A Cold War

After Nina Granville, the courageous heroine of this searing thriller from Russell (St. Nick), is abducted from the streets of Fairbanks, Alaska, she expects to return to her comfortable, privileged life as soon as her family pays the ransom. Her captor, the hulking mountain man who calls himself Baer, has cut off her ring finger and sent it along with the ransom note to show he’s serious. Once Nina is caged in his remote cabin, Baer breaks the news that she’s his new “wife” just before he beats and rapes her. This goes on interminably and inexorably, while Nina absorbs the bleakly encouraging diary of Elese Martin, a previous captive, and learns to be pragmatically cold-blooded about her own chances to survive—and escape. Meanwhile, Sgt. Evan Hamilton of the Seward Police and Elese’s husband, Greg, attempt to come to the rescue. Nina’s transformation from victim to avenger is painful to watch, but it’s brutally convincing. (Oct.)