I haven't read nearly enough of Mr Neville's work for my liking as each one I have read has been totally addictive from start to finish and this was no exception.

This is a crime novel that's so very different and I would say that it's best to approach it with an open mind, free from preconceived ideas; you do that, and you will definitely enjoy the ride!

From the very beginning, I was captivated by the stories of Rebecca Carter, Moonflower and Special Agent Marc Donner. Rebecca is a flawed but fiercely protective mother, driven by love and desperation. Donner is a dedicated lawman haunted by his mistakes. Moonflower is .... well I will let you read the story to find that out!

Full of suspense and oodles of tension that just keeps on building, this is a story that had me intrigued and totally invested; it has everything I enjoy ... crime, thrills, serial killers, action, suspense, tension and a bit of the supernatural and horror thrown in for good measure ... what's not to like?!?

Recommended to those of you who enjoy reading something a bit different than the usual crime stories and I must thank Stuart Neville, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this compelling book.

This book starts out as the usual mum/daughter on the run (from what we don’t know) while being chased by a flawed FBI agent. So you think you’ve got it sussed but the story takes some dark turns and what appeared strange in the initial part of the book is explained and the reader is then dragged kicking into the second part. I enjoyed the cat and mouse chase and particularly liked the fact that all the characters were realistic and well written. A solid 4 star read.

Rebecca is on the run with her daughter Moonflower but what are they running from? An intriguing novel from a master storyteller. I loved the mother daughter dynamic and with special agent Donner on their trail it leads to plenty of twists. Well plotted which keeps you hooked. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this review ARC.

I have read a few books by Stuart Neville and enjoyed them all. I found that Blood Like Mine took a twist down a road that isn't really my thing. The writing is good and I know this will appeal to many who enjoy this genre and I hope it sells well.

As always I went into the story blind and thought that it would be about a mom and daughter on the run from the police. That would have been an intriguing story but I didn't like the direction the book went in.

Rebecca is an amazing character and a great mother. But the FBI agent infuriated me and took away from the experience of the book. I just couldn't focus on the mother-daughter dynamic, their history, how Moonflower is or anything else with him lurking around. He does what he shouldn't and everyone around him faces the consequences of his actions.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the e-copy!

Stuart Neville’s Blood Like Mine starts in what feels like familiar territory. A woman and her child are in a minivan somewhere near Flagstaff Arizona in winter and run off the road. A man stops to help but the woman is suspicious, she is on the run and does not need the attention. Meanwhile an FBI agent who specialises in cybercrime is investigating the deaths over the previous two years of on-line predators, one of whom has been found dead near Flagstaff. Despite his essentially desk-bound job, he begs to be allowed out in the field to find the killer. And then somewhere along the way (but in fact right from the beginning) the story becomes something else entirely.
It is hard to talk much about Blood Like Mine without giving away some of its secrets. Suffice to say that there are some early clues which come across as confusing until the penny drops. And that actually happens around half way through, at which point Neville puts all of his cards on the table and does a hard gear change.
The characters here are pretty much straight out of thriller central-casting. There is the desperate mother who will do anything for her child but in doing so unwittingly draws attention to them. Then there is the FBI agent who let alcohol destroy his marriage and wants one more chance with his estranged family if he can just see this one case through for his own self respect. And his partner who stands by him until he appears to self destruct and has to avoid being taken down with him.
All of which makes Blood Like Mine a fun if slight thriller. Readers who go in expecting not too much more than a chase narrative with plenty of action and some interesting twists and turns will have a good time.

This is the first book that I have read by this author but it will not be the last. The writing is superb and is a joy to read.
The writing was quite dark, and the book did not run as I expected it too but it really held my interest and 'felt' as though it could have actually happened.
This book really puts the author in standing with Stephen King and is a recommended read for any of his fans.
A great read for the Halloween season.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK, NetGalley, and the author for providing me with a free electronic copy of the book in return for a honest and unbiased review.
The book is available in hardback, e-book, and audiobook formats.

