Hunted Book

Brind, who was raised with Sir Edmund's pack of hunting dogs, is the huntsman of Dowe Manor. Together with his best friend, the mastiff Glaive, and the rest of the pack, he protects Sir Edmund, Lady Beatrice, and their foster daughter, Aurélie.

But suddenly a tragedy strikes, one that Brind cannot prevent. In a fit of grief, Sir Edmund throws Brind, Glaive, and Aurélie and her puppy, Gabion out of the manor. Everywhere they turn, the vicious and lethal Black Death closely follows, as though they are bringing it with them. Can they evade this invisible enemy, as well as the angry mobs, the rogue soldiers, and the other sinister figures now threatening them? Glaive and Gabion born to hunt, not to be hunted may be their only chance for survival. Plague-bringers or not, Brind and Aurélie will never stop fighting to keep themselves and their small family alive.

KLIATT

Feudal life in the English countryside, during the Black Plague—a perilous time for all. When death strikes at the manor house, killing the kindly wife of the old knight, it sets off a series of frightening events. The villain of the plot (well, there are several) is a wandering monk who ignores his vow of poverty; his greed for wealth and power possesses him. He pronounces that the devil is at work, bringing the plague, and it is necessary to kill the young French girl (Aurelie) and the strange boy in charge of the mastiffs (Brind, introduced in last year's Dogboy) because they are possessed by the devil. Brind and Aurelie take to the forest, with two of their dogs as companions. The children are pursued by the terrible monk. Brind and Aurelie are assisted, they are betrayed and captured, they escape, they don't know who to trust. The action is fierce and relentless, and Russell tells the story graphically. He makes real the fear of the plague and death and how that fear causes irrational behavior in otherwise kindly people. Brind is an especially interesting character. He was raised with the dogs and understands them better than he understands humans; he is nearly non-verbal. The friendship of Aurelie has changed his life and she is one of the few people he trusts, yet he is ready to believe the monk and worries that he does bring the plague as the monk accuses, even that he might infect Aurelie. This is extremely dramatic, making a faraway time and situation vividly real. Russell is a masterful storyteller.