The Taker, by Alma Katsu

Posted by Saluki in Book Reviews | 1 comment

The Taker, by Alma Katsu

Reviewed by Saluki

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.

Every now and again, a publisher will contact MVF to see if we would like a review copy of a book. So, when a wonderful representative of Gallery Books contacted me to see if we would like to receive a copy of this book, I jumped at the chance. Maybe it’s the nerd in me, but there is just something that makes me giddy about getting to read a book before it is released to the general public. The brief description of the book intrigued me so much that by the time it finally came in the mail I was like a kid on Christmas morning, tearing into the packaging and clutching the book to my chest like it was the best present in the world.

The Taker is a historical romance with a dash of mystery wrapped up in a supernatural bow. It takes place in modern times, with Lanny, the heroine of the story, taking us back in time to her childhood in growing up in the Maine Territories. Lanny is brought into the ER by the sheriff of the small town of St. Andrew, Main. She is in shock, covered in blood, and under arrest for murder. From the moment Luke Findley meets Lanny he knows that there is something different about her. When he finds her without a scratch and asking him to help her escape from the hospital before she can be taken to jail, Luke is caught in a dangerous situation.  His first instinct is to refuse Lanny’s request, but when he sees her stab herself and the wound immediately heal itself, he knows that there is no way he can leave her to the police.

Luke is a broken man, having lost both his parents and tone through a divorce in the recent past. His life has consisted of working at the hospital as a surgeon and taking care of his parent’s farm – nothing more and nothing less. He’s hidden within himself, living in a house full of memories in a little town keeping him stuck in the past. It seems that Lanny didn’t come to Luke on accident – these are two broken souls desperate for healing. The reader gets to see Luke come out of his shell as he tries to unravel the mystery of the woman beside him. The further Luke gets from his old life, the more he realizes that he needs to confront what his life has become.  St. Andrew, and all of the painful memories it holds, becomes a burden he is all too happy to shake off as their journey takes him out of the United States and into Canada.

This is hands down one of the best books I have read so far this year. So many books with immortal characters feel the same because they are based on the same myths we have read about over and over again. But, the author of this books creates her own immortality tale based on an ancient alchemic sercret. These characters aren’t vampires – no need for blood or allergy to light. They aren’t born with unnaturally long life spans. They eat, drink, and sleep like humans, although they can go without for weeks at a time. It is almost as if they have drunk from the fountain of youth, no longer aging, becoming sick or dying. There is only one true death for these beings, and it is at the hand of their maker.

Lanny’s story starts in the year 1809. She’s twelve and has just laid eyes on the boy who will become her obsession for the rest of her days on Earth.  Lanny seems to fall in love with Jonathan St. Andrew the moment she lays eyes on him. He is the eldest son of the founder of the town, and as such he is way out of her league. She doesn’t let that stop her in the least. Despite the rigid morals and tightly defined social structure of the era, Lanny goes out of her way to talk to Jonathan and after a somewhat rocky start, they become fast friends. Lanny loves Jonathan from a distance. She knows that one day his parents will find him a wife, just as her parents will find her a husband.  Despite that, she knows that she can’t survive without him in her life. I hurt for Lanny so much through this story. She loves a man she can never fully have, yet is willing to sacrifice everything for him. Even when Jonathan seems to reciprocate Lanny’s feelings, she is never really sure what he is thinking. You see, Jonathan is the most handsome boy in town and has a reputation for stealing the virture of many girls in St. Andrew. While she only has eyes for him, Jonathan has no problem giving himself to any willing woman in town.  Through it all, Lanny remains steadfast in her loyalty and devotion to Jonathan. Her love for him restores her at the same time as it tears her down. He is her angel and devil wrapped up in one. Then, Lanny finally gets what she wans from Jonthan – and quickly learns that everything has a price.

The price of getting what she wants is leaving St. Andrew.  Lanny’s parents decide to send her to a convent in Boston to protect both her reputation and that of their family. But Lanny, headstrong and upset at her parents, decides she would rather strike out on her own.  This decision changes the course of her life in ways she could never imagine. Lost and alone on the streets of Boston, she is taken in by a wealthy family (of sorts): Adair, Alejandro, Tilde, Dona, and the mysterious. Uzra. Lanny is brutalizes on her first night in her new home. Too weak to leave, and on the brink of death, Adair makes the decision to give the gift of immortal life to his newest pet. After she regains her strength, Lanny quickly learns there are certain things expected of her by Adair, things that repulse and turn her on at the same time. It doesn’t take long for Lanny to embrace her new life. She wants for nothing, and in return she must only give herself over to Adair – something that doesn’t repulse her as much as it should. As the story progresses, we learn Adair’s story and his plans for the mysterious Jonathan that Lanny has told her housemates about. She is sent to St. Andrew to bring Jonathan back to Boston and is forced to confront her past. Jonathan has moved on with his life in the years that she has been away, but fate conspires to make it much easier for Jonathan to leave, and for he and Lanny to be together.

This is one of those books you just have to take a leap of faith and read to really appreciate. There is the story of Lanny and Jonathan, Lanny and Luke, Lanny and Adair, all weaving together and creating a riveting, beautiful, haunting story that I guarantee will stay with you long after you finish the book.