Pretty much in the first chapter you get an idea that Moonflower is not 100% human-but as to what she is, you aren't quite sure. What you do know it that Rebecca is thoroughly devoted to protecting her at all costs, but their existence is iffy, and they are constantly on the run. Then you get to know Donner and realize there is a collision course coming and it probably is not going to end well. The book holds your attention and is a hybrid fantasy/police procedural book. While the author does give you the hints so that you know what is coming, the book ends with a surprise, leading to an obvious second book in the making. If you like fantasy, you'll tear through this book!

It's a happy coincidence that my review of Stuart Neville's latest novel, Blood Like Mine, has been put off until October, right on time for the creepiest month of the year. Just as it appears to be his first foray into the horror genre, it is also the first novel by the well-loved author I have read. As a result, it's difficult to compare to his previous, more crime-oriented books. Nonetheless, it is clear that Neville is a master at creating atmosphere.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/blood-like-mine-stuart-neville/

This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed this writing style and found this book easy to get into and become hooked. I picked it up because of the interesting premise and found a fun little horror gem that offered up something unique that stuck with my long after finishing. The story elevated from a chilling horror story in its exploration of complex themes and relationships and made you question what you might do faced with the same situation. The book was a decent length which allowed for good character depth and pacing but not too long that it became drawn out. I’d check out this author again.

📖 ARC Review

Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
Simon and Schuster UK, 15th August 2024 (HB)

Turned at the age of 12, vampire Moonflower and her mother, Rebecca, live a nomadic lifestyle, with Rebecca constantly striving to satisfy her young daughter's perpetual hunger. Rebecca's conscience forces her to seek out wrong 'uns that deserve to die, so that Moonflower may feed, with Rebecca always ensuring they are well and truly dead. FBI agent Marc Donner is pursuing the case of littered bodies, growing perilously close to the pair.

This is such a well-written, compulsive read, demonstrating Rebecca and Moonflower's relationship and the lengths a mother will go to in order to protect her child. Rebecca's characterisation reveals her increasing stress and fatigue as her love for her child makes greater and greater demands on her, whilst Moonflower's character reflects her sorrow that she needs so much sacrifice from her mother.

Donner's frustration and determination is evident, but I'll say no more about him (no spoilers!).
Blood Like Mine is the perfect read for spooky season or any time of year. It's a different slant on the typical vampire tale and a refreshing and heartfelt story with characters you care about on a deep level.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and Stuart Neville for the opportunity to read an ARC; this is my unbiased review.

I had a love of horror/supernatural back in my youth. From James Herberts ‘Rats’ trilogy, the occasional Koontz, even some Lovecraft and many others I’ve forgotten. But none could compare in my mind to Uncle Stevie King, and when I discovered his works in my local library, that was me; He had a reader for life.

But there’s a fine line for me with horror - I don’t like too much gore or gratuitous violence. Like many fans of the genre, I like the chills, to be spooked, and of course the occasional shocking momment for you to appreciate the danger. King is a master at that.
So it’s no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this horror/crime/thriller from Stuart Neville, also a good Armagh man. I had read some of his detective fiction with Jack Lennon some years ago, so this seemed like a new departure and I picked it up when I saw it on Netgalley.

Firstly, this isn’t an out and out horror - I’d say it’s a crime thriller with horror elements. It’s a pursuit across the American West as a mother desperately tries to protect her daughter from a man determined to catch up with them.

The Woman is Rebecca and her daughter is Moonflower. They’re on the run, sleeping in their van and down to their last few dollars. There’s something very real and touching about their relationship - it’s completely believable. As the story unfolds, you start to understand just why their bond is so strong. But until then, there's a lot of intrigue - why is Rebecca so determined to keep her safe?

The man on their tail is Mark Donner, and he is neglecting his own family because of the single mindedness of his pursuit, determined to show that he was right all along, no matter if he loses colleagues and loved ones along the way. He’s relentless and one of those great, bloody single minded characters that you need in crime fiction.

