Only The Strongest Survive by Ian Fox

The novel opens with a hair-tingling scene, as two men kidnap Emely Donnovan, one of the wealthiest women in America, and bury her alive. What is behind this horrific crime?

Raised in a strict religious institution, Emely never knew her parents. Fearing a life of poverty, she starts up a small business that deals mainly with buying and selling stocks. Thanks to her extreme dedication and knowledge, the company grows over time into a major conglomerate. In her desire for ever greater financial security, this beautiful, ambitious CEO has accumulated a number of enemies. But now she finds herself locked in the basement of a remote house in the middle of a forest, watched over by one of her captors who makes her buy and sell stocks for him so he can get rich. Her challenge to survive becomes even more complicated when Emely's captor falls in love with her. ...

Only the Strongest Survive grips the reader from the very first page and hangs on for dear life. How horrific to be kidnapped and buried alive, then to be saved by a man a greedy and idealistic man.  Fox does a remarkable job of character creation and setting each scene, building a tenacious bond with the reader.

However, I didn't care for the "Stockholm Syndrome", it seemed unrealistic with the situation.  That aside, the plot was gritty and twisted and I really enjoyed Fox's writing.  I had a hard time putting this book down, I wanted to know more. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with the ending.   Fans of mystery thrillers will want to pick up Only The Strongest Survive. 

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are expressly my own.  Wendy