Blood Always Tells

Author: Hilary Davidson
Genre: Suspense
Type: Hardcover
Source: Public Library
Publisher:  Forge Books
First Published: April 2014
First Line: "It didn't take Dominique Monaghan long to realize that she wasn't cut out for the life of a criminal."

Book Description from GoodReads:  Dominique Monaghan just wanted to get even with her two-timing, married boyfriend, a washed-up boxer stuck in a toxic marriage to a dangerously spoiled socialite. However, an elaborate blackmail scheme soon lands her in the middle of an unexpected kidnapping... and attempted murder. But who is actually out to kill whom?

Desmond Edgars, Dominique’s big brother, has looked out for his wayward sister ever since their mother was convicted of murdering many years ago, so when he receives a frantic phone call from Dominique in the middle of the night, he drops everything to rush to the rescue. But to find out what has really happened to his sister, the stoic ex-military man must navigate a tangled web of murder and deception, involving a family fortune, a couple of shifty lawyers, and a missing child, while wrestling with his own bloody secrets...

My Review:  I wasn't sure what to expect from Hilary Davidson because I hadn't heard about her before and had only picked up this book based on my long-time friend (and fellow Library Assistant) Beth's insistence that it was a good suspenseful read.  Honestly, a 'word of mouth' read is one of my favourite ways to find a new author and Beth knows me and my 'book likes' so very well.

Blood Always Tells starts off strong because Davidson doesn't waste any time getting into the storyline and suspense.  It's intriguing, creepy and I wanted to know what was really going on.  The story is laid out for the reader and then the twists begin to come and oh boy is there a big twist towards the beginning!  I won't give anything away but when I read the twist I honestly muttered 'No! You've got to be kidding me!' when it happened.  I totally didn't see that coming and I loved it!

The story is told from three points of view -- Dominique, her brother Desmond and then a fairly tertiary character.  Each of these characters were interesting in their own right but my favourite main character had to be Desmond Edgars.  I think a big part of this had to do with Desmond kind of resembling in physical description and personality (at least to me) to Harlan Coben's character, Myron Bolitar.  Yup, I really liked him.  He was the big brother swooping in to save the day.  He was a strong, smart and believable main character and I would love to see more of him.

You can tell that the author has some experience with writing mysteries (she has written three books in her Lily Moore series which I'm eager to pick up now).  Her pace, character development and complexity of the mystery were all well done.  There are multiple layers going on within the story and even though there are quite a few characters thrown into the storyline I never felt confused about who was who.

Finding this book and author was a wonderful surprise for me.  It's a story of family and how they influence who we become (good or bad), revenge, murder and deceit.  With interesting characters and some great twists this is a great contender for a sittin' and relaxin' summer read.

Recommended.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars