Caught is a pleasure to read. The narrative is cohesive and propulsive, but it’s Moore’s mastery of language and image that sets her apart. Her cops-and-smugglers story is made beautiful through a protagonist who remains surprisingly optimistic throughout, and refuses to take small things for granted.

Caught is an outstanding novel, combining the complexity of the best literary fiction with the page-turning compulsive readability of a thriller. Some of the most interesting writing of our time takes place at the intersection between genre and literature, with writers trying to merge the stylistic power of the modernist tradition with more vernacular storytelling modes. Notable examples include Margaret Atwood’s various forays into science fiction, Michael Chabon’s adoption of a noir voice, Cormac McCarthy’s use of dystopian tropes. Moore’s Caught can be shelved with the other fine books in to this robust trend.

In Caught Lisa Moore plays knowingly with the familiar nuts and bolts of crime narratives....Moore produces a memorably oddball and alluring novel that’s simultaneously breezy, taut, funny, and insightful. She’s also crafted a sun-dappled ode to the ’70s that could have readers of a certain age grinning with nostalgic fondness at lava lamps, magic mushrooms and tube tops...The beguiling and quirky little scenes Moore sets at roadsides, a motel room, a department store, and a snack bar invoke a uniquely attractive hybrid: the enjoyable folksy humour and salty commentary of the characters in The Death of Donna Whalen, fellow Newfoundlander Michael Winter’s documentary novel, as directed by Twin Peaks-era David Lynch.