“I was very disappointed in this book. It received good reviews, and I was under the impression it was historical fiction that took a closer look at the kinds of people who legally hunted down escaped slaves so they could be returned to their owners. Instead, this book is nothing more than a historical romance.
The first thing I noticed about the character of Cain (the Soul Catcher of the title) is that he was so inconsistent in his behavior. On the one hand he was this tough as nails, man's-man who could tough it out and fight with the best of them in spite of an injury he received in the Mexican War, and in spite of his dependence upon whiskey or laudanum to dull his pain and also give him a huge hangover in the morning. Until, that is, his heart turned to mush because a slave woman looked at him sideways. This story could have portrayed a man who finally confronts the consequences of what he does for a living to the people who are victims of his work ethic. It didn't.
I am also tired of reading about these superhuman men who sustain mortal injuries but somehow manage to rush, stumble, or crawl onto the scene to save the day just in the nick of time. On the one hand, Cain was supposed to be so worldly and capable of taking care of himself in any situation. Don't even think about his being a dupe. Until he gets caught in a set-up any two year old could have seen coming. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I find that it stretches my limits of credibility to have a man get shot in the head and his side, yet he is still able to follow his quarry ON FOOT and work on a plan to rescue her.
I expected the racist overtones to be dominant in this book. How could someone write a book taking place during the era of slavery and not include the mindset of people who supported such an abomination? I think often times we get a cleaned up version of slavery with all the slaves happily caring for the Master who wouldn't hurt a fly much less rape his women slaves and sell their children to the highest bidder. Yet even in that regard it seemed to me that Michael White threw in the racist language just to give his narrative some authenticity. When Cain, in a blinding moment of clarity, realizes his words could be hurtful to the slave he's returning to her owner, it's almost laughable. I do not believe that someone who grew up in the South, as Cain supposedly did, would think twice about what he said because for him words and attitudes toward such social issues were instilled from birth. While he may have questioned his involvement in the Slave Catching business, I didn't buy for a second that he realized his need to clean up his language skills.
The only type of reader I could recommend this book to is those who like historical romance. To anyone who wants a closer look at the mess the US made of slavery, look elsewhere.”