What do you think?
Rate this book
Moretti and Falla mysteries #3
Blood Will Out: A Moretti and Falla Mystery
While investigating the apparent suicide of a hermit, Detective Inspector Ed Moretti and his partner, Liz Falla, of the Guernsey Police have to deal with what seems to be an outbreak of vampirism. Can the threat be real? Or is it something possibly provoked by Hugo Shawcross, who is writing a play about vampires for a local theatre group, and who narrowly escapes becoming the first victim?
As the investigation unfolds, links begin to emerge between the hermit's death, the play in progress, and the tangled lives of one of the Channel Islands' most prestigious families. With the dubious help of island witches, and the distraction of his partner's seductive aunt, Moretti employs all his deductive skills to see where the truth lies. Is it to be found among the clues about vampirism and the living dead that present themselves? Or is it buried deep in the past among hidden motives of sex, love, and obsession? The pressure is on Moretti and Falla to uncover the real reason before the attacker strikes again.
As the investigation unfolds, links begin to emerge between the hermit's death, the play in progress, and the tangled lives of one of the Channel Islands' most prestigious families. With the dubious help of island witches, and the distraction of his partner's seductive aunt, Moretti employs all his deductive skills to see where the truth lies. Is it to be found among the clues about vampirism and the living dead that present themselves? Or is it buried deep in the past among hidden motives of sex, love, and obsession? The pressure is on Moretti and Falla to uncover the real reason before the attacker strikes again.
- GenresMystery
400 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2014
13 people want to read
About the author
Jill Downie
28 books3 followersJill Downie is the winner of the Drummer General's Award for A Passionate Pen and the Hamilton and Region Arts Council Literary Award for Non-Fiction for Storming the Castle. The first title in the Moretti and Falla series, Daggers and Men’s Smiles, was published in 2011. The second, A Grave Waiting, followed in 2012. Jill lives in Ancaster, Ontario.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 26, 2014
This is the third book of a series set in the beautiful Channel Islands. DI Ed Moretti & DS Liz Falla have been partners for a while now. There's an ease & familiarity between them that is reflected on the job & they've become a formidable investigative team. But when an eccentric local is found dead, neither could have predicted where it would lead. Vampires? On Guernsey?
Gud Dorey was known as the hermit. Born here, he & his mother fled during the war leaving behind his father who was suspected of collaborating with the Germans who occupied the island. He returned during the '90's & built an old fashioned roundhouse, shunning modern conveniences & most people. But like many of the island's residents, Gus has secrets & his past is about to catch up with him.
When Moretti returns from a short trip, Liz fills him in on what he's missed. First, a postman found Gus swinging from a beam in his home. It could be suicide except for a few anomalies. Second, a woman from one of Guernsey's "important" families has complained that she was threatened by a vampire.
Right. Just what he needs as he's also been saddled with breaking in Aloisio "Al" Brown, a newly recruited detective from the mainland.
The alleged vamp is Hugo Shawcross, a recent addition to the island. He's writing a play for a local theatre group featuring the bloodsuckers in an attempt to draw a big crowd. He's a weird little guy with a dodgy past. Unfortunately, he also lives behind Elodie Ashton, Liz' favourite aunt.
Elodie is a private woman who works from home as a medical researcher & illustrator. Hugo kind of gives her the creeps but when she finds him bleeding in her back yard one night, she does the neighbourly thing & saves his life. Someone slit his throat & left a bite mark on his neck.
Moretti & Liz have their hands full....Gus' murder, Hugo's attack & two of the prominent Gasteneau family are being stalked. It all seems to revolve around around the theatre group. Before it's all over, decades old family secrets are revealed & another person is dead.
I really enjoyed this book, the first I've read from Ms. Downie. There's something about stories set on islands with rich history. Memories are long among multigenerational families & any newcomers tend to be looking for solitude or seeking a place to hide. There is a geographical isolation that is mirrored in some of the characters & the waves crashing off the cliffs and rugged terrain lend a spooky atmosphere to the story. It reminded me of the excellent books by Elly Griffith & Anne Cleeve's Shetland series.
Moretti & Liz are interesting & well drawn characters. He's a private, introspective man with a fondness for jazz & classic literature. Liz comes from one of the island's oldest families. She's smart, intuitive & good at her job. Her easy going manner makes her a perfect foil for the more restrained Moretti & they're believable as people and partners. The author makes us privy to their private thoughts so we get both perspectives as the cases unfold.
The rest of the cast runs the gamut from eccentrics to socialites. The author includes details of Guernsey's history & culture along with references to the books & music significant to each character, all providing colourful background.
But this is a police procedural & the investigation is suitably complex. There are several suspects, each with credible motives & as the pace picks there is a real sense of urgency to nab the killer(s) before someone else dies, especially when a member of Liz' family becomes involved.
I enjoyed the plot, the characters & the setting so I'm now waiting for the next one as proper fan.
Gud Dorey was known as the hermit. Born here, he & his mother fled during the war leaving behind his father who was suspected of collaborating with the Germans who occupied the island. He returned during the '90's & built an old fashioned roundhouse, shunning modern conveniences & most people. But like many of the island's residents, Gus has secrets & his past is about to catch up with him.
When Moretti returns from a short trip, Liz fills him in on what he's missed. First, a postman found Gus swinging from a beam in his home. It could be suicide except for a few anomalies. Second, a woman from one of Guernsey's "important" families has complained that she was threatened by a vampire.
Right. Just what he needs as he's also been saddled with breaking in Aloisio "Al" Brown, a newly recruited detective from the mainland.
The alleged vamp is Hugo Shawcross, a recent addition to the island. He's writing a play for a local theatre group featuring the bloodsuckers in an attempt to draw a big crowd. He's a weird little guy with a dodgy past. Unfortunately, he also lives behind Elodie Ashton, Liz' favourite aunt.
Elodie is a private woman who works from home as a medical researcher & illustrator. Hugo kind of gives her the creeps but when she finds him bleeding in her back yard one night, she does the neighbourly thing & saves his life. Someone slit his throat & left a bite mark on his neck.
Moretti & Liz have their hands full....Gus' murder, Hugo's attack & two of the prominent Gasteneau family are being stalked. It all seems to revolve around around the theatre group. Before it's all over, decades old family secrets are revealed & another person is dead.
I really enjoyed this book, the first I've read from Ms. Downie. There's something about stories set on islands with rich history. Memories are long among multigenerational families & any newcomers tend to be looking for solitude or seeking a place to hide. There is a geographical isolation that is mirrored in some of the characters & the waves crashing off the cliffs and rugged terrain lend a spooky atmosphere to the story. It reminded me of the excellent books by Elly Griffith & Anne Cleeve's Shetland series.
Moretti & Liz are interesting & well drawn characters. He's a private, introspective man with a fondness for jazz & classic literature. Liz comes from one of the island's oldest families. She's smart, intuitive & good at her job. Her easy going manner makes her a perfect foil for the more restrained Moretti & they're believable as people and partners. The author makes us privy to their private thoughts so we get both perspectives as the cases unfold.
The rest of the cast runs the gamut from eccentrics to socialites. The author includes details of Guernsey's history & culture along with references to the books & music significant to each character, all providing colourful background.
But this is a police procedural & the investigation is suitably complex. There are several suspects, each with credible motives & as the pace picks there is a real sense of urgency to nab the killer(s) before someone else dies, especially when a member of Liz' family becomes involved.
I enjoyed the plot, the characters & the setting so I'm now waiting for the next one as proper fan.
September 3, 2015
I so enjoyed this book, third in a series by Canadian crime/mystery writer Jill Downie. Picked it up on a whim at my local library branch. Shiny cover, catchy title, eye-catching. Blurb on back read well: vampires? Maybe. A very old man is found hung in his makeshift round hut on the island of Guernsey. Suicide? Not likely. Good pairing of 'guv' Ed Moretti and his DI Liz Falla pursue all reasons why, who, and the how, strangled then hung, so murder, and there are many possible suspects as this book unfolds. Book is set up nicely with sections: The opening, the run, the closing and curtain call. Considering the Island Players are all grouped as suspects, old island entitled families versus witches among the simple folk who could have done it, Moretti and Falla have their hands full interviewing and travelling to the different parishes of this 24 square mile island. Someone else is almost murdered, the playwright who is obsessed with vampires, and another character is found dead close to book's ending and 'why' is suddenly revealed. Awesome scenery and visuals; crashing waves, rocky cliffs suitable for swift footed goats, sheep, cows and gorse. Authentic dialog and an interesting cast of characters; Moretti and Falla, both musical in their off hours, not an item, but maybe, soon? Plot is ages old: jealousy, envy, inheritance, greed, love. Downie gives it a clever spin and pulls the reader in quickly and neatly. I plan on going back and reading the first two in this series. Most enjoyable discovery.
March 18, 2014
If ever a book cover failed to match the book, the cover for this book provides a perfect example. What--you thought this was a book about vampires?
Not so. Although there is an author writing a play about vampires, vampires are not the subject of the book.
Blood Will Out: a Moretti and Falla Mystery is a mystery set in Guernsey in the Channel Islands and is the third in this mystery series.
Detective Inspector Ed Moretti and Detective Sergeant Liz Falla are partners whose differing personalities mesh in a way that allows them to work well together. When an island hermit is found dead in an apparent suicide, Moretti notes some inconsistencies; the death is either an assisted suicide (as the hermit could not have managed it on his own) or a murder.
In the meantime, there is a brouhaha about the author, Hugo Shawcross, who is writing a play about vampires and offends a member of the theatrical group that plans to stage the show. When Shawcross is attacked and barely survives, an attempted murder investigation begins that involves some of the island's most prestigious families.
Interesting characters, long buried secrets, and a great setting. I will gladly read the first two in this series.
Read in March; blog review scheduled for August.
NetGalley/Dundurn
Mystery. Aug. 25, 2014. print version: 400 pages.
Not so. Although there is an author writing a play about vampires, vampires are not the subject of the book.
Blood Will Out: a Moretti and Falla Mystery is a mystery set in Guernsey in the Channel Islands and is the third in this mystery series.
Detective Inspector Ed Moretti and Detective Sergeant Liz Falla are partners whose differing personalities mesh in a way that allows them to work well together. When an island hermit is found dead in an apparent suicide, Moretti notes some inconsistencies; the death is either an assisted suicide (as the hermit could not have managed it on his own) or a murder.
In the meantime, there is a brouhaha about the author, Hugo Shawcross, who is writing a play about vampires and offends a member of the theatrical group that plans to stage the show. When Shawcross is attacked and barely survives, an attempted murder investigation begins that involves some of the island's most prestigious families.
Interesting characters, long buried secrets, and a great setting. I will gladly read the first two in this series.
Read in March; blog review scheduled for August.
NetGalley/Dundurn
Mystery. Aug. 25, 2014. print version: 400 pages.
May 24, 2016
I got so interested in the dynamics among the lead characters that, when I got to the end, I realized I wasn't sure "whodunit" or why. Even after a second read, I find the motivation and the timelines a bit unclear. Perhaps the dialogue is a shade too cryptic. Also confusing was the fact (which I have encountered before in ebooks) that there are no "visual cues" to tell you when there is a change of scene. You are reading some dialogue and all of a sudden you are in a different time/place and the character is speaking to a different set of people. I find this very disconcerting and off-putting.
September 27, 2015
Jill Downie's Moretti and Falla Mystery series just keeps getting better. I'm captivated by the Guernsey setting and have grown to love the two main characters, especially the insights about their off-duty lives. In Blood Will Out (book 3), Downie serves up another delicious puzzle that kept me wondering right up to the end. The author's love for the island shines through, bringing the settings to life in a way that not only adds to the reader's enjoyment but has left me wanting to plan a visit. More, please! Soon!
March 8, 2014
A clever and engaging murder mystery replete with gorgeous scenery and complex well presented characters. Rather reminiscent of a P. D. James novel this story keeps you guessing all the way through.
The writing is clear and strong, able to paint expressive backgrounds without being pedantic or wordy. The characters are well portrayed, very three dimensional and well realized. One of the better murder mysteries out there.
The writing is clear and strong, able to paint expressive backgrounds without being pedantic or wordy. The characters are well portrayed, very three dimensional and well realized. One of the better murder mysteries out there.
April 6, 2014
First of this series I've read. Feel like that might be the reason I didn't feel like the character development was well done, but might have felt differently if I'd read others in the series first. Good plot and well-written, just didn't feel any closeness to the characters, which is a big part of the enjoyment of a book for me.
August 10, 2016
love this book its kept was a page turner. from the start of page one it pulled me in and left me wanting more at the end. This is a book that I will be happy to recommend If it were possible to give it 10 stars I would do but can only give five well worth a read if like me you enjoy a good mystery then this author and her books are for you
August 28, 2014
I liked this book and will seek out the rest in the series. Some irritating sexist language and attitudes that were no doubt meant to belong to the characters but obscured my enjoyment somewhat. Still, I liked the detectives and look forward to further stories.
October 4, 2015
A most interesting setting - the island of Guernsey. The story focuses on Guernsey “royalty”, the old (original?) families of the island. There are two disparate crimes: the murder of a “hermit”, and the attempted murder of an English playwright, who seems fixated on vampires.
November 29, 2013
Third book in a clever police procedural series. The setting on the island of Guernsey takes a staring role which is part of this series' charm.
June 8, 2015
I liked how the author fleshes out her characters and the way she describes Guernsey. She can be a bit cryptic at times though with some of the clues in the story
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews