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Now in a single volume...all of Crouch's Andrew Z. Thomas/Luther Kite novels that lead up to his and J.A. Konrath's thriller STIRRED...

THICKER THAN BLOOD: The Complete Andrew Z. Thomas Trilogy (Desert Places, Locked Doors, and Break You), is now available in a single ebook featuring a goldmine of killer bonus features, including the never-before-released alternate endings to both Desert Places and Locked Doors, which together comprise the length of an additional novel.

DESERT PLACES: A Novel: "Greetings. There is a body buried on your property, covered in your blood. The unfortunate young lady's name is Rita Jones. In her jeans pocket you'll find a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Call that number. If I have not heard from you by 8:00 p.m., the police will receive an anonymous call. I'll tell them where Rita Jones is buried on your property, how you killed her, and where the murder weapon can be found in your house. (I do believe a paring knife is missing from your kitchen.) I strongly advise against going to the police, as I am always watching you." Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.

LOCKED DOORS: A Novel: Seven years ago, suspense novelist Andrew Thomas's life was shattered when he was framed for a series of murders. The killer's victims were unearthed on Andrew's lakefront property, and since he was wanted by the FBI, Andrew had no choice but to flee and to create a new identity. Andrew does just that in a cabin tucked away in the remote wilderness near Haines Junction, Yukon. His only link to society is by e-mail, through which he learns that all the people he ever loved are being stalked and murdered. Culminating in the spooky and secluded Outer Banks of North Carolina, the paths of Andrew Thomas, a psychotic named Luther Kite, and a young female detective collide. Locked Doors is a novel of blistering suspense that will scare you to death.

BREAK YOU: A Novella: Following the events of Desert Places and Locked Doors, Andy Thomas and Violet King are hiding out in the wilds of northern Canada, where Violet has a four-month-old son and a burgeoning romance with Andy. On a cold, rainy night at their cabin in the woods, the promise of an idyllic life that seems just around the corner is shattered when a man from their past, a monster of pure malevolence, returns. What he has in store for them will challenge their understanding of evil and stretch the fibers of their love to the breaking point.

This 220,000-word ebook is absolutely loaded with content, including 2 full-length novels, a 20,000-word novella, an introduction, forewords to every book, an afterword, the short story, "Ginsu Tony" upon which Desert Places was based, the never-before-released 100-page alternate ending of Desert Places, the never-before-released 140-page alternate ending of Locked Doors, and more. This is everything written by Blake that you need to read in advance of the release of Blake's and J.A. Konrath's upcoming collaboration novel, Stirred.

704 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

126 people are currently reading
963 people want to read

About the author

Blake Crouch

79 books59.3k followers
Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the forthcoming novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015’s #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado with his family.

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5 stars
261 (40%)
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199 (31%)
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137 (21%)
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26 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Jenni DaVinCat.
575 reviews24 followers
October 2, 2017
I was really thrilled to find a Blake Crouch trilogy all in one audiobook. You feel like you're getting a deal by spending one credit on what is actually three novels. I had recently devoured Crouch's novel, Dark Matter, and really enjoyed it. It was an easy and thrilling read, which given the subject matter cannot have been easy to write while maintaining the easy flow.

The first novel, Desert Places took a little bit to grab me. Once it did, it was really exciting and often took some twists and turns that I wouldn't have expected. The characters eventually grew on me, even the ones that didn't deserve sympathy. Andrew Thomas never quite grew on me the way the author was hoping he would, I imagine. I always felt kind of lukewarm towards him and that feeling only seemed to increase as I started to realize that anybody he has any association with is essentially cannon fodder. As the book came to a close, I was rather excited to move on to the next on.

The second, Locked Doors gets going right away. Though it takes place several years in the future from the first one, it continues Andrew's story as he deals with the ramifications of his actions from the first book. There's no conflict of emotion when it comes to Luther. He's awful and meant to be. I seemed to enjoy the second book a little more in terms of action. It feels a lot like a movie, especially because the author uses the "Oh, everything is going to be OK" only to take that away at the last second-trick quite often.

