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Blood Oath
David Morrell, Blood Oath, paperback
230 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
22 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
David Morrell
219 books1,675 followersDavid Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 4, 2016
houston, we have a problem
p151: "and my father's at the center of them," houston said. his stomach dropped. "dear god, what kind of person was he? what was he involved in?"
"is," simone said.
"what?"
"not what but is. it hasn't ended."
p185: simone and he waited anxiously...
p240: the makeup peeled away in strips of grotesque supple rubber.
p151: "and my father's at the center of them," houston said. his stomach dropped. "dear god, what kind of person was he? what was he involved in?"
"is," simone said.
"what?"
"not what but is. it hasn't ended."
p185: simone and he waited anxiously...
p240: the makeup peeled away in strips of grotesque supple rubber.
April 30, 2014
Old wine in new bottle.. Well.. I shouldn't say new since I've seen other writers do it in a better way.. It's a polished bottle..
Pete Houston visits France to look for his father's grave,the father whom he had never known. His wife is with him and because of some twists that take place when he tries to find out about his father,she gets killed. He is determined to find out her killer and is helped by Simone,the daughter of the owner of the hotel where he is staying. And they find out a 37-year old secret..
As the story progresses,we feel that it's something huge that's going to happen. There is all this tension and secrecy and shadowing. And when you get the whole picture,you feel like-that's it.?!! And the stunts in this book is like some small-town fight. It doesn't do justice to the 'real bad' image of the villains.
Altogether,this book doesn't have a plot of its own and the author has failed miserably in his attempt to present it in a descent manner.
PS:-
I saw Stephen King's praise for this novel on the cover page,"best selling thriller-packed with tension" and was lured into reading it. And now I've decided never to read the praises.
Pete Houston visits France to look for his father's grave,the father whom he had never known. His wife is with him and because of some twists that take place when he tries to find out about his father,she gets killed. He is determined to find out her killer and is helped by Simone,the daughter of the owner of the hotel where he is staying. And they find out a 37-year old secret..
As the story progresses,we feel that it's something huge that's going to happen. There is all this tension and secrecy and shadowing. And when you get the whole picture,you feel like-that's it.?!! And the stunts in this book is like some small-town fight. It doesn't do justice to the 'real bad' image of the villains.
Altogether,this book doesn't have a plot of its own and the author has failed miserably in his attempt to present it in a descent manner.
PS:-
I saw Stephen King's praise for this novel on the cover page,"best selling thriller-packed with tension" and was lured into reading it. And now I've decided never to read the praises.
November 25, 2025
DNF
Not great. Morrell has always been hit or miss. This one just kinda plugs along without coming together early on.
No romantic couple is going to spend their time in France digging through old archives to find a person they don’t even know.
The priest may not have wanted to talk about Pierre St. Laurent, but he almost certainly would have told Simone “ask your father” if nothing else.
It’s just a lame setup, and a brief backstory about how rotten those Nazis were in WW2 France was already a huge cliche even in 1982.
My shelves are overflowing, moving on.
Not great. Morrell has always been hit or miss. This one just kinda plugs along without coming together early on.
No romantic couple is going to spend their time in France digging through old archives to find a person they don’t even know.
The priest may not have wanted to talk about Pierre St. Laurent, but he almost certainly would have told Simone “ask your father” if nothing else.
It’s just a lame setup, and a brief backstory about how rotten those Nazis were in WW2 France was already a huge cliche even in 1982.
My shelves are overflowing, moving on.
March 14, 2020
2 1/2 stars - Pete Houston is on vacation in Europe with his wife. He's looking for the burial place for his father, killed in action in 1944 France, whom Pete never met. Dark forces are conspiring against him, looking to hide the truth about the nine squad members killed at the same time, and what they were doing during the war.
Some good action in this Cold War thriller, written by the author of "First Blood".
Some good action in this Cold War thriller, written by the author of "First Blood".
July 11, 2019
I liked this one but it wasn't my favorite Morrell. While the basic plot was good, I felt there will some aspects that didn't quite make sense to me or that were left unanswered. Also, I understand why Jan had to die to move the story along and give Houston the motivation he needed, but I was surprised at his relationship with Simone. I think it would have been more believable for me had that not developed so quickly. But overall, it was fast-paced and intense, with plenty of players and surprising twists--just as a good suspense novel should be!
May 18, 2022
История, разказана с достатъчно динамика и екшън, но не и таква, която ще помня дълго. Просто един от многото трилъри с конспиративни елементи, чел съм по-добри неща от Морел.
February 11, 2024
Късичък роман, но много добър.Типично в стила на Морел.
November 3, 2025
A twisty plot with a reveal that is labyrinthine and well-thought out. And I loved the final line of the book. Feels like Inception in the sense that it could play out both ways.
There's some clunkiness in Houston's no-combat experience, just a writer type of origin, and yet's he's having an action packed, abseiling mountain, firing off silencers, hunting down Bond villain adventure. I don't buy that. Regular folk don't do things like these. They usually turn tail and seek help; the drive that he has to find his father isn't strong enough to place him within such stakes in such an obviously ill-equipped position. That that does stretch the limits of credulity.
There's some clunkiness in Houston's no-combat experience, just a writer type of origin, and yet's he's having an action packed, abseiling mountain, firing off silencers, hunting down Bond villain adventure. I don't buy that. Regular folk don't do things like these. They usually turn tail and seek help; the drive that he has to find his father isn't strong enough to place him within such stakes in such an obviously ill-equipped position. That that does stretch the limits of credulity.
August 11, 2021
Blood Oath is hands down a satisfying action packed book. The main character Peter Houston is a clear example of 'do not judge a book by its cover' as he will go at any length to unravel the mystery behind his father's missing grave.
In my opinion Janice deserves better and Houston and Simone's relationship feels quite rushed. Nonetheless the story is fast paced and will leave you guessing the outcome of the tragedy in the following chapter.
In my opinion Janice deserves better and Houston and Simone's relationship feels quite rushed. Nonetheless the story is fast paced and will leave you guessing the outcome of the tragedy in the following chapter.
February 15, 2022
Generic thriller. Man goes looking for the grave of his father, who supposedly died on D-Day, and finds nothing. Complications ensue. There's a lot of action but it's all rather predictable and pro forma. One basic writing tip for author Morrell: when writing about your protagonist, choose one name for him and stick with it. (The hero in this one is Peter Houston, and Morrell alternately refers to him either as "Houston" or "Pete", which is very confusing.)
August 26, 2020
Taut, suspenseful, non-stop action - no frills, padding, or fillers. Result: nice read, but no feel for the characters or environment. And what was the purpose of the sex scene in the middle of the story - Pete and Simone are about to rappel down a cliff to infiltrate a fortress but they take a break to make passionate love in the deep woods.
January 12, 2018
3.5 stars.
July 30, 2019
4 til 4 minus. Not among Morrell's best. Norwegian title "Kalde spor".
August 31, 2020
Read in 1983. A classic Hitchcockian mystery where an innocent man gets caught up in a deadly plot.
September 28, 2021
Great racy thriller. The ending builds up well.
February 16, 2022
Morrell always delivers non-stop action adventure! This main character was very emotional and seemed less focused and stoic than the usual Morrell leading man.
December 18, 2023
3.5 stars
July 15, 2025
3.5 stars. read this in 2023 and all i can remember is that jan dies
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2025
Bigly!
*** 3 Stars.
*** 3 Stars.
August 18, 2014
Peter Houston, an American novelist, travels to France to pay homage to the father he never knew, an American soldier killed in action in the weeks following the Normandy invasion. When he discovers there is no record of his father being buried in any of the American war cemeteries, Houston begins looking for a Frenchman who promised the writer's mother he would look after the dead soldier's grave. Houston's search threatens to uncover long buried secrets, and suddenly finds Houston targeted by unknown forces. Those forces make one deadly mistake, they kill the woman Houston loves and when he swear a blood oath, Houston turns from being the hunted to being the hunter.
David Morrell's Blood Oath is a classic Hitchcockian mystery; that is, a story about an ordinary man who innocently becomes embroiled in deadly enigma and is forced to take action to save himself and those he loves. One can almost imagine Cary Grant as Houston. And like a good Hitchcock movie, Blood Oath soon turns from mystery to thrilling suspense.
Beyond the mystery and suspense, however, this is also the story about a boy who grows up without his father. Father-son relations often play a part in Morrell's novels, and none more than Blood Oath. As Morrell explains in the forward, he grew up never knowing his father, a Canadian pilot who was killed in WWII. Like Houston, Morrell began a search to learn more about the man, a search that eventually led him to a war grave in the United Kingdom. While reading Blood Oath, it wasn't difficult to hear Morrell's childhood pain in Houston's childhood angst.
In the end, Blood Oath is a fine mystery thriller, one of Morrell's best.
David Morrell's Blood Oath is a classic Hitchcockian mystery; that is, a story about an ordinary man who innocently becomes embroiled in deadly enigma and is forced to take action to save himself and those he loves. One can almost imagine Cary Grant as Houston. And like a good Hitchcock movie, Blood Oath soon turns from mystery to thrilling suspense.
Beyond the mystery and suspense, however, this is also the story about a boy who grows up without his father. Father-son relations often play a part in Morrell's novels, and none more than Blood Oath. As Morrell explains in the forward, he grew up never knowing his father, a Canadian pilot who was killed in WWII. Like Houston, Morrell began a search to learn more about the man, a search that eventually led him to a war grave in the United Kingdom. While reading Blood Oath, it wasn't difficult to hear Morrell's childhood pain in Houston's childhood angst.
In the end, Blood Oath is a fine mystery thriller, one of Morrell's best.
June 21, 2009
Imagine going to France to visit your father's grave and find he isn't burried there?
