Blood Will Tell: A Point Last Seen Mystery

Point Last Seen #2

by April Henry

What happens when someone who’s only ever wanted to be a hero becomes a suspect?

When a woman’s body is found in a Portland park, suspicion falls on an awkward teen who lives only a few blocks away, owns several knives, loves first-person shooter video games, and doodles violent scenes in his school notebooks. Nick Walker goes from being a member of a Search and Rescue team to the prime suspect in a murder, his very interest in SAR seen as proof of his fascination with violence. How is this even possible? And can Alexis and Ruby find a way to help clear Nick’s name before it’s too late?

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Suspense

1 pages, Audio CD

First published June 16, 2015

About the author

I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.

If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.

When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine.

My dream of writing went dormant until I was in my 30s, working at a corporate job, and started writing books on the side. Those first few years are now thankfully a blur. Now I'm very lucky to make a living doing what I love. I have written31 novels for adults and teens, with more on the way. My books have been on the New York Times bestseller list, translated into twelve languages, and won the Edgar, Anthony, and Oregon Book awards.

Reviews

[Stacee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I liked this one more than the first. The characters are established and it was nice being back in their heads. The story starts off with a bang and doesn't let go until the very end. I loved that we got the killer's POV and it was ambiguous enough to keep me wondering who it was until the reveal.

A great installment to the series. I'm eager to see what's next for these kids.

**Huge thanks to Macmillan for sending me the arc**

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story, but it wasn't interesting enough to make me keep reading. I'd read a few chapters then be totally okay with putting it down. Probably still good enough for a young adult to enjoy.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received this book for free from Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Genre* Young Adult, Mystery
*Rating* 3.0

*My Thoughts*

Blood Will Tell is the second novel in the Point Last Seen series. This story once again features three teenagers in Alexis Frost, Nick Walker, and Ruby McClure who couldn't be more different even if they tried. Different social backgrounds, different reasons for being a part of the Portland's Search and Rescue team, different struggles with life itself. Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness.

*Full Review Posted @ Gizmos Reviews*

http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...

Published: June 16th 2015 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

[Kaitlyn O · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I never touched that girl. I never even saw her. You should be out there looking for the real killer. Not someone who’s going into the army” (Henry 146).

In the fiction and mystery novel “Blood Will Tell” by April Henry, I admire the effort the author takes in explaining specific details such as the transfer of DNA and the logistics behind the complex concept. In inserting explanations of DNA and it’s implications within character dialogue, it allows the reader to understand what is happening and become more engaged. Additionally, Henry does a great job in describing the gruesome scenes of victims when the characters are called out on rescue missions. For instance, the injuries of the young girl after getting hit by a truck, such as her broken white bone popping out form her leg, enables the reader to visualize the dramatic event. Moreover, I appreciate the authors use of indirect characterization. For example, instead of bluntly stating that Ruby is very intelligent, her intelligence is illustrated by the highly knowledgeable conversion she has with Detective Harriman at the murder crime scene. Also, I like how Henry unravels the personal lives of Nick, Ruby, and Alexis. In adding details like Alexis’s home struggle with her bipolar mother, readers are able to empathize with the situation and make personal connects with the character. However, the resolution of the novel lacks closure and leaves the reader without a clear answer of how things finally ended for the main character, Nick. For example, the resolution fails to specify if Nick wins the heart of Alexis or if Alexis views Nick differently after saving her life. Therefore, the novel can strongly benefit in revising its resolution to one that gives the reader a concrete idea of how the characters friendships evolve or stay the same.

[Giteeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Body in the Woods by April Henry for book club, and I don't think that if I hadn't read The Body in the Woods, I don't think I would have read Blood Will Tell. In this book, you get to explore Nick's character more which I really liked. The last book based on Alexis and Ruby, and I wanted to know more about Nick. The suspense was also really awesome. I thought that the murderer was someone, else the the person it was. I'm not really a person who likes seeing a ton of blood, and I was kind of grossed out but fascinated by the details of when someone got hurt.

[Tori Slack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished BLOOD WILL TELL by April Henry, this is a mystery book. I really just couldn't set this book down, it left me at a cliff hanger every time i'd be done with a chapter. The main characters were Nick, Lucy, and Ruby. Nick; he is working with the "SAS" to help solve crimes, he is very observant. Lucy; a girl that died and is the main point of the mystery. Ruby; she takes care of her mother because her mother is special and she doesn't really show any character traits in public but she is a caring person and is very responsible.
The main conflict was Lucy dying and Nick getting blamed for it. The investigators check out the crime scene and find proof it was Nick but Nick has a brother with the same blood so Nick starts to realize and get suspicious about his brother Kyle.
Settings: crime scene, nicks house, and "SAS" station.
When they blame Nick for it they won't stop and then suddenly they say they know its him so can he prove it wasn't him?
The perspectives were different, "k" killed someone but didn't came back into the story for awhile so it left me on the edge of my seat to keep on reading.
This story was very suspenseful, it made me feel like i had to keep reading even when I was tired.
I really liked this book because it had me predict and read more because i couldn't put it down, I'm not a very fast reader but with this book i got through it pretty quickly.

[Alyssa-Lei · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about how a girl went to her friend's house only to find out that he wasn't their because he was at his training, so she was going to walk home but she saw a cat and later on that night she didn't report home.So out of nowhere she went missing and now her (guy) best friend is searching for her.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! In some places it made me mad because of cliff hangers but, other than that it was amazing! I never really could get into mysteries but this author has a way of sucking you in. It is a great book. If you have read The Body in the Woods then you will love this book!

[Kaylee Pringle · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was the bomb, awesome for winter break!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought April Henry's first book The Body in the Woods was excellent, so I was really anticipating another excellent read with this one. As in the first one, I really became engaged with the characters, but I just really felt let down by the ending this time. I didn't want anything predictable, but I expected to be able to make some connections -- even if I couldn't come up with the correct culprit. It was way too far-fetched, in my view at least -- to connect all the dots. Just a big disappointment.

[Sunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a GREAT two book series. Highly recommend, just choose a time where you will have lots of pockets of time to sneak in the next chapter, because you won't be able to put it down.

[Edilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so intense and it's kind of a horror story. This book is about a woman's body is found at a Portland park. They suspect that kid name Nick who lived close by where the incident happened, is the one who killed the woman name, Lucy. Nick is part of Seach and Rescue Team. Some of his team are, Alexis and Ruby. He's been dreaming to be an army but this vulnerability doesn't stop him from becoming a suspect when there is too much evidence. But Ruby and Alexis work together to identify the real killer to help Nick clear his name. In my opinion, this book is really good because I like the part when Ruby and Alexis helped Nick and that's what teams are, they help each other.

[Alivia]

This book was definitely good book. I would recommend the to anyone that likes a good and twisty mystery. I thought that the theme of this book was you never know who did it because in this book all along that thought it was this guy who wasn't like them. He had a lot of knifes and unusual things. But you would never know if it was actually him until they ran through tests. Also the theme is also don't judge a character by how they look or act because just cause this guy didn't act like them they thought he killed her.

[Sunshine K · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a girl body was found at a park.And I didn't really like about that part when it said she killed a girl.But I tried and keep reading on but when the mom called her friend to tell her to come back home but the friend said that she left an hour ago, so the mom was worried about her, the mom kept on calling and checking were she went.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery with forensics thrown in. If you like forensic science and mysteries then you'll like this book. Go "Three Musketeers"!

[Paulina Banda-Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal response: I enjoyed this book because it was mysterious. It’s like when I smell tortas de carne asada. The smell keeps me walking to the kitchen or restaurant. I knew that Nick didn’t kill Lucy Hayes because he has a chapter once in a while but in the story he never once said he stopped and killed a woman on his way home from saving Marianna Chavez. I found the book pretty interesting.
Plot Summary: Marianna Chavez is a seven year old girl who got lost after playing with her friend. Nick Walker is a kid that is still in high school and wants to go into the army, but after the accusation put on him that might not happen. He is with SAR (Search and Rescue), and he went to look for Marianna and found her lost in the woods. After Nick found her she ran across the street to him and she got hit by a pickup truck. Nick wouldn’t just help look for a little girl and then kill a young woman. While Nick was at school he was called down to the office, there waiting for him were some policemen who wanted to talk to Nick. They took him down to the station so they could question him about what he had done the night that Lucy Hayes was murdered. While he was answering their questions, he realized that they thought he was a potential suspect. Officer Meeker told him that they found DNA that matched with his father (a murderer) even though his father was dead. Well, it turns out he is in prison for killing a man while he was drunk. His friend Ruby went to see Nicks’ mother and told her that she had to call the station and put an end to the interrogation. When she did, Ruby went to pick him up and they talked, and Nick told her that they thought that he had killed her. She knew it couldn’t be Nick, because who would save someone then kill someone else? When Ruby took him home her mother talked to him about his father, and she told him to go visit him. When he did, his father told him that he would look out for him in prison. Nick could not believe that even his father did not believe him. Nick was furious and he went home and while he was driving home the police stopped him and told him that he was obligated to give them a DNA sample. He did not want to do it before because he thought it was his brother… Nick was just laying in his bed when he heard sirens and someone knock on the door. Kyle answered the door and they asked for Nick. When nick heard someone say “Is your brother Nick here?”, he ran. He texted Ruby to tell her that he had run away. When Ruby went to look for him she gave him money to go to the other side of the bridge. While Ruby was helping Nick Alexis made an alarming phone call. She was talking to somebody else she was also begging him not to kill her. Ruby and Nick went to find Alexis. When they found her Nick turned his phone on so they could track him.When they did find him the police came and open the door and arrested the man. Nick was shot and brought to the hospital. Their Alexis, Kyle, Ruby and Nick’s mother were there. They were all there to support him. They found out that Nick was not the murder because of the oxen cord. When Nick saved Marianna he got his blood on the oxen cord. The same ambulance that took Marianna to the hospital also took Lucy Hayes to the hospital. Nick was not going to be arrested. They did arrest the man who kidnapped Alexis and murdered Lucy Hayes.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to teens and adults. I think that it is not appropriate for children under the age of 12. It is a mysterious book. The genre is suspense. I think that you will love this book. I feel that whoever reads this book will enjoy it and will feel like if they are there. They will feel as if they were one of the characters. The genre is suspense. I think that you will love this book.

[Kelly Hager]

This is technically the second book in a series, but it definitely works as a standalone. (I didn't read the first book and I was fine reading this.)

This story is one of my worst nightmares. As someone who is a huge fan of horror movies and suspense novels, I get that I would look completely suspicious if people near me started ending up dead. (Maybe only mildly suspicious since women generally aren't serial killers, but that isn't very comforting.) The police shouldn't take hobbies into account but I'm sure they do. They DEFINITELY did in Nick's case. (And isn't everyone who likes video games fond of the first person shooter ones? I mean, they're really popular, aren't they? [Genuine question. I don't really do video games myself.])

At any rate, this book is completely engrossing. The reader knows almost immediately that Nick had nothing to do with it, but the real suspense comes from seeing if he'll continue to be a suspect and just how far the police will go to prove that he did it. 

I also want to go back and read the first one. All three main characters (Nick, Ruby and Alexis) are fantastic but I definitely want to spend more time with Ruby. She reminds me of a teenage version of Holly in Mr. Mercedes and its sequels. Ruby knows SO MUCH and is able to put things together so quickly.

If you're in the mood for a fun thriller that won't creep you out when it's time to go to sleep, this is for you.

[Revlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It was one of my favorites from April Henry. It is a story about how easily you can be connected to murder or crime due to a simple slip-up. Nick was just a Search and Rescue volunteer and wanted to help people in desperate need. All that changed when he was involved in a murder that he didn’t commit. He was not allowed to come to school and was kicked out of the program. I gave this book five out of five stars because of the plot and mystery. It made me think the killer was someone close to him, but turns out to be a whole different person.
I didn’t like the fact that it was a short book. I think the plot could have been extended a little. So more clues could have been thrown out about the killer. There could have been a few chapters describing their backstory and how they became a killer. Some characters should have helped Nick out more instead of everyone turning against him. But I guess it should have been his closest friends. Overall this book was very good, but it had some flaws like any other book.

[Yvette Turcios · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading crime and mysterious books, this book is definitely for you. I really enjoyed reading this book by April Henry and I would recommend it to anyone. I’m a person who likes to solve problems and read about them as well. Blood Will Tell was about a woman that was found dead in a vacant lot of a park behind some bushes. A Team Member of a Search and Rescue were assigned for that specific case. The members of the SAR were Alexis, Nick, Mitchell, Ruby and Dimitri. Who was the Killer? What had happened that night? That’s the question they all asked, but as they were solving the case an unexpected twist happened causing everyone to be alarmed. Was someone from the SAR involved in the murder of that poor Woman? The police have suspected many people but ended up only coming to only one finally person. This person tried to fight for his innocence, pleading he is not guilty for that murder. His friends all tried to help him gather information to prove his innocence. Do they end up proving his innocence? Did they catch the real killer? You’ll just have to find out at the end of the book. This book brought excitement into the story by giving it a little twist into the book which got my attention and was entertained by it. Overall I would give this book a 5 and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a crime solving book!

[Aggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much better than the first book I honestly was expecting to hate it. The only downside was that Henry didn’t provide enough clues or information for me to solve the murder. Anyways, how did the murderer even find Alexis? That was NOT how it should work, I deserve to try to solve the murder before the characters. The plot twists in this book we’re definitely more shocking than in the first one. I liked the plot and the characters but I wished I could have read more form Alexis or Ruby’s perspective. Or, even from Nick’s older brother. Also, the cover was beautiful and enticing but at the same time is seemed filthy and disgusting (I do not want to touch a corpse). And I wish they didn’t tell me as much about the autopsy, I wanted a murder mystery, not a medical journal. Finally, I have no idea why but this book did not give me mystery novel as much as the first one. These are my most major complaints.

[Amanda]

When a woman's body is found in a vacant lot suspicion falls on a awkward teen who lives only a few blocks away, owns several knives, loves first person shooter video games, and doodles violent scenes in school notebooks. Nick walker goes from being a member of search and rescue to being the prime suspect in a murder. His very interest in SAR (search and rescue) seen as proof of his fascination in violence. How is this even possible? Can his friends clear his name before it is too late? I would say this is a very good book but it can get very intense. This story is told from a 3rd person point of view. I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to read it. I do not necessarily like mysteries they are not my favorite but this one was probably the best mystery I have ever read.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood Will Tell is about a boy named Nick Walker who is accused of the murder of a young woman named Lucy Hale. His friends Ruby and Alexis try to prove him innocent but the evidence leads to him even though he is NOT the killer. This story is told in all of their perspectives, including the killer's, but in second-person. I can somewhat relate to Nick but only on some levels. Like how in times he feels like he has no one to turn to, no one he can trust when there are but in the moment, it feels like you're all alone. I relate to that because of reasons I will not state publically. There are a couple more examples that I also will not state. This book was really good and I definitely would read it again. I recommend this book to people/anyone who like murder/mystery/really suspenseful reads.

[Hannah Abrahamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response

Honestly, Blood Will Tell, is one of the best books that I have read so far this year. The intensity of it draws you in until you can't put the book down! The way it started out, I was disinterested because it was kind of confusing and hard to follow. I felt like what was going on in the book had nothing to do with what I thought was going to happen. I was pleasantly surprised in the end when I figured out how everything fit together.

Plot Summary

A small girl goes missing one night, and the Search and Rescue team prepare to find her. They search until finally they see her hiding in the bushes. They call out to her, and the girl runs towards them. They try to stop her, but everything happens so fast. The young girl gets hit by a car, and the
SAR team reacts immediately. Later that night, a woman is being murdered, only to be found the next morning. Once she is found, SAR is called to do an evidence search. There wasn't really anything significant that they found, other than a glove and some bloody footprints. Later, the cops accuse one of the young SAR members, Nick, of murdering her. They found his DNA under her nails. The problem is, Nick didn't do it, but the police don't believe him. Nick's friends Ruby and Alexis, help him figure out how his DNA got there, and who really killed the woman.

Recommendation

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery. It may seem a little confusing at first, but it is a very thrilling and well written book. I would also recommend it to anyone who has read other books by April Henry.

[Dark Faerie Tales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: I went into this expecting a great mystery that would keep me on my toes, and instead I got a story that I figured out within a couple chapters. The characters were dull, the mystery was non-existent, and I found the whole thing to be a pretty boring read.

Opening Sentence: Freshly spilled blood is wet, shiny, and startingly crimson.

The Review:

Nick, Ruby, and Alexia are all members of the SAR squad in Portland, Oregon. The three are all seniors in high school and they all have their reasons for wanting to be a part of the SAR. Nick is doing it because eventually he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the army. The SAR will give him great training in many skills that he will be able to use in the future. Alexia originally joined because she needed something good to put on scholarship applications, but after rescuing a few people she truly has found joy in helping others. Ruby joined because she wants to eventually become a detective and also because she is awkward and thought it would be a good way to make friends. The three of them have been through a lot together and now they have a good friendship.

They are put on a routine assignment to help gather evidence for a murder that happened just a few blocks away from Nick’s home. As the evidence starts to come in all of it is pointing to Nick as the killer. They found his DNA at the scene, he has an obsession with knives and the victim was stabbed, and he likes to play violent video games like most boys his age. It’s not looking good for Nick and he will have to rely on his friends to try and clear his name. But time is running out and the real killer is getting ready to strike again!

The three main characters in this series are Nick, Ruby, and Alexia. For the most part this story focused mainly on Nick. He was such an awkward person and being inside his head was pretty dull most of the time. He is a very average teenage boy and there wasn’t really anything about him that stuck out as something that would make him interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I like normal characters, but if there isn’t something about them that draws me in I find myself not caring about their story. He tends to complain a lot about his situation in life and that really grated on my nerves. If you aren’t happy with your life, do something about, but Nick just seemed to let things be instead of trying to change his situation. For me personally he was not a character that I connected with at all and honestly I don’t really care to read anymore about him in future books.

Alexia is a sweet girl and she is one of the only reasons I wish I would have read the first book, because I think I might have cared more about her if I had. Her home situation isn’t perfect, but at least she is trying to make her life better by doing things that will possibly land her a scholarship in the future. For the most part you aren’t in her head very much, but what I did see of her I liked fine.

Ruby was by far my favorite character in the entire story. She is a very blunt, ridiculously smart girl that is very awkward socially. I loved that she would just blurt out whatever was on her mind and the way she logically figured things out was very intriguing. The only down side to her personality was that she came across as somewhat cold and a little too calculated, which made it hard to fully connect with her. Even though I really enjoyed her character it wasn’t enough that I would actually want to continue reading this series.

Blood Will Tell was a very interesting read for me and unfortunately not one I really enjoyed. First off this is supposed to be a mystery, but the author tells you who the killer is very quickly, so I didn’t feel like there was anything to figure out, which in some ways made the entire book pointless. I guess the characters have to try to figure out how to clear Nick’s name and really that is pretty much the main focus of the story. So if you are looking for an intense mystery that will keep you guessing, this is not the book for you. The next thing I struggled with was the cast of characters. The book is told from multiple POV’s which was fine; it just made it hard to connect with anyone since you only got a small snippet of their story. I will admit that I have not read the first book in the series, so maybe I would have liked the characters better if I already had a relationship established with them, but I’m not sure it would have made much of a difference. I will say that this sequel stood just fine on its own, there was never a time that I felt lost or confused in any way as to what was going on in the story. I think the biggest disappointment for me was that overall this book was just boring and even though I finished it very quickly, I felt like nothing really happened. Personally, I can’t say I would recommend this book to anyone, but if you are a fan of Henry’s writing give it a try. Hopefully you have a better experience with it then I did.

Notable Scene:

What had he done? What had he done? In the small bathroom, he threw up and kept throwing up unti; all that came out were strings of yellow bile.

He was a monster.

No. What had happened was a mistake. A mistake he would never make again.

That’s what he told himself. Over and over.

FTC Advisory: Henry Holt and Co./Macmillan provided me with a copy of Blood Will Tell. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read some of the reviews on this book, I thought I would like it better than then first one. But I didn’t.

Some things about the ending urked me, and I wasn’t very found of Nick’s attitude in some parts. I had this idea in my head of how the killer was related in all of this and I turned out to be wrong, it would’ve been fine if the truth was better than what I thought but it wasn’t. At least, not to me.

It was still a good book, I just personally liked the first one better. I can’t wait to see what else April Henry has in store.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick, Ruby and Alexis are back to help search for missing persons as part of the Multnomah search and rescue.

But, after the discovery a young woman stabbed to death, suspicion turns on to Nick when his DNA is found on her body.

Could the awkward teen have done it?

As the reader, I trusted the author to not disappoint me by making Nick a killer. I mean he was a hero in the first book!

Nick has so many moments of self doubt and nausea over blood that he is clearly NOT the killer, but no one defends him other than Ruby and Alexis. The detective who knows Nick, is the worst!

In the end, it’s Ruby who solves the mystery. That girl is just amazing. Will she get her own story! I hope so!

[Riley Bodell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off confused because there were so many different point of views but was easier to follow as the story continued. Some things seemed unlikely to happen, and I feel like things could have been tied up a little bit better. I don’t think I fully understand the killer’s motive? The story also went in and out of 1st person and 3rd person point of view which at times was a bit hard to follow.

[Hasna M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So suspensful...Loved it!

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not going to lie, I and no idea this was a sequel until a couple minutes ago when I went to add this review. It was still a great book and clearly didn't need to be read after the first one.

[Bike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mystery and I enjoyed all the details about the blood. Who knew?!