Review: Fantastic debut for a new series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 1, 2013
Nick is living the American dream. He has a successful business, a beautiful home, he's married to the love of his life, Maxi,  and has a 4-year-old son, Cameron, who steals his breath when he hears his laughter.He never dreamed he'd settle down and be in such a rush to get home every day. It was his whole world now.Then, it was all gone in an instant. With one phone call, his world comes tumbling down.His wife calls him on his cell to remind him to pick up their son from a birthday party. She tells him his friend JB is at the house with her, waiting for him to return.JB is a bad man, one he never hoped to meet again. He's a part of Nick's past. A past filled with killing. That JB was there with his wife sent chills down his spine. Nick knew him for what he was. Killers always recognize each other.Nick wrestles with whether to pick up his son first or rush home to deal with JB. In the end, his decision doesn't matter. It's been taken out of his hands. The trap was too well set.In a blinding flash of light, his hopes and dreams explode. One moment he sees Maxi waving at him in the window. In the next, the house disintegrates with a loud whoomp.This scene made me think of the movie The Punisher. The part where they come and kill his whole family. The scenes don't read the same but the feelings I had were as powerful. First there's the shock and horror. Then there's disbelief and sadness. Who could do such a thing?I could see this scene play out in slow motion, like tunnel vision, Nick racing to his house, but there's nothing left of it but a fiery pile.The sharks from Nick's past have caught up with him, and this is their warning to him. They now have his son, and he'll do what they want or he'll never hear his sons laughter again.The last time Nick saw his wife she was smiling and waving to him, right before the house exploded. This vision would replay over and over in his mind, fueling the fires for the reckoning to come."What becomes of one half when the whole gets ripped to shreds? When you have no hope, how do you continue to exist?"They murdered his heart and now they've stolen his soul, his son. You know what follows. Rage and a deep, aching need to spill blood. And blood will be spilled.I loved the pacing of this book and how the author flashed back to different times in Nick's past.It was fun to read about how Nick and Maxi met and the pickle they got in. Their connection was quick, but that's only natural when you might be about to die.The author takes you to the past and back again, keeping the story flowing smoothly and filling in the details. She keeps you entertained and builds the mystery, dropping in hidden clues, making you go this way and that way like weaving through heavy traffic.Make sure you set aside plenty of time before you settle in. You'll have a hard time stopping before you reach the end.Five smoking guns for the thrilling action and tantalizing suspense of Blood is Heavier.