Soul Catcher
Michael White's Soul Catcher is a fascinating historical novel that is sure to entice readers. It is the perfect book if you love historical fiction, documentaries, anything Civil War related, or old gun blazing, western-type tales.
Augustus Cain is a man with a regrettable past, a present without prospect or good fortune, and an uncertain future, spoiled by the loss of his most prized possession: a horse that has been his working companion for years. He is also a self-destructive man with the ability to track people who don't want to be found. With that skill, Cain makes his living as a "soul catcher," a professional at hunting down runaway slaves.
The novel opens in a Richmond brothel, where the hung-over Cain finds himself ordered to take on a job for a wealthy plantation owner. Mr. Eberly wants a beautiful, light-skinned runaway slave named Rosetta returned, as well as a male slave, Henry. Eberly is offering top dollar, but he wants no questions asked.
Desperate for money, Cain sets off with a trio of Eberly's white assistants. Cain promises himself that this trip will be his last slave-catching mission. He will use the money to start fresh out West.
The search for Rosetta and Henry takes Cain and his group up and down the East Coast, from Boston to Maryland. While hunting for the slaves, they encounter the fiery abolitionist John Brown and a range of people, some good, some extremely violent, some entertaining.
Rosetta is a runaway slave filled with passion and determination. She is scarred emotionally and physically from living a life of servitude to a cruel and unforgiving master. Her flight is her one shot at freedom, and she would rather die than return to the living hell that she escaped.
The plot takes a dramatic turn when Cain falls in love with Rosetta. It's a truly poignant, compelling interracial love story. The two become trapped by Eberly, who hunted them down, and Cain is faced with life or death decisions: Give Rosetta back to slavery? Be killed himself? Give up his lover and hand himself over to the enemy? Maybe reunite with his lover and start fresh out West after a clever coup? Or spend the rest of his life heartbroken, hardened, and alone?