A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson

Mystery/Thriller

Alex, his wife Millicent, and their 11 year old son Max are a happy family. While Millicent and Alex met and got together under slightly unusual circumstances, the two have been happily married for 13 years. All is normal in their Scottish existence until their cat runs in to the next door neighbour's yard. Max follows the cat, Alex follows Max. They follow the cat in to their neighbour's house, up the stairs, and right in to the washroom. Their neighbour is in the bathtub and dead. Though Alex tries to shield Max from seeing anything, the curious boy manages to see everything.

When the police start their investigation, it seems possible that either Alex or Millicent were responsible. One of Millicent's bracelets is found in the neighbour's house, increasing suspicion even further. The whole family has secrets and they slowly start to come out; the family unravels piece by piece. Can the family survive?

This psychological thriller is based off such a simple premise but it works very well. Credit given where it's due, McPherson does a fantastic job of drawing the reader in and hooking them quickly. This story twists and turns all over the place. You don't know who to place your trust in or who to like. There is a constant for the reader in Alex though. He loves his wife and child and has trouble getting over betrayal, like any normal person would. Alex reacts as I would expect to everything thrown his way, which helps make him the rock at the centre of the story.

The other item that was a constant throughout the book, but not in a good way, was how creepy the kid, Max, was. I don't think his behaviour is normal for 11 year old boys. Furthermore, he seems to really enjoy pushing his parent's buttons but neither of his parents reprimand him for his poor behaviour. I was fairly annoyed by him throughout the book which helped me figure out the final twist probably earlier than I otherwise would have.



Thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting me review this book!

First Line: "The precarious thinness of his white arms, all angles against the dark foliage."

Rating:
(4/5)

About the Author Ben McPherson is a television producer, director, and writer and for more than ten years worked for the BBC, among other outlets. He is currently a columnist for Aftenposten, Norway's leading quality daily, and lives in Oslo with his wife and two children. Find Ben on Twitter and Facebook.