Title: Others of My Kind
Author: James Sallis
Genre: Suspense / Thriller
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5 out of 5

As a child, Jenny was kidnapped and kept in a box under a bed. After several years, she escaped.  Around 8 years old at the time, she isn’t sure what to do or where to go and ends up not going to the police and home to her parents but living in a shopping mall for another two years before she is finally found.  Unfortunately she no longer knows who she is or where she has come from and no parents ever come forward.  Suddenly the centre of a media storm with no happy reunion in sight, she is given a new identify, eventually ending up with what for all intents and purposes is a normal life, albeit a fairly solitary one.  It is also one where very few people know the truth about her past.   This is all threatened when another girl is found in a closet and a policeman turns up on her doorstep asking for her help. Possibly against her better judgement, Jenny agrees and her life begins to change.

I really enjoyed this novel (it’s just over 150 pages so may actually be a novella – I’m never sure where the line is drawn with the classification), which is told from Jenny’s perspective and weaves past and present well.  It is, like other James Sallis books I’ve read, simply written, with no words wasted (The Independent called it “an economy of language” in their review, a description I think fits perfectly).  His style of writing always feels clean to me, allowing Jenny’s character, thoughts and feelings to remain front and centre.  It didn’t stop me caring for her and worrying about what will happen to her when a second boy is kidnapped and her story begins to come out.  It also seems perfect for hr who she is – a woman who has taken control of her life in part by living one that is simple and solitary.

Given it’s length and how it really only tells one story, there isn’t much more to add, other than I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Enjoy! Emma x