Hardcover, 368 Pages

Adult -Thriller, Historical

Review Copy/TLC Book Tours

Warnings: Disturbing graphic violence

4/5 Stars 

In the winter of 1897, Elspeth Howell treks across miles of snow and ice to the isolated farmstead in upstate New York where she and her husband have raised their five children. Her midwife’s salary is tucked into the toes of her boots, and her pack is full of gifts for her family. But as she crests the final hill, and sees her darkened house and a smokeless chimney, immediately she knows that an unthinkable crime has destroyed the life she so carefully built.

Her lone comfort is her twelve-year-old son, Caleb, who joins her in mourning the tragedy and planning its reprisal. Their long journey leads them to a rough-hewn lake town, defined by the violence both of its landscape and of its inhabitants. There Caleb is forced into a brutal adulthood, as he slowly discovers truths about his family he never suspected, and Elspeth must confront the terrible urges and unceasing temptations that have haunted her for years. Throughout it all, the love between mother and son serves as the only shield against a merciless world.

Thoughts

Set against the backdrop of lawlessness, The Kept offers a dreary tale of isolation that drips off the pages in cold chills. As chilly as the book itself author James Scott introduces us to Elspeth and Caleb, characters who bring readers the heavy feel of foreboding and a darkness that follows them due to the opening events and later by past lies and deception.

An impossible book to put down and yet at the same time an impossible book to like mainly due to the hopelessness of the main characters lot in life. Even with its darkness though, and story so heavy with violence, I loved the beauty in the metaphors and the visual scenery that gave breath to a time untouched by industry and "Americanism", a time when yes it was scary due to its isolated corners but beautiful by its land and simple living. Its best to dive into The Kept knowing just the synopsis, as taking the journey with the characters is what makes this story so harrowing, giving away pieces of who and what Elspeth is and did gives away too many details. Its certainly not an easy book to get through, nor is it a fast moving plot with tons of action, think of the story more as a long winter tale that seeps into your skin slowly and in the end will be appreciated for its literal merit and not so much its consumability.

The Kept is a dark winter story of murder, lies and desperation into that of a dying soul. While hope layers small parts of a an overall dreadful outcome, the finality of Caleb and Elspeth's journey is just depressing. Readers who enjoy dark pieces will defiantly see the haunting creativity Scott brings to this book, but will long be shaking off the gloomy aftereffects of such tragedy.

James Scott earned his bachelor's degree from Middlebury College and his MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. He has received awards from the Sewanee Writers' Conference, the New York State Summer Writers Institute, the Millay Colony, the Saint Botolph Club, the Tin House Summer Writer’s Conference, Yaddo, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
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His work has been short listed for the Pushcart Prize and nominated for the Best New American Voices. James currently lives in western Massachusetts.

Thanks to Harper and TLC Book Tours for Review Copy