drey’s thoughts:

Alma Katsu’s The Taker is a surprisingly mesmerizing tale of childhood fancies and grown-up realities. We start with a childhood infatuation that grows into so much more. Love? Well, Lanore is certain it is. Who knows what Jonathan thinks… Especially when he’s got all the girls vying for his attention already.

But Lanore is convinced that she’s the one for him, that they’re meant to be together, and it’s all going to work out. Until the day she’s sent to Boston in shame, heartbroken because he’s betrothed to another.

Lanore meets up with Adair and his group in Boston, and winds up staying with them. Smart? Maybe not. But it’s not like she had much choice. Destitute women rarely do. As she tries to make the most of her opportunities though, she finds that her new friends have a darker side. And is drawn irrevocably into their web when she tries to run away… Now they want Jonathan too. Can she give him up, even after he broke her heart?

The Taker is a dark story, set in a time when women don’t have options other than do as you’re told, or take to the streets. And Alma Katsu makes it even darker with Jonathan’s callousness, and Adair’s motives and inclinations. Luke is a refreshing change from the other characters, but he seems to pale in comparison to the rest–maybe because he isn’t just like them? In any case, there’s something for everybody here, whether you like mysteries or the paranormal or just plain fiction.

drey’s rating: Excellent!