The last, Break You was kind-of disappointing. Maybe I had too high of an expectation after spending two books with Andrew Thomas. I should have realized that throughout the books, nobody is safe. Anybody can be fodder and often when you think things are going to be OK, they're not. It's a little disappointing to spend all that time with characters and then be left with an empty feeling, but within the scope of the series, it does make sense to end the series that way.

Overall, I liked it. It was at times, a very messed up psychological thriller, but also a very exciting series. I could any of these becoming a movie at any time. They're written as if for the screen, in a way. Action, suspense and plenty of blood and violence.
Profile Image for Jim Morey.
51 reviews8 followers
April 10, 2013
I'm extremely happy I chose to read this trilogy in one volume. It saved me loads of time having to jump from book to book (ok, not really loads.) With stories this good, I was glad not to discover the first before the final was published. I don't think I could have held out waiting between volumes. I've only read this trilogy and the SERIAL KILLERS UNCUT/Jack Daniels collaborations with Konrath/Kilborn, but I'm sure I'll be going back and reading Blake's previous works (I think I have all of them in digital already!)
Profile Image for Steven.
83 reviews1 follower
November 5, 2016
A great "edge of your seat" thriller. This one will keep you turning the pages but it's not for the squeamish as there is a lot of blood. A mystery writer, Andrew Thomas, find himself plunged into his own nightmare of mystery and death. His long lost twin brother appears out of nowhere and where Andrew writes about killing people his brother actually does it and slowly draws Andrew in against his will. This version actually contains three separate novels consisting of the "Andrew Z. Thomas Series". The audio version was excellent with a great narrator.
Profile Image for Bobbie.
11 reviews1 follower
August 25, 2012
This is one of those books that I started and was so into that I just couldnt put it down but when I did put it down then I couldnt pick it back up. One day I will finish reading this book but I have to be in a certain frame of mind in order to read about that much murder and be able to process it.
Profile Image for Patrick.
4 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2013
Liked "Desert Places", thought "Locked Doors" turned in a weird direction on the ferry boat, then completely lost interest in "Break You" as it seemed like a "SAW" movie, which I don't care for. Guess this isn't my genre.
Profile Image for Warren Fournier.
842 reviews152 followers
December 7, 2016
4 stars for the great first entry, "Desert Places," which is a clever psychological thriller. It goes downhill from there, finishing with the disappointing novella "Break You." Not included is the true final conclusion "Stirred," which combines this series from Blake Crouch with J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series. And this is why the series, which started off nicely, loses its appeal for many Crouch fans.

There are mixed reviews about these books, and I have my own ambivalence. I have gone from thinking this series was a masterpiece to a piece of you-know-what within the same sitting. When you consider the numerous reviews of fans of Crouch and Konrath, the open-minded new reader will come to the same conclusion I have. Two brilliant authors have screwed up big time and don't know it yet.

Both authors were younger and hungrier when they began their perspective stories about Jack Daniels and Andrew Z. Thomas. But both epics, despite exquisite build-up of tension that is key to any thriller or horror, were flawed by an immature lack of consideration for the audience. Thus, in the "Thicker Than Blood" series, we have the main protagonist, Andrew, doing the stupidest things to keep the series going. This is not really a spoiler to say that when the killer films his own face on tape, gives it to the protagonist, and spells out his plan to blackmail said protagonist, well, that pretty much blows any credibility for the rest of the story about why the bad guy is not in jail immediately. But that wouldn't drag out every dollar this nonsense had to offer from the gore-porn fiends out there who think writers like Edward Lee are cutting edge.

And here lies the fundamental problem of the Crouch/Konrath collaboration. Konrath is pretty good at a variety of genres, including thrillers, horror, sci-fi, and erotica, and yet, he excels at none. I think he realizes this, as he goes by more pseudonyms than Michael Crichton and Dr. Seuss. Clearly, as a professional, Konrath hasn't embraced his identity as a writer as much as his bad guys have embraced their life's work as murderers.

