Review: Gritty, Suspenseful Novel for Adult Readers
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 8, 2013
David Ellis's "Captive" is a dark, sensual book that tells the story of Ben and Hugo, recently married in London and ready to start their lives together--until their lives go horribly off-track. Ben is the rich, successful playboy, good-looking and with a tendency to stray; Hugo is quieter, still handsome but happy working in a museum and away from the crowd. They decide to honeymoon to Cape Town, South Africa, and while their vacation is near idyllic at first it quickly plunges into a nightmare.While Hugo is distracted by the amorous attentions of a hotel staff member, Ben disappears--he's been kidnapped, and is being held hostage for one million rand. His captors send videos of men degrading Ben sexually as he is bound, submitting to numerous BDSM encounters.While in many stories the narrative would wrap up at the point where Ben is (or isn't) rescued, "Captive" continues, dealing with the aftermath of such trauma and how it affects everyone in the book--leading to a shocking twist that's also a little heartbreaking.I can't say I would recommend "Captive" to everyone, because as readers have noted the sex scenes are very graphic and appear frequently throughout the novel--if you are offended by such things, the book might not be for you (in which case check out Ellis's other very good and less explicit novel, "Looks Could Kill"). However, if you don't mind adult content and are looking for a fast-paced, well-plotted suspense novel, then give "Captive" a try.