Blood Will Tell by Heather Chavez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blood Will Tell is the sophomore effort from author Heather Chavez. Her 2020-debut, No Bad Deed entertained me from the very start. I really enjoyed it!
Because of this, I was definitely looking forward to this new release. Could she keep up her stellar, fast-paced writing and over-the-top level of intrigue?
YES!!!
In Blood Will Tell our focus is on sisters, Frankie and Izzy. Frankie has always been very protective of her little sister, Izzy, and both girls acknowledge that Frankie practically raised her.
Their father has a chronic illness and with their parents often focused on that, the girls sort of circled in their own little orbit. They would keep secrets from their parents, as they didn’t want to trouble them, or worry them. In fact, even as adults, they’re still doing that.
Over the years, Izzy’s choices have been continuously reckless. Her drug and alcohol use certainly hasn’t helped matters.
Their most troubling night involved events that happened five-year ago, when Izzy and some friends partied in the woods just outside of town. Six of them arrived, but only five left. One of the girls there that night, Rachel, has been missing ever since.
Izzy drunk and disoriented ended up getting in a minor accident that night in their mother’s car. As always, she called Frankie for help.
After Frankie managed to arrive for a rescue, Izzy was a mess and couldn’t recall exactly what had happened. Based on some troubling evidence that Frankie found, and a bit of Izzy’s rantings, Frankie had a sinking suspicion she knew what happened.
Now when an Amber alert goes out and Frankie’s vehicle matches a description given by witnesses, she fears the worst.
She knows she didn’t just kidnap the teen girl, Marina, but it is possible that Izzy could be involved. She’s the only other person with access to Frankie’s truck. With fear in her heart, Frankie sets about investigating what happened to Marina.
Alternating between this present case, and the events of the infamous party night, 5-years earlier, the truth behind Rachel’s and Marina’s disappearances is revealed. We also gain a full understanding of the sisterly relationship; how intertwined they are with one another.
There’s something about Chavez’s writing that feels so addictive. She gives you just enough in each chapter to keep you vigorously turning pages. The drama is always high and this sisterly relationship was giving me all the twisted family dynamics I crave.
I really felt for Frankie. Izzy was a lot and Frankie’s dedication to her felt like it was extreme at times, but when I sat and thought about it, it really wasn’t.
The lengths I would go to for one of my siblings knows no bounds; blood runs thick. I found their relationship, overall, to be quite believable. There were other aspects of this that were more far-fetched than the sisters loyalty.
At the end of the day, I don’t mind over-the-top plots. In fact, that’s generally what I’m here for. I read to escape and this was a great one for me!
Thank you so much to the publisher, William Morrow & Company, for providing me a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this and look forward to seeing what Chavez comes up with next!!