who can bring him to justice. As she tracks him through her old stamping ground in the UP, she recalls her childhood living in a dilapidated cabin in the swamp. Here, we learn about the abuse and confinement both she and her mother suffer, which makes this story so utterly heart-breaking. Helena grows up tough, learning the survival skills necessary for wilderness life—tracking, hunting, shooting—while at the same time being unaware of her mother’s past. Somewhat insensitive to her mother’s dilemma, she idolizes her father while enduring his torture and becoming more able to predict his punishments.
The descriptions of the UP are vivid and well researched. I felt I was right there with Helena, surviving the elements and searching for tracks in the terrain. She’s a strong protagonist, one you definitely want to root for. The survival techniques the author describes are top-notch. There aren’t many books with this much explanation that didn’t leave you feeling exhausted from a history lesson. They were cleverly drip-fed throughout the book, and left you wanting more.
I found it hard to stomach Helena’s indifference towards her mother at the beginning, but I realise her mother was too weak to stop the abuse, and the sheer isolation made it impossible to run for help. Every effort would no doubt be hampered by the father’s brutal nature. I did question Helena’s hesitation when she had a clean shot of her father at the beginning, and wondered why she didn’t just pop him. Or disable him, at the very least.
The general ‘feel’ after finishing this book is of a stolen childhood. One that wouldn’t have provided the young Helena with any social skills since she had no interaction with other children of her age. Same as her mother who would have compared her life before she was kidnapped to the cruelty she experienced afterwards. It was desolate and moody, characteristics I enjoy in a novel.
I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy spine-tingling, adventure suspense.