Janet Oakes, who came to my rescue and rallied the troops on one of the worst days ever. I am lucky to have had someone as kind and smart as you in my corner.
Murray Boland, who takes leaps on my crazy ideas on a weekly basis and who didn’t hesitate to give me the time to finish this when I needed it the most.
Chris Sussman, my earliest and best cheerleader. Thank you for the comments, thoughts and questions, all of which helped shape this book and the world it inhabits.
Shameem Sangha, for the decades of support, friendship, laughter, and steak and chips. Your Fleabag pencils and WhatsApps are responsible for my completing at least three chapters of this book.
Steve Roche, for always being at the end of the phone to answer anything police-related.
Irene Wong, for your friendship and for helping with a character backstory that (although it didn’t make the final cut) did mean we got to have a lovely dinner together.
Danny O’Connor and Kirsty Walsh, for the childcare, moral support and family group chat. You’ve never known true love unless you have a sister-in-law prepared to drop everything, travel 300 miles and look after your kid for a few days so you can finish a first draft.
Alan and Dorothy. My lobsters.
About the Author
Deborah O’Connor is a writer and TV producer. She lives in North Yorkshire with her husband and daughter. The Captive is her third novel.
Also by Deborah O’Connor
My Husband’s Son
The Dangerous Kind
If you enjoyed The Captive, why not join Deborah O’Connor’s Readers’ Club by visiting www.bit.ly/DeborahOConnor?
Dear Reader,
I got the idea for this novel after our flat was burgled. The police caught the culprits and we were contacted and asked if we would like to meet with them as part of a restorative justice programme. I think restorative justice is laudable. Turns out I only think that in theory. In reality my response was instant no. There was no way I wanted to meet the people who had broken into my home. The prospect of seeing them up close, of them knowing who I was, terrified me.
Shortly after the burglary I watched the film Capote, the story of how In Cold Blood came to be. Part-way through the film there was a scene in which the two suspects are shown locked inside prison cells that were situated inside the sheriff’s actual house (this was common, being such a tiny Kansas town the local police often situated the holding cells in their homes). This image, of a prison cell inside a domestic setting (in one scene the wife is shown at the stove, frying bacon) collided with our burglary in my head and I started to wonder. What if restorative justice was taken to its most extreme and logical conclusion?
Everyone knows prisons don’t work, so what if there was a new form of justice, one in which, if someone commits a crime against you and they are found guilty, you are responsible for their prison time? A cell is built somewhere in your home and you are responsible for overseeing their sentence – the food they eat, the comforts they do or don’t get. How would that work?
And then I started to wonder, what if your prisoner turned around and told you they didn’t do it, that they were innocent. Would you believe them?
If you would like to hear more about my books, you can visit www.bit.ly/DeborahOConnor where you can become part of my readers’ club. It only takes a few moments to sign up, there are no catches or costs. Zaffre will keep your data private and confidential, and it will never be passed on to a third party. We won’t spam you with loads of emails, we’ll just get in touch now and again with news about my books, and you can unsubscribe any time you want.
And if you would like to get involved in a wider conversation about my books, please do review The Captive on Amazon, on Goodreads, on any other e-store, on your own blog and social media accounts, or talk about it with friends, family or reading groups. Sharing your thoughts helps other readers, and I always enjoy hearing about what people experience from my writing.
Thank you again for reading The Captive.
All the best,
Deborah
If you loved The Captive, you will love . . .
THE DANGEROUS KIND
What if the people we trust are the ones we should fear most?
We all recognise them. Those who exist just on the fringes of society. Who send prickles up the back of our necks. The charmers. The liars. The manipulators. Those who have the potential to go that one step too far. And then take another step.
Jessamine Gooch makes a living from these people. Each week she broadcasts a radio show looking into the past lives of convicted killers; asking if there was more that could have been done to prevent their terrible crimes.
Then one day she is approached by a woman desperate to find her missing friend, Cassie, fearing her abusive husband may have taken that final deadly step. But as Jessamine delves into the months prior to Cassie’s disappearance she fails to realise there is a dark figure closer to home, one that threatens the safety of her own family . . .
Available Now
MY HUSBAND’S SON
Heidi and Jason aren't like other couples. Six years ago, Heidi's daughter was murdered. A year later, Jason's son Barney disappeared. Their shared loss brought them together.
By chance, Heidi meets a boy she's certain is her husband's long-missing son - but Jason is equally convinced it's not him.
Is Heidi mad? Or is Jason hiding something? And can their fragile marriage survive Heidi's search for the truth . . .
Available Now
First published in the UK in 2021 by Zaffre
This ebook edition published in 2021 by
ZAFFRE
An imprint of Bonnier Books UK
80–81 Wimpole St, London W1G 9RE
Owned by Bonnier Books
Sveavägen 56, Stockholm, Sweden
Copyright © Deborah O’Connor, 2021
Jacket design & photography: © Dominic Forbes
The moral right of Deborah O’Connor to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-83877-268-0
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-83877-265-9
This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd
Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK
www.bonnierbooks.co.uk
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