Review of "Blood Ties" by Lori G. Armstrong

 This must be the week of kick-butt heroines. I'm on a roll!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Type: Mystery, Private Investigators, Kick butt heroines, Vices, Murder and Mayhem, Old Highschool drama

Why this book?: I'm a big fan of Lorelei James, and when I found out she wrote a mystery series under a different pen-name, I just had to look it up. I was never a huge fan of mysteries, but I'm starting to see the error of my ways.

About the book: Julie Collins works for the sherriff's department, as a secretary. It doesn't pay all that well, but she took the job so she could have the jump on any new info about her murdered brother's case. In some ways, she's still hoping, but by now, it's just another job. Luckily, her best friend Kevin is a private investigator that allows her to help out on the side. But this time, the case is a lot bigger and deeper than either of them could have imagined. The girl Kevin is searching for has turned up dead, and each new clue the pair find digs them that much deeper into a pit of secrets and lies dating as far back as highschool. Investigating isn't all fun and games, but Julie isn't about to let this case go.
Julie is the type of woman I would want on my side, though I'm not sure I could handle all of her vices all of the time. She smokes, she drinks, she curses, she runs her mouth.. frankly, it's no wonder that she only has a few friends left, both of them male. But for all of her faults, she's tough and won't back down, not when threatened, not even when coerced with physical pain. She's not perfect, she definitely gets scared or hurts, but that just makes this character human. That and the smoking and drinking, among other things. Julie is rough and tough, and definitely the kind of heroine needed to really get to the bottom of a good, scary mystery.

The plot itself was fascinating. Kevin and Julie are coming up against people they went to high school with, investigating plots and lies that started that far back. And the story kept me guessing right until the end. I'm not a huge mystery reader, but I know enough to dislike mysteries where the culprit is glaringly obvious, you just have to figure out how. But with all the new information Kevin and Julie uncover, each layer of the mystery is slowly revealed. And the two investigators never get any more information than the reader, which is another plus.

"Blood Ties" is not a book for the faint of heart. This plot deals with murder, rape, drug lords, abuse, neglect, and more. But remember the old adage, "No pain, no gain," and this book is definitely good enough to be considered a gain. I would definitely recommend "Blood Ties" by Lori G. Armstrong to any hardcore mystery fan, as well as anyone who enjoys a good suspenseful story.

Final rating: FOUR out of FIVE (4/5).

Get your copy of "Blood Ties" by Lori G. Armstrong at Amazon.com via the link to the left.

Have you read this book, or anything else by this author or her pseudonym Lorelei James? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow