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Blood Ties: A Novel
When Clay Garner returns to Montana after 20 years, he is burned out by too many years of police work. Looking for peace and quiet, his life is instead thrown into turmoil when his wife and son are kidnapped, forcing him to use his FBI training to save them.
337 pages, Hardcover
First published July 23, 1996
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66 people want to read
About the author
Sigmund Brouwer
256 books410 followersSigmund loves going to schools to get kids excited about reading, reaching roughly 80,000 students a year through his Rock&Roll Literacy Show.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 2, 2024
Edge of your seat suspense thriller! (5 stars)
In this edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller, Sigmund Brouwer shows the success of his earlier thriller novel “Double Helix” was not a fluke. On this occasion, however, he leaves the field of medicine and science, and creates a heart-stopping plot revolving around a serial killer introduced as “The Watcher”.
The novel is divided in two parts, the first of which is set in 1973. Kelsie McNeill is the daughter of a local rancher, and is being stalked by a secret admirer, a serial killer who leaves her threatening notes of warning along with eagle feathers. The second half of the novel is set in 1996, as Kelsie is married to Clay Garner, the FBI agent who was part of the intial investigation. “The Watcher” sets his final plans in motion by kidnapping Kelsie and her son. Clay’s own life is in danger as he seeks to rescue his wife and son, as well as uncover the identity of the mysterious serial killer.
The plot is thoroughly suspenseful, with lots of twists and turns, and when the identity of the mysterious “Watcher” is revealed in the last pages, the reader is sure to be in for a surprise! There are more Christian themes than in Brouwer’s previous novel (the influence of C.S. Lewis is particularly apparent), but they are never a distraction from the main plot, and they are neither superficial nor overbearing as is the case in a lot of Christian fiction today. Some may regret that the religious themes aren’t more deeply explored, but this could result in excessiveness or in theological candy floss. Brouwer wisely avoids both extremes by focussing on a suspenseful plot.
I would rate “Blood Ties” as being at least as good as the thrillers produced by Terri Blackstock and Dee Henderson, and a welcome alternative to secular suspense fiction authors like Mary Higgins Clark.
In this edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller, Sigmund Brouwer shows the success of his earlier thriller novel “Double Helix” was not a fluke. On this occasion, however, he leaves the field of medicine and science, and creates a heart-stopping plot revolving around a serial killer introduced as “The Watcher”.
The novel is divided in two parts, the first of which is set in 1973. Kelsie McNeill is the daughter of a local rancher, and is being stalked by a secret admirer, a serial killer who leaves her threatening notes of warning along with eagle feathers. The second half of the novel is set in 1996, as Kelsie is married to Clay Garner, the FBI agent who was part of the intial investigation. “The Watcher” sets his final plans in motion by kidnapping Kelsie and her son. Clay’s own life is in danger as he seeks to rescue his wife and son, as well as uncover the identity of the mysterious serial killer.
The plot is thoroughly suspenseful, with lots of twists and turns, and when the identity of the mysterious “Watcher” is revealed in the last pages, the reader is sure to be in for a surprise! There are more Christian themes than in Brouwer’s previous novel (the influence of C.S. Lewis is particularly apparent), but they are never a distraction from the main plot, and they are neither superficial nor overbearing as is the case in a lot of Christian fiction today. Some may regret that the religious themes aren’t more deeply explored, but this could result in excessiveness or in theological candy floss. Brouwer wisely avoids both extremes by focussing on a suspenseful plot.
I would rate “Blood Ties” as being at least as good as the thrillers produced by Terri Blackstock and Dee Henderson, and a welcome alternative to secular suspense fiction authors like Mary Higgins Clark.
November 14, 2024
Wow... a lot to unpack with this book.
Firstly, I read a lot of thrillers, but this one was unique. I fell in love with the characters. Also, the MC wasn't a single, depressed female. She was married and a lawyer- had a loving husband.
The book begins with Kelsie, at the age of 16, entering the world of boys. She spends time mooning over certain handsome cowboy types. Suddenly though, she receives a letter from someone- the first indication that she has a stalker.
What follows is a wild ride as the stalker not only stalks-taking pictures of her and leaving her notes and his signature (an eagle feather)- but also kills. He kills everyone whom she pays romantic attention to.
We have a time skip later and come back after Kelsie is married. For a brief period of time, she's found her happiness. But then the nightmare starts back up...
There were a few things I didn't like. Firstly, the sheer amount of characters introduced immediately had me pretty confused. I found it hard to keep them all straight, even after I was a decent way into the novel. Also, some of the writing was just borderline cringy, which (and I say this with as much grace as possible) can sometimes be the case with Christian literature.
All the same, this novel was a wild ride with twists, turns, and on-the-edge-or-your seat suspense made all the better by the fact that the reader is made to fall in love with Kelsie and her husband Clay as well as their little son, Taylor. Definite recommend!
P.S - there are plenty of clues along the way, if only you look hard enough.
Firstly, I read a lot of thrillers, but this one was unique. I fell in love with the characters. Also, the MC wasn't a single, depressed female. She was married and a lawyer- had a loving husband.
The book begins with Kelsie, at the age of 16, entering the world of boys. She spends time mooning over certain handsome cowboy types. Suddenly though, she receives a letter from someone- the first indication that she has a stalker.
What follows is a wild ride as the stalker not only stalks-taking pictures of her and leaving her notes and his signature (an eagle feather)- but also kills. He kills everyone whom she pays romantic attention to.
We have a time skip later and come back after Kelsie is married. For a brief period of time, she's found her happiness. But then the nightmare starts back up...
There were a few things I didn't like. Firstly, the sheer amount of characters introduced immediately had me pretty confused. I found it hard to keep them all straight, even after I was a decent way into the novel. Also, some of the writing was just borderline cringy, which (and I say this with as much grace as possible) can sometimes be the case with Christian literature.
All the same, this novel was a wild ride with twists, turns, and on-the-edge-or-your seat suspense made all the better by the fact that the reader is made to fall in love with Kelsie and her husband Clay as well as their little son, Taylor. Definite recommend!
P.S - there are plenty of clues along the way, if only you look hard enough.
January 30, 2024
I love the plot twists, however I found it lacking in character development… it felt like the book version of the movie Die Hard. My husband loves that movie, I get bored with all the continuous action. I’m looking for deeper psychological motivations to be revealed in the pages of the book… I want to see the characters struggle their way through the mess and challenges and come out the other side stronger because of Christ. This book offered a very superficial version of that, with one or two exceptions, in between the almost constant action scenes with foreshadowing that allowed me to guess exactly who “done it”. If you’re a fan of action and suspense, then this may be just the book for you.
October 11, 2018
In my many years of being a reader this is the only book that I have ever returned to a bookstore. It was disturbing, and, in my opinion, gratuitous in describing the sickening & horrifying acts of a psychopath. I read it the year it was released (1996) and never understood how the publisher Thomas Nelson was able to justify this as faith based literature.
I strongly believe that if you are writing under a faith based publisher that there should be the expectation of some kind of redeeming quality. There is no redemption which is why I returned it and cannot recommend it.
I strongly believe that if you are writing under a faith based publisher that there should be the expectation of some kind of redeeming quality. There is no redemption which is why I returned it and cannot recommend it.
May 8, 2021
I really loved this book. I appreciated the cleanness of it, being no bad language or explicit romantic scenes. It was a little disturbing but in order to get across the whole story about a SERIAL KILLER it had to be. The little snippets about faith and God from George Samson were so good. The mystery was really good I had no idea who the bad guy was until the very end and it threw me for a loop. I think it deserved a 5/5 stars!
June 21, 2019
Super creepy but probably one of my favorite novels of all time
October 2, 2022
It seemed well written but I couldn’t stay interested. Maybe I’ll try again in the future.
December 1, 2023
Good book but it was weird how religion kept coming up.
November 15, 2015
It has been a long, long time since I last read this book. It still sends similar chills up and down my spine when I read it. I cannot say ‘I love this book’ or that ‘it was amazing’ because some of the material in the book is too disturbing to rate the book so high. The horrific aspects of the story definitely add to the story and the tension the author is able to develop. I think it also helps the author’s case about God and the goodness of God when considering the evil actions of humans. I like the character development throughout the story, as it is broken into two parts with a twenty-some year gap inbetween the parts.
It is a murder-mystery, where a retired FBI agent [Clay Garner] who tracked serial killers back in the day must use all of his skills, talents, and resources to save his wife[Kelsie] and only son [Taylor]. It also has good discussions in it about the nature of good vs. evil and how nothing really makes sense unless there is truly life after death. It has Native Americans, a potential insurrection and some terroristic acts; it has murder, mystery, skullduggery, and political infighting amongst law enforcement agencies. It has other stuff in it, too [such as a child born with Down Syndrome], that help add to the story.
It is a crazy book to read; I think it still has the same strength, the same power, that it did the first time I read it. Actually, I think aspects of the book are more powerful today than when I first read it.
The villain is freaky-crazy and utterly disturbing. The book also ‘reveals’ who the ‘bad guy’ is before the antagonist fully reveals himself to Kelsie [Clay’s wife] toward the end. As many books do, this one has the villain monologuing at length . The author does a nice job creating the back story for the villain told throughout the piece; I cannot say it makes the villain completely sympathetic, but it does help explain why the villain turns out the way he does [that, and apart from the grace of God].
On a completely irrelevant side not, I watched Terminator Genesys earlier today, and Kelsie’s comments strongly reminded me of Sarah Connor’s comments to the same effect in the movie. I know it was unintentional symmetry, but it still stood out to me and I thought it was interesting.
Overall, it is a good book and I enjoyed [most of] it.
Some random stuff [quotes] from the book I enjoyed:
“She wondered if that was his usual private face and decided, impulsively, that she liked him, although in his mid-twenties, he was definitely ancient” [72].
”Our ancestors worshiped creation, which is understandable,” George said. “it is a reflection of the creator and as such cannot help but be glorious. But it is merely a reflection. I choose instead to worship the creator.”
“A creator who stands aside while someone murders my sister?”
”Johnny, nothing I say will make sense unless you believe we are eternal beings. It is one or the other. Your body carries an eternal soul, or it does not. I believe it does.".....”If you want to think of this world as a place that was intended for your happiness, or even to be fair to you, this world will always disappoint you. If you think of it as a brief apprenticeship to your eternal journey, that the situations and events in this world are meant to train and correct you for eternal life, you will never lose hope or peace, even during the most unhappy moments.”...."If you think this world is meant to train you, in the end, what seems ugly and painful about this world strengthens you. Johnny, I take hope and peace in understanding that pain molds me for eternity.” [54]
”Not used to packing,” Clay said pride forcing him to pretend he was breathing normally. “How do you do it?”
“Old Indian trick,” George said. He found a log to sit on. “It is a matter of intelligence over strength.”
“Intelligence brought you up that hill?” Clay knew he was being set up.
“No, intelligence led me to insist on packing both knapsacks. I loaded down yours with everything heavy I did not wish to carry.” [282-283]
”George, did you pack a candle?” Clay was on his knees…….
“Candles are very light.” George grinned to dispel his own tension. “they go in my knapsack, not yours.” [295]
It is a murder-mystery, where a retired FBI agent [Clay Garner] who tracked serial killers back in the day must use all of his skills, talents, and resources to save his wife[Kelsie] and only son [Taylor]. It also has good discussions in it about the nature of good vs. evil and how nothing really makes sense unless there is truly life after death. It has Native Americans, a potential insurrection and some terroristic acts; it has murder, mystery, skullduggery, and political infighting amongst law enforcement agencies. It has other stuff in it, too [such as a child born with Down Syndrome], that help add to the story.
It is a crazy book to read; I think it still has the same strength, the same power, that it did the first time I read it. Actually, I think aspects of the book are more powerful today than when I first read it.
The villain is freaky-crazy and utterly disturbing. The book also ‘reveals’ who the ‘bad guy’ is before the antagonist fully reveals himself to Kelsie [Clay’s wife] toward the end. As many books do, this one has the villain monologuing at length . The author does a nice job creating the back story for the villain told throughout the piece; I cannot say it makes the villain completely sympathetic, but it does help explain why the villain turns out the way he does [that, and apart from the grace of God].
On a completely irrelevant side not, I watched Terminator Genesys earlier today, and Kelsie’s comments strongly reminded me of Sarah Connor’s comments to the same effect in the movie. I know it was unintentional symmetry, but it still stood out to me and I thought it was interesting.
Overall, it is a good book and I enjoyed [most of] it.
Some random stuff [quotes] from the book I enjoyed:
“She wondered if that was his usual private face and decided, impulsively, that she liked him, although in his mid-twenties, he was definitely ancient” [72].
”Our ancestors worshiped creation, which is understandable,” George said. “it is a reflection of the creator and as such cannot help but be glorious. But it is merely a reflection. I choose instead to worship the creator.”
“A creator who stands aside while someone murders my sister?”
”Johnny, nothing I say will make sense unless you believe we are eternal beings. It is one or the other. Your body carries an eternal soul, or it does not. I believe it does.".....”If you want to think of this world as a place that was intended for your happiness, or even to be fair to you, this world will always disappoint you. If you think of it as a brief apprenticeship to your eternal journey, that the situations and events in this world are meant to train and correct you for eternal life, you will never lose hope or peace, even during the most unhappy moments.”...."If you think this world is meant to train you, in the end, what seems ugly and painful about this world strengthens you. Johnny, I take hope and peace in understanding that pain molds me for eternity.” [54]
”Not used to packing,” Clay said pride forcing him to pretend he was breathing normally. “How do you do it?”
“Old Indian trick,” George said. He found a log to sit on. “It is a matter of intelligence over strength.”
“Intelligence brought you up that hill?” Clay knew he was being set up.
“No, intelligence led me to insist on packing both knapsacks. I loaded down yours with everything heavy I did not wish to carry.” [282-283]
”George, did you pack a candle?” Clay was on his knees…….
“Candles are very light.” George grinned to dispel his own tension. “they go in my knapsack, not yours.” [295]
September 7, 2016
This is a very disturbing book about the development of a psychopath. I was really repulsed by this book at first, though the tension and mystery were so fascinating that I had to keep reading. But at some point, Brouwer says something about how evil will drive us to God. As I read this book, I realized how true that is, not only in a book that will be put down and forgotten, but in real life. There is so much malignant and senseless evil that there has to be greater, and higher, and more powerful good that we can turn to and give our allegiance to. And there is. Someone who experienced all the malignancy and evil there is in the world and overcame it.
February 9, 2010
I loved this book, It was one of the first murder mysteries I ever read and maybe that makes me a bit nostalgic, but Sigmund has always been a solid writer and this one really makes your skin crawl for a Christian based author.
November 20, 2020
I was 14 years old when I borrowed this book from my granddad and couldn’t put it down! This is the book that made me want to study psychology. The development of a boy to a serial killer was incredibly fascinating.
August 3, 2008
Engaging. I enjoy this guy
April 8, 2011
I had never read any of the previous books about these characters. It was a nice touch to have one of the main characters as a blind former police officer. A good storyline.
August 23, 2012
Amazing and very well written. It's one of my favorite "human nature" books. It does get graphic though so not for young children.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews