Soul Catcher

Augustus Cain faces a past he wants to forget, a present without prospect or fortune, and an uncertain future marred by the loss of his most prized possession: the horse that has been his working companion for years. He is also a man haunted by a terrible skill — the ability to track people who don't want to be found.

Rosetta is a runaway slave fueled by the passion and determination only a mother can feel. She bears the scars — inside and out — of a life lived in 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 has left behind.

In the perilous years before the Civil War, the fates of these two remarkable people will intertwine in an extraordinary adventure — a journey of hardship and redemption that will take them from Virginia to Boston and back — and one that will become an extraordinary test of character and will, mercy and compassion. It is an odyssey that will change them both forever.

Soul Catcher is a dazzling tapestry of imagination and character, atmosphere and emotion. Poignant and utterly compelling, it is a story to be savored and remembered.

"'White's latest novel (after 2004's The Garden of Martyrs), a sweeping if often predictable saga of Antebellum societal and political tensions, follows Augustus Cain, a down on his luck gambler, wounded Mexican-American War veteran and notorious fugitive slave catcher. After a run of bad luck, Cain accepts an assignment from Mr. Eberly, a wealthy Virginia landowner that Cain's in debt to, to track down two runaway slaves, Henry and Rosetta. Along with three of Eberly's men, Cain sets out on a dangerous journey that takes him from Richmond to New York and Boston. After Cain captures the runaways and turns homeward, the trek becomes a means of redemption for both the 'soul catcher' and his captives, and paints an unsettling portrait of a nation on the brink of civil war. Intercut with the journey are vivid flashbacks of the battle that left Cain crippled. Despite an abundance of stock cameos (a traveling salesman/con artist, wise elderly people who dispense easy advice) and a predictable conclusion, the book succeeds in presenting a fractious era and a host of moral quagmires. Cain — a flawed and coarse antihero — becomes emblematic of a historical moment under White's sure hand. (Sept.)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"An important book...as richly detailed and beautifully written as the best Civil War-era novels." Richard Russo, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

"[A] Civil War battlefield littered with the corpses of rotting clichés. Ironically and sadly enough, Soul Catcher...perpetuates the very same racial stereotypes and creates a few of its own that the author might imagine he vanquishes in literary battle." San Diego Union-Tribune

"[A] marvelous historical novel that deserves to reach a specific audience....Although the novel begins slowly, it fully captures the reader by the end." USA Today

"[A] thoughtful exploration of a nation living with a brutal institution that contradicts its highest ideals." Boston Globe

"[An] exceptional novel from an experienced literary craftsman." Charlotte Observer

From critically acclaimed author White comes this bold, exquisitely written, and profoundly moving epic tale of a slave catcher and a young woman on the run before the dawn of the Civil War.

A profoundly moving epic of a slave catcher and a young woman on the run--as richly detailed and beautifully written as the best Civil War-era novels. (Richard Russo).