Kim, an academic librarian, is intent on finding her biological father. Unfortunately after locating him, James Shaw dies unexpectedly. It is up to Kim to connect with the family she has never known. In so doing, she discovers a half-sister who is in need of her help. Kim is concerned that Claire Shaw is being exploited and wants to help her. Kim also learns that Claire’s stepmother also died under mysterious circumstances and her stepbrother disappeared. When Kim becomes involved, her life is placed in danger.
Here is a brief excerpt:
Chapter One
“Ma, we talked about this before,” Kim
said. She tapped her fingers against the kitchen table in frustration.
Her mother did
not meet Kim’s gaze. Instead she looked down at the parquet pattern of the
floor, appearing to study it as if she found it fascinating.
“You said when I
visited you here in Florida
“I guess I might
have agreed, but I didn’t promise anything. I don’t understand why it’s so
important for you to know.”
Kim allowed an
exasperated sigh to escape her. “I need to know my paternity for obvious
reasons.”
Ma looked up, a
puzzled expression forming on her face. “What difference does it make?”
Was her mother
being deliberately obtuse? Why the need to obfuscate? “For health reasons alone
I should know. I can’t understand why you’ve refused to tell me.”
“Look, Karen…”
“It’s Kim,
remember?” she interrupted.
“I remember all
right. But I named you Karen. You
will always be Karen Reyner to me, not some name you made up because you were
ashamed of your given one.”
So they were back
to that again. She sighed in frustration. Nora Reyner wasn’t going to forgive
or forget. Yet she’d done so for Carl countless times. Kim shook her head in
denial.
“Ma, I know there are things you don’t want to talk about,
and honestly, I don’t mean to embarrass you or bring up unpleasant memories,
but I think maybe we should talk and discuss the matter. It’s time, and then
some. Carl told me when I was fifteen that he wasn’t my real father.”
“He said he never
would tell you. He promised me.” Ma curled her lower lip.
Kim observed the fine lines around her mother’s mouth. Her
mother’s hair, salt and pepper gray, now had more salt than pepper. She
honestly didn’t like upsetting her mother, dwelling on a past that brought
nothing but pain to each of them. Yet it was necessary to know.
“It was better Carl came out and told me. I knew anyway from
the way he’d treated me. Just tell me about my paternity.”
For a few minutes, there was a palpable silence in the small
kitchen of the condo. “Your real father was decent and caring, but he couldn’t
be a father to you.”
“Why not?”
*****
Reviews
for previous novels in the series:
The
Inferno Collection, Kim Reynolds Mystery #1
“… Interesting characters abound.” Booklist
The Drowning Pool, Kim Reynolds Mystery #2
“…Crime
solver. Psychic. Librarian. Kim Reynolds is all of the above. She and police detective
Mike Gardner (The Inferno Collection) are together again… Who says academic
reference librarians lead boring lives?”
Booklist
The
Truth Sleuth, Kim Reynolds Mystery #3
“Readers will enjoy the continuing
adventures of Seewald’s conflicted psychic.” Booklist
The Bad Wife, Kim Reynolds Mystery #4:
“It
is nearly impossible to put this book down until the very end and even then,
the reader is likely to wish the story had never ended because the experience
was so intense and satisfying. If we still told tales around a campfire at midnight , I would want to be seated at Ms.
Seewald's campfire, that's for sure.”
Cherie Jung, Over My Dead Body!
*****
Buy Links So Far:https://www.amazon.com/dp/1645990435
ebook:
Congratulations, Jacqueline, on Blood Family.
ReplyDeleteSounds good. I always like the ones where DNA turns up a dark secret.
Thank you. I appreciate your support!
DeleteWishing you all the best with your new release, Jacquie. I love the color palette on your cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Maggie.
DeleteCongratulations! I wish you much success with the new novel. You always help other authors and it's appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThank you, D.K.
DeleteCongratulations on your new mystery. I've enjoyed the Kim Reynolds series, and look forward to more adventures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, so much, Susan. I appreciate your mystery novels as well.
DeleteCongratulations on your your latest publication. Great opening and a nice hook at the end.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathleen. I struggle over openings. So I appreciate your comment.
DeleteWow...Congratulations Jackqie!
ReplyDeleteGood luck and God's blessings with your new release.
PamT
Pam,
DeleteThanks so much.
Sounds like a good family drama with mystery and suspense. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nancy.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. I love Kim's persistence throughout all the novels. And yours, for being such a prolific writer!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathy. I appreciate you reading the novels and I believe Kim does as well.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Jacqueline! Outstanding performance with the series! :) Going to Amazon to have a look :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Loretta. Let me know what you think. Feedback appreciated.
DeleteJacqueline, congratulations on the release of Blood Family and best of luck. One thing that's been noted about the Covid situation is the increase in ebook downloads. This makes a lot of sense because readers now have even more time to read due to the stay at home orders or just a narrowing of options in general for other things that used to take up their free time. And with a book 5 in a continuing series you've already got an established readership which gives you a running start for sales. So that should be an encouraging thing for you to think about.
ReplyDeleteKeith,
DeleteThanks for your encouraging words. I appreciate you taking the time to write.