A woman learns how far she'll go to protect her son in Peggy Townsend's The Beautiful and the Wild, a twisty, suspenseful story that straddles the line between survival novel and domestic thriller.
Liv Russo is locked in a shipping container in the Alaskan wilderness. Just down the hill, her husband, Mark; their son; and Mark's lover are eating dinner. Left alone and terrified, Liv wonders how she got there--and how she'll escape. Townsend (See Her Run) uses a single point of view to bring readers through the early days of Liv's marriage, as Liv gradually reveals the actions that brought her to this awful situation. How did Mark turn from a free-spirited film documentarian to a survivalist who abandoned his family? And what secrets is Liv hiding?
The Beautiful and the Wild isn't the straightforward survival story it at first appears to be. Mark seems a villain at some times and, at others, a charismatic man looking for the meaning of life. Though she's clearly driven by the need to survive and to protect her son, Liv is also hard to pin down. Townsend keeps readers guessing, evoking modern hits like The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl as she casts doubt on Liv's character and recollection of events.
The Beautiful and the Wild is full of danger--hunger, medical needs, even bears--but the complex motivations of the humans at this remote Alaskan compound drive the plot to a devastating, satisfying conclusion. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian and freelance reviewer