Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Blood Always Tells by Hilary Davidson

 

Blood Always Tells by Hilary Davidson (Forge, 2014) is an intricate stand-alone thriller, a break from Davidson’s Lily Moore travel writer series. Dominique Monaghan can tolerate her long-time lover staying married for financial reasons but when she finds out he’s seeing someone else in addition to his society wife, she burns for revenge. Hatching a complicated plot that involves kidnapping and the administration of truth-telling drugs, she instead is kidnapped along with the lover and taken to an isolated house in the country. She managed to place an urgent call to her older brother Desmond, an ex-military man who is still dealing with childhood traumas. Desmond has always rushed to his sister’s rescue and this time was no exception.

Determined to learn who staged the kidnapping, Desmond works with the rural police as well as New York police and meets the wealthy society wife and the lawyer who protects the family fortune and her, in that order. He’s also interested in learning more about the thugs who pop up unexpectedly and who actively attempt to discourage his questions.

This is a labyrinthine story, full of duplicitous people, underhanded moves, and original plot twists. The story gallops along so quickly that whiplash is likely as the plot executes another hairpin turn. None of the people except Desmond are particularly likeable. Even his sister Dominique, as understandable as her motivation is, has serious flaws in her judgment. Dazzlingly twisted, it’s easy to be confused by the author’s expert misdirection. I still am not sure I understand who authorized the first two murders. For readers who like their thrillers on the noir end of the spectrum.

   

·         Hardcover: 320 pages

·         Publisher: Forge Books (April 15, 2014)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 0765333546

·         ISBN-13: 978-0765333544

Aubrey Hamilton © 2017
 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal IT projects by day and reads mysteries at night.