Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville

Stuart Neville’s Blood Like Mine starts in what feels like familiar territory. A woman and her child are in a minivan somewhere near Flagstaff Arizona in winter and run off the road. A man stops to help but the woman is suspicious, she is on the run and does not need the attention. Meanwhile an FBI agent who specialises in cybercrime is investigating the deaths over the previous two years of on-line predators, one of whom has been found dead near Flagstaff. Despite his essentially desk-bound job, he begs to be allowed out in the field to find the killer. And then somewhere along the way (but in fact right from the beginning) the story becomes something else entirely.

It is hard to talk much about Blood Like Mine without giving away some of its secrets. Suffice to say that there are some early clues which come across as confusing until the penny drops. And that actually happens around half way through, at which point Neville puts all of his cards on the table and does a hard gear change.

The characters here are pretty much straight out of thriller central-casting. There is the desperate mother who will do anything for her child but in doing so unwittingly draws attention to them. Then there is the FBI agent who let alcohol destroy his marriage and wants one more chance with his estranged family if he can just see this one case through for his own self respect. And his partner who stands by him until he appears to self destruct and has to avoid being taken down with him.

All of which makes Blood Like Mine a fun if slight thriller. Readers who go in expecting not too much more than a chase narrative with plenty of action and some interesting twists and turns will have a good time.

Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville

6

6.0/10