And neither does Blake Crouch, who, in his early forties, should be sharpening his image to the public as a writer. But instead, he has stunted his career with this friendship with Konrath, and it's this little cutesy game that has become the selling point of his novels, rather than the strength of his work's own merit.

So now we have them not only collaborating on and finishing each other's books (in the name of a new wave of writing books via current technology), but now they are selling each other's books, leaving reviewer comments for each other’s novels on Goodreads, interviewing each other, and leaving intros and apologies on each other's reprints. This is not cutting edge as they want us to believe. Nor was this collaboration thanks to technology. This is two relatively young authors who might have once been competing with each other who lost their way and found they could make easy money mimicking and marketing each other to draw in two ready-made audiences rather than one.

Hence we have lovers of Crouch wondering why the third entry of the Andrew Thomas series (known as "Break You") is so violent and torture-hungry compared with earlier entries (which were not tame in the least, I assure you!) This is because Crouch started writing in the style of Konrath's "Kilborn" pen name. The intrigue and tension Crouch was going for in his series was replaced by a rushed sequence of nasty torture fantasies. Similarly, folks wonder what happened to their beloved Jack Daniels at the end of Konrath's series (aka "Stirred," which is also the ultimate end of the Andrew Thomas series.) Well, that's again because of a similar lack of focus on Konrath, who was now intent on making a book to profit on two separate audiences, thus being forced to write in a way that sacrificed the charm of his earlier entries for those who had already been hooked.

In the end, this collaboration probably led to an inevitable conclusion for Andrew Thomas. But the delivery of the denouement of this otherwise brilliantly kickstarted series was as poor as Rob Zombie's sell-out of Halloween.

As always, art and life are one, so the collaboration between these two authors has imitated the very subject matter that has prevailed in the bulk of their work since they got together: serial killers living the obligatory solitary life meeting up together by chance and finally having someone to share their depravity with. Except they start destroying each other, because that's what they know (see "Serial Killers Uncut," which outlines further back story behind "Break You.")

Similarly, Crouch and Konrath are two guys sharing the same sick need to destroy people in their writing. It's exciting to them and their fans right now. But it will be the end of their careers, and their fans will forget them. That's a shame, because both of them are good. Really good. I hope they grow up so we can read what they really can do.

To new initiatives of this series, read the fantastic two first books of this volume and quit. For those folks who already are fans of the third book because you read it as part of "Serial Killers Uncut," read on to "Stirred." You will find satisfaction there, even if you've already somewhat predicted what comes next.
Profile Image for John Moylan.
5 reviews
November 29, 2017
First book of the three was great, the 2nd not so much, last one was terrible. If the Saw movie series is your thing u might like the last book. Not for me, but the first one was a great read. Also the three books together come with alternate endings etc. These endings were rejected by the editor originally, and with good reason, there are bad.
Profile Image for Rita.
13 reviews3 followers
January 5, 2020
This series introduced me to Luther Kite who has become my favorite literary character. This series broke all the ideas that i ever had about horror and ruined other books for me . Its to the point, lts bloody, lts graphic, its brilliant and its nonstop shock. This series will always be my fav series
307 reviews
September 22, 2025
Awesome. Do not read if you don't like violence. I love that the writer adds alternate endings for the 3 stories contained in this book. I have to compare this author to Jo Nesbo who is my favorite author.
Profile Image for Katherine.
1 review
May 23, 2021
I've started this one twice now, and I'm putting it down again, for good this time. Too violent for my taste.
9 reviews1 follower
March 26, 2024
I really, really like Blake Crouch, and I really like Stephen King. This trilogy reminded me of Stephen King. Really good story, well written, good characters. I loved the ending!!!
Profile Image for Melissa.
71 reviews1 follower
July 18, 2024
First two stories are great, third less so
15 reviews
December 9, 2025
Wtf Blake crouch. You sicko. Loved desert places, although it disturbed me. The next two volumes were weaker but still worth reading. Wish I understood the ending.
Profile Image for Brandon Buzarde.
164 reviews3 followers
December 7, 2020
Ahh! I guess I have to finish the series. This is one you try to put down but just can’t.
Profile Image for Tina.
11 reviews1 follower
January 14, 2015
SPOILERS AHEAD DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS!!!
I am so utterly disappointed with this series! I only read crime and mystery but even for me there was way too much torture especially in the last book. Almost every person was killed, maimed or tortured. I got to like and admire Horace( I think that was his name)in the first one, only to have him also die violently, same for Sara and Walter. Yes he got to have a modicum of revenge on Luther in the end and even that was shot to hell considering the ending. The completion of the series felt a bit too lazy for me. We wanted to see Andrew clear his name and find a minute amount of happiness. I'm not saying everyone has to have a happily ever after but geesh, this guy has had nothing but darkness, pain, torture and more torture. After everything he had gone through, the ending was quite unsatisfactory for me. Sorry.
Profile Image for Kat.
119 reviews15 followers
February 27, 2013
My full in depth review, which includes mini reviews of each book in this series can be found here: Shivers of Horror

For a quick spoiler free breakdown: Really enjoyed the first half of Desert Places. Found Locked Doors a little boring until the end. And Break You (which is a short story running only 12% of this entire collection) was very interesting! I would have liked to see the story go on longer as I loved the concept of it. I’m excited now to venture into the other authors books so I can get the full story of the other serial killers who appeared in “Serial” and the Andrew Z. Thomas novels.
Profile Image for Gmaharriet.
476 reviews4 followers
September 9, 2014
I had mixed feelings while reading this. It was nice being able to start with the first book in the trilogy and then go on to the next two in order. But I also read the alternate endings for the first two, and then found myself increasing confused about what had happened earlier.

I'm not sure what might have improved that situation besides reading the ones with different endings from start to finish each time, and I don't have the patience to do that. I have so many books on my "to be read" shelf that I'm in a hurry to get to, and I'm impatient. Maybe waiting a year or two before reading the alternate version would be more satisfying.
Profile Image for Steven Konkoly.
Author 70 books1,230 followers
December 1, 2011
I'll add a proper review soon, but let me first say, that if you are a fan of psychological thrillers and horror, this book will blow you away. Like most of Crouch's work, this is not for the faint of heart...there are psychopaths a plenty, a fantastic plot, and more twists than you can imagine. This version includes alternate endings for each novel, which are unbelievable. I found myself staring at the words with my mouth open too many times to count. Fair warning though. The subject matter delves into the mind and methods of serial killers, with a twist, but don't read right after dinner.
Profile Image for Lynn.
3,045 reviews84 followers
February 13, 2012
This set of books was supposed to be a page turning horror and compared to Steven King or Dean Koontz’s books was PURE CRAP, not worth reading, finished it and was glad to have to over with! ---still wondering why I did finished it……………
Profile Image for Crista Lynn.
31 reviews1 follower
April 13, 2012
This complete series was one of the best purchases i have ever made.
So worth the money paid. Mr. crouch is a talent to be reckoned with.
The whole series is a real nail bitter. I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading to find out what would happen and at the end i wanted more, more, more.
Profile Image for Christy Devinaspre.
62 reviews1 follower
September 8, 2015
Firs one was good... they were all good. The intensity and severety of the crimes and malice got pretty disturbing by the 3rd novel in the series. A little to graphic for me but still held enough interest for me to finish it
Profile Image for Lynette.
4 reviews
March 14, 2013
I enjoyed this trilogy very much. I think the last book was the best of the 3. This could be transformed into a thriller phsyco horror movie!
Profile Image for Guy Sciancalepore.
10 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2013
Intense to say the absolute least about this omnibus containing all three of the Andrew Z Thomas novels.
2 reviews
January 19, 2014
The first book is pretty good, but I could not get through the second book as it became too violent for me. I prefer a good mystery rather than a thriller.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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