Blood for Blood by Victoria Selman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Blood for Blood was both a page-turner and a disappointment. What began as an edge-of-your-seat read quickly deteriorated into a muddled pool of feints and missteps.
The book starts on a commuter train where Ziba MacKenzie is engaged in people-watching. It’s clear that she is keenly observant as she relates the minute details of her fellow passengers and silently passes judgement on each. The reader learns that MacKenzie is a successful independent “profiler”, in the process of emerging from her grief over her husband’s murder. When the train then crashes, the results are grisly. MacKenzie springs into action, drawing strength and knowledge from her time in the special forces, helping where she can in spite of her own injuries. As one woman lay dying, her final words draw MacKenzie into a quest for truth that eventually becomes intertwined in a serial killer case upon which she is called to work with Scotland Yard.
Author Victoria Selman does a great job setting the tone and breathing life into Ziba MacKenzie. It is in that character, however, that the first cracks in the armor appear. Selman is so intent on sharing her own vast store of knowledge regarding serial killers that every time MacKenzie speaks, she shares another fact that adds nothing to the read. Almost every mass murderer in history is given a moment in the spotlight. I found myself gritting my teeth whilst at the same time wanting to pen a note to the author that said, “OK, we get it! You’ve done your research! Move along!”
The second downfall is in the author’s attempts to resolve the red herrings she has introduced. I understand the need to tie up loose ends, but here they come off as extremely contrived. Every minor character suddenly reveals secrets about which I couldn’t have cared less. There was never any courted investment in those people to garner interest in the explanations for their behavior.
The final issue is one that involves a spoiler. (view spoiler) It was a huge miscalculation on Selman’s part to be so detail-oriented and then ignore such critical holes in the story.
In the end, I did finish the novel, but not without some misgivings and a boatload of questions that remained unanswered. Selman is clearly in command of the language and is great with dialogue. For those with a keen interest in serial killers, there is enough here to keep you reading. For those who indulge in the mystery genre, however, this one just falls short.
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