Pete Houston never knew his dad but when his mother died he goes to France to visit the grave of his father and tell him about his wife but his father's not there.
All Pete and his wife have is info that Pierre de StLaurnet wrote to Pete's mom and promised to look after his fathers' grave but when they investigate, St. Laurent is also missing.
A stranger tells Pete that St. Laurent lives in another town but when traveling there, a van forces Pete's car off the road. They crash into a river, Pete escapes, his wife, Jan, does not.
Pete awakens in the hotel where the authorities had taken him. The owner and his daughter, Simone, permitted Pete to recover there.
Upon recovering and taking care of his wife's funeral, Simone takes Peter to the address he had been given for St. Laurent but this too is a setup.
They return to the military cemetary where he thought his father was burried and find that two other people came to find there family member in the same situation, and found their loved one's weren't burried there either.
Morrell does a find job in keeping the suspense going. How Houston could continue so soon after his wife died and was cremated was improbable but the rest of the story went well. The characters were well drawn and the story told dramatically.
The main character has been compared to Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne and I think there could be a valid comparison.
Pete Houston never knew his dad but when his mother died he goes to France to visit the grave of his father and tell him about his wife but his father's not there.
All Pete and his wife have is info that Pierre de StLaurnet wrote to Pete's mom and promised to look after his fathers' grave but when they investigate, St. Laurent is also missing.
A stranger tells Pete that St. Laurent lives in another town but when traveling there, a van forces Pete's car off the road. They crash into a river, Pete escapes, his wife, Jan, does not.
Pete awakens in the hotel where the authorities had taken him. The owner and his daughter, Simone, permitted Pete to recover there.
Upon recovering and taking care of his wife's funeral, Simone takes Peter to the address he had been given for St. Laurent but this too is a setup.
They return to the military cemetary where he thought his father was burried and find that two other people came to find there family member in the same situation, and found their loved one's weren't burried there either.
Morrell does a find job in keeping the suspense going. How Houston could continue so soon after his wife died and was cremated was improbable but the rest of the story went well. The characters were well drawn and the story told dramatically.
The main character has been compared to Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne and I think there could be a valid comparison.
December 7, 2009
Creative Plotting. During WWII, a squad of soldiers goes MIA during a battle in France. Not long after, Peter Houston's mom (wife to one of the soldiers) gets a letter from a Frenchman. The letter promises he will maintain the father's grave as a gesture of gratitude for the sacrifice he made in behalf of France and the free world. Thirty-two years later, Peter travels to France to visit his father's grave. No grave. He searches for the man who wrote the letter, he's disappeared, too. With a little investigation,Peter discovers that the families of each of the MIA squad members received a similar letter from the Frenchman, and that no grave exists for any of the soldiers. Peter resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery, and thus begins a chaotic series of events. The writing in the shoot'em up in the last few pages is a bit over the top. Otherwise, not a bad story.
October 5, 2014
Not a bad book, but certainly not one of Morrell's masterpieces. This bit of 80's fiction follows the running through the French country jumping fences, dodging trees, and trying to get away while searching for answers paradigm. This book could easily be overlooked without much loss. If you like Morrell, go read The Brotherhood of the Rose series, The Fifth profession, Creepers, Scavenger, or even Testament.
March 18, 2018
Taut, relentless thriller from genre master David Morrell. This is one of his early works and suffers at times from melodrama, but not enough to be distracting. I can't speak for other editions, but the first edition hardcover has no fewer than three typos. Sloppy editing aside, an enjoyable book.
October 5, 2012
"I defy readers not to finish this novel in a single sitting." Stephen King. Is the quote on the cover. While I didn't finish it in one sitting, I did enjoy reading the book. The characters were enjoyable and the pace was perfect, no lagging or drawn out anything.
Definitely looking forward to more stories by the same author.
Definitely looking forward to more stories by the same author.
March 7, 2014
4.5 stars.
On the book cover is a quote from Stephen King, "I defy readers not to finish this novel in a single sitting." If I hadn't started so late in the day yesterday, I would have, I couldn't put it down. Liked the writing better than the earlier books and will continue to read them, somewhat in order.
On the book cover is a quote from Stephen King, "I defy readers not to finish this novel in a single sitting." If I hadn't started so late in the day yesterday, I would have, I couldn't put it down. Liked the writing better than the earlier books and will continue to read them, somewhat in order.
December 21, 2012
This one started out pretty good but I think it then became a bit too predictable and kind of over the top. There is some parts of this story that hint at the excellent works that come later from this author but, this one disappoints.
April 29, 2015
Gow can an innocent idea change your life - you wish to find your father's grave and suddenly you are hunted, your wife is murdered and you find out that your father not only lives but is a member of a mob. It was a good thriller with fast pace, good writing and interesting chararcters. I liked it.
July 25, 2008
Just an all around good book.
August 20, 2010
Nice change from the twilights of this world, not that they are bad either.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews