Book Review: The Taker by Alma Katsu

The Taker
Author: Alma Katsu
Pages: 352 Hardcover
Reading Level: Adult
Published: September 6th 2011
Review Source: Gallery Books
Avaialbel: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound

Summary: (from goodreads) True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. . . .

On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated.

Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley.

Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption.

The story grabs you attention from the very beginning. The main character Lanny, you learn is some kind of immortal, but you will find out what kind, why and how she became this way while she tells her story to Luke, the emergency doctor that becomes her protector. The circumstances that they meet under is not considered hopeful but they can’t help certain familiarity growing within them.

The whole story is done using flashbacks between the present and the early 1800, where she starts her grueling journey. It is a sad story, very compelling where she is put through very harsh and abusive situations. The sexual content, even if not graphic, it is dark and shocking. Would have liked the closure less rushed ,it left me questioning a lot of open options with the unexpected discovery, giving the impression that a sequel is in the works.

A good book, not for the faint of heart, that includes romance, violence, intrigue within an enthralling history telling.