Bloodline

By: Jess Lourey

Narrated by: Whitney Dykhouse

An ITW Thriller Award and Anthony Award winner.

Perfect town. Perfect homes. Perfect families. It’s enough to drive some women mad…

In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting.

And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village.

The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows.

Her fiancé tells her she’s being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

©2020 Jess Lourey (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Fans of Rosemary’s Baby will relish this.”—Publishers Weekly

“Based on a true story, this is a sinister, suspenseful thriller full of creeping horror.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Lourey ratchets up the fear in a novel that verges on horror.”—Library Journal

drawn out,

I was mostly bored. this woman realized something was wrong give seconds into the story but hemmed and hawed for six hours. not bad, but not very exciting.

Confusing

I loved parts of this, but I had a really hard time keeping track of all the characters. It got really annoying after a while.

On and on ad nauseum

So much of the same theme over and over. Joan is upset. Joan can't stand it. Joan will lose her baby etc.

Interesting story with different plot lines thanI have seen before.

Starts out idyllic, but is it real? Through many twists and turns we learn of a lot more about the main protagonist and why she keeps getting in her own way while trying to escape. Good read.

Bizarre but good

At first I thought it was going to be a predictable story, pregnant lady, boyfriend's hometown. But oh no.. twists and turns I wasn't expecting. It was bizarre. But ended up with a happy ending.