Caught by Lisa Moore

Lisa Moore turns the law on its head, inviting us to empathise with David Sanely, a criminal on the loose. Her novel Caught is an elaborate cat and mouse chase, written with a haughty bite. With ever growing command and intensity, Moore’s omniscient prose slowly reveals an intricate trap which surrounds her protagonist. Her investment in characters’ verisimilitude makes it hard not to root for the bad guy.

“The most serious mistakes are the easiest to make,” but after years of imprisonment Sanely has wised up. Escaping from jail before serving his time for a drug heist which went belly-up has made the youthful Sanely more determined to take care of unfinished business.  Using an alias stolen from a dead man, Sanely is not getting caught.

We travel alongside him as he hitchhikes his way across Canada, in a bold attempt to reunite with Hearn, his partner in crime. This is no easy task, between dodging a web of incognito police, dotted in every hot-sheet motel and service station, to facing treacherous weather conditions. The plot grows increasingly multifaceted with every obstacle Sanely meets. Moore’s narrative landscape is rich in imagery and personality, contributing to the lasting impression of her latest novel. [Maria Whelan]