The Kept by James Scott is a debut novel that is getting a crazy amount of in-house buzz. So naturally…interest piqued. It was not what I was expecting, but it definitely lived up to the hype. The writing completely transports you to turn of the 20th century, rural NY where a family lives in isolation until the day the outside world crashes into their sheltered existence, bringing tragedy in it's wake.
Midwife Elspeth Howell returns to her isolated farmstead to find her husband and four of her five children murdered. Before she can look for her remaining son Caleb, she is shot. Caleb nurses his mother back to health, cleaning her wounds and keeping her fed, before he and Elspeth leave their home to seek retribution from the men who committed this heinous crime.
On their journey, Elspeth and Caleb are forced to examine their complex relationship in order to survive. Additionally, Elspeth nurses a very deep secret that causes her to question her part in this tragedy, was it vengeance or karma?
Reminiscent of Charles Portis, Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O’Connor, this book is sad but very satisfying. Please snag an e-galley from Edelweiss!
– Annie