It’s a rare writer who takes a chance on form in a genre as standardized as the psychological thriller, but that is what Debra Jo Immergut has done with her first book in 26 years... [Immergut is] daring by telling stories with distinctly un-masculine shapes in a well-established, highly masculine genre ... Not a word is out of place in The Captives. What a rare gift. If you’re a reader looking for a multidimensional thriller with exceptional characterization, watertight prose, and a wealth of uncomfortable, fascinating ideas about family and identity, Debra Jo Immergut has, at long last, written one for you.
A swift, clever two-hander ... For a writer with a literary pedigree, Immergut is a surprisingly awkward stylist, but she’s found the genre in which her sense of pacing and character readily excuse that weakness... Immergut, perhaps to her credit but to her novel’s disadvantage, can’t quite commit to real, unredeemed malevolence — but it gets there quickly and surely.
[The Captivesmoves along briskly and skillfully straddles the line between literature and thriller. The best elements of both are woven throughout the book. The writing is insightful and crisp, the supporting characters ... Immergut has built a world, no matter how harsh and tragic, where a visitor wants to stick around to learn how it all comes out.
Propulsive and psychologically astute, The Captives by Debra Jo Immergut is an intimate and gripping meditation... a cerebral novel about the way we’re forced to deal with the aftermath of our decisions. The characters are complex, and their personalities make them unique. However, the narrative goes above and beyond that ... this narrative behaves more like a noir than anything else, but it’s one with the heavy elements of thrillers and the type of outstanding writing that is usually found in literary fiction ... Ingenious and riveting, this is a book that should not be missed by anyone interested in the way love affects us, the way the past haunts us, and the way we trick ourselves into believing in impossible futures.
The Captives is a fascinating psychological thriller about the lengths that we will go to in order to save people from themselves... A rollercoaster ride that will keep you engrossed until the very last page.
The forward surge of {The Captives] never slows, pulling the reader along for the ride ... Immergut has spun an interesting tale with fully realized characters whose ups and downs are compelling, even if sometimes confusing.
Orange Is the New Black meets Gone Girl in this ingenious psychological thriller from Immergut... Immergut’s book begins as in incisive psychological portrait of two mismatched individuals and morphs into a nail-biting thriller.
