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.

https://shepherd.com/book/soul-catcher

Soul Catcher is a marvelous historical novel . . . the perfect book if you or someone you love has worn out the DVD’s in Ken Burns’ documentary The Civil War.”

USA Today

“A galloping good tale about runaway slaves and a tortured soul who hunts them against his better nature…[A] vividly imagined historical novel.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Like everything else in this book, [Augustus Cain] is ripe for filming: a hard-drinking, straight-talking, scarred-but-sexy cavalier with a passion for Milton . . . The pages turn effortlessly and White’s racy plotting and bold handling of America’s bitter past should ensure him a place on the bestseller lists for years to come.”

Financial Times, England

“Michael White transports readers to the chaotic years before the Civil War in Soul Catcher… is reminiscent of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn … an exceptional novel from an experienced literary craftsman.”


Charlotte Observer

“Soul Catcher strips bare the myths of the antebellum South and exposes the corrupt society it truly was . . . . This novel is destined to join the ranks of great Civil War literature.”

Booksense, Editors' Choice Selection

“[A] heartbreaking story…Devastating in its final impact.”


Booklist

“Soul Catcher [is] a good, old-fashioned page turner, with shootouts, ambushes, and horse chases that honestly will have you reading late into the night . . . However busy you may be, you won’t regret making time for this book.”

Boston Globe