You are going to either love or hate FREEDOM’S CHILD. I’m still not sure where I fall, even after feeling compelled to read it in practically one sitting. Part of the reason is that debut author Jax Miller spends a great deal of effort creating an unlikable, unsympathetic character and then gradually winning --- or dragging --- the audience over irrevocably to her side. Seeing how she does it makes the book worth reading for that alone.

That being said, it is hard to recommend FREEDOM’S CHILD without reservation. This is a rough, raw book that stands on your last nerves without permitting you to look away. You probably don’t know anyone like Freedom Oliver, or many of the characters who populate the novel, because chances are you don’t hang around biker bars or know people who do. But please take my word when I say that Miller paints an accurate and biting portrait of Oliver, who, when we meet her, is nothing more or less than a hot mess.

"...a strongly worded novel, grim and dark through most of its telling.... a powerful tale with unforgettable characters, particularly those Delaneys. You’ll see them in your dreams, and not your good ones, either."

Freedom lives in Painter, Oregon, a small town whose major industries appear to be dive bars and crystal meth. It is revealed fairly early on in the proceedings that Freedom is part of the Federal Witness Protection Program, having framed her brother-in-law, Matthew Delaney, for the murder of her husband, Mark, on Long Island in a town far removed from the Hamptons. Matthew has been in prison for close to two decades but is about to be released and has a pretty fair idea of who his former wife is and her whereabouts. He enlists the help of his brothers, Luke and John; with little urging necessary from their mother, Lynn, they hatch and begin executing a plan for revenge.

Please note: the Delaneys have to be seen to be believed, particularly the matriarch of the clan, who is the female equivalent of...no, that wouldn’t be fair. Miller goes to great lengths to paint Lynn’s stomach-turning portrait over the course of the book, and I’m not going to spoil it with a three-word comparison. Suffice it to say that this is a very dangerous family.

Even as the Delaneys plan to go after Freedom, Freedom receives terrible news. Her daughter, the infant she unwillingly gave up for adoption with her five-year-old son some two decades before, has gone missing. Even as she herself is in terrible danger and on the run, Freedom makes a desperate trip to Goshen, Kentucky, the last known location of her daughter. The Delaneys are headed there as well, ready to gain their ultimate revenge against Freedom. For her part, Freedom has only two allies: a Painter law enforcement officer who is far outside of his jurisdiction and is drawn to her in spite of himself, and an even more unlikely ally who is surprisingly and irrevocably tied to Freedom, possibly to the detriment of both.

FREEDOM’S CHILD is a strongly worded novel, grim and dark through most of its telling. It is an ambitious work, and if it has a weakness, it may be that Miller tries to jam one element too many into the story. Your results may differ. Still, it is a powerful tale with unforgettable characters, particularly those Delaneys. You’ll see them in your dreams, and not your good ones, either. Try it and see.