Captured

By Neil Cross

?The electrifying new novel from the master of the modern nightmare, Neil Cross, acclaimed writer of Luther and Hard Sun

Even though he is still young, Kenny has just weeks to live. Before he dies, he wants to find his childhood best friend Callie Barton and thank her for the kindness she showed him when they were at school together.

But when Kenny begins his search, he discovers that Callie has gone missing. Although cleared of any involvement, her husband Jonathan seems to be hiding something.

Kenny has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. And knowing that time is running out on him, he's prepared to do whatever it takes...

Praise for Captured:
 
'Fantastically clever stories expertly told by a very skilful writer' Chris Carter, Number One Sunday Times Bestseller
 
'With every book Neil Cross's prose grows leaner and more charged... Cross is a wonderful writer, full of mordant psychological insights... Britain's own Stephen King' John O'Connell, Guardian
 
'Once again, Neil Cross proves that he's not just a master of suspense, but horror too... His novels, however, have just been getting better and better as he appears to have found a deceptively simple yet highly-charged and convincing style' Mirror, Book of the Week
 
'A psychological thriller for which the term 'page-turner' might have been coined' Metro
 
'Gory detail and lifelike descriptions paint a stark picture of the life of portrait artist Kenny Drummond. A testimony of the human spirit’s ability to bear pain and even the respect and love he can feel for his sworn enemy, Captured is gripping stuff' The Northern Echo
 
'Original and thoughtful, a psychological thriller sharing some common ground with Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine... the deft plot has an inescapable gravity' TLS
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Mar 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9780857200303

Neil Cross

Neil Cross is the creator and sole writer of the critically acclaimed BBC America crime series Luther, and the film Luther: The Fallen Sun, available on Netflix. In 2011, Cross was awarded the Edgar Award for Best Teleplay for episode one of Luther. He is the author of the thriller Burial and lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand. Visit him online at Neil-Cross.com.

Reviews for Captured

[leena · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

lovely book

[austcrimefiction · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the things that I've really come to expect from author Neil Cross is not quite knowing what to expect when you pick up one of this books. CAPTURED is the latest in a set of standalone novels that have just all been fantastic, and I'm happy to report that CAPTURED keeps up the standard.When Kenny finds out he has a matter of weeks to live he draws up the sort of list that I guess many of us might draw up. People that he wants to clear the air with. He starts out tracking down the man who, as a little boy had been nearly abducted. Kenny had seen the suspect trailing the boy, and yet, when the police questioned him, he wasn't able to provide much detail. Kenny wants to apologise. He wants to make things right with his ex-wife, and still closest friend, but somehow he can't quite get to her name just yet. So he tries to track down his old school-yard friend. Callie had been kind to Kenny when he was a loner, awkward, a kid that didn't quite fit in. Callie, unfortunately, isn't easy to find, in fact she has disappeared in unexpected circumstances. Kenny wants to to make things right, and yet, despite his best intentions it ends up not right. About as far from right as you can possibly get.CAPTURED is just one of the most fascinating novels I've read in a long time. Kenny is a character that will endear you to him, freak you out completely, but in the end, you just can't help but feel so desperately for a man for whom the best of intentions somehow manage to go so incredibly wrong. His complete inability to pull back from the abyss is intriguing. Is it human nature or is it something to do with the ticking time bomb in his brain? Tightly told, quick moving and tense, at no stage does CAPTURED read like a script despite Cross having credentials as a screenwriter. It's also not just a story about Kenny. There are other characters in this book who stand out from the page - the people who help Kenny and support him, and those who come up against him.If there is anything at all that links Cross's recent books (NATURAL HISTORY / BURIAL and now CAPTURED) it is possibly the theme of the ordinary, flawed human being, pushed way outside their comfort zone. Add to that a talent for creating bleak and vaguely threatening settings; crisp, spare yet beautifully flowing prose and characterisations that tear at the heartstrings even when they are doing the unforgivable and it just has to be said. Do yourselves a favour. CAPTURED is a one sitting, absolutely tremendous, extremely disturbing book that you'll not forget in a hurry.

[nicx27 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I have read by Neil Cross, and I was looking forward to it as I have enjoyed both Spooks and Luther, TV programmes he has either written, or had a hand in writing.I wasn't disappointed with this book. It's the story of Kenny Drummond, a young man who has discovered he has only weeks to live and decides to make it up to four people to whom he feels he owes something. This is a good premise for a story, but I couldn't really see how it would end up being a thriller. I won't give the story away, but it's certainly not a run of the mill type thriller.It's a short book, and an easy read, with nice bite-size chapters, and it kept me interested enough all the way through to want to find out what happened at the end. Kenny isn't the more likeable character in the world, but I still felt enough about him to engage with his feelings and understand why he does some, if not all, of the actions he does in the story.It's quite an odd sort of story, but I'd definitely read more of Neil Cross's books in the future.