I was all in within the first few pages of this. It’s one of those propulsive thrillers that grabs you because you become immediately involved with Rebecca and Moonflower - why are they on the run and why is Donner so grimly determined? As usual I’m being careful to avoid any spoilers but you don’t have to wait too long to understand the nature of the chase. This is a proper thriller and the pace doesn’t lag.

I liked the depth of the main characters - Neville does a good job of avoiding cliche. I believed Rebecca’s reasons for protecting her daughter, whilst understanding Donners motivations - this is vital if I’m going to be spending time with them.

It’s well written, but having read Stuarts previous fiction, not a surprise. He grabs you early doors and doesn’t let go - there’s no flab on the story line, every sentence/page propelling your forward. Just how I like my thrillers/crime fiction/horror.

Consider yourself warned. But like said previously - it’s not gratuitous. There’s a scene that comes about 40% (that’s my Kindle read) that is shocking, but it has to be for you to understand what’s going on. I’m writing this review a week after finishing the book, a steaming mug of Joe in front of me on a crisp Autumn morning - and that scene is still playing out in my mind. Job well done, Mr Neville.

This is a cracking cat and mouse thriller with a great pace to it. Believable characters to engage you and keep it real, with some brutal momments of violence to shock you. This brought me back to the days when I gorged on horror as a teen, and had me just as engrossed. Epic ending as well!

Blood like mine By Stuart Neville

Huge Stuart Neville fan I have read all of his books but Blood like Mine is not one of his best, Don't get me wrong it is a good read but he has written so much better.
It's a slow burn with the past being retold in the form of letters discovered by the FBI as they hunt a serial killer to say much more would spoil the book.
it's your average summer read and the least you know the more enjoyment you will take from the book.

The characters are wrote well and the action set pieces are handle with care, as Neville slowly unwinds the plot and the book takes on a different edge once the secret is revelled.

I would recommend this book and feel new comers to the author will get a lot more out of it than I did.

Overall a good read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read the Arc.

I enjoyed this thriller / horror story. It’s a story with a difference; a mother and daughter are on the run, but, from what or whom we know not. An FBI agent is searching for a serial killer and is determined to bring the killer to justice.

The first half is slow and at times laborious, but, it then picks up and maintains the pace to a startling conclusion.

Overall a strong good read and I would recommend.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for the opportunity to preview.

A haunting story, where the horror is tangible, and Blood Like Mine will, I’m sure, be a hit. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review it before publication.
The book opens with Rebecca Carter having a near miss with an elk. For reasons we’re not told, she needs to get away from the scene and hope that nobody remembers her, her daughter or their van. My brain was picturing a number of scenarios here, but it came nowhere near what was actually happening.
We then quickly switch our attention to FBI agent Marc Donner, an agent on the trail of what he believes to be a prolific serial killer. He is going on little other than gut instinct, but there have been a number of male bodies found with their throats slit and their spinal cords removed. Donner is convinced that this woman and her daughter may be the key to solving this crime.
Quite early on we’re given the insight into what’s happening. In some ways this made what followed even more chilling. Nobody wins in this, and that final scene suggests an unstoppable horror has been unleashed.

A mix of genre, a tense and gripping story that brought me to very dark places and feeling chilly even if it's high summer and the temperature is quite high outside.
I rooted for the main characters, was afraid and fascinated.
A page turner that didn't let me go and kept me turning pages.
Great mix of horror and thriller, highly recommended
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
A more extensive review will follow

I came to this book knowing very little about it and, as it happens, that is the best way to approach it. So, I’ve offered up the short version of the blurb here, because this is a book you will want to discover for yourselves.

I thought, as I read the opening pages, that I knew where this story would be going. I was completely wrong. A mother, Rebecca Carter and her daughter Monica are travelling across the west of America in an old campervan. They keep themselves to themselves and are clearly fleeing from something or someone. It’s no life for either of them and for Monica, whom her mother calls Moon Flower, it’s particularly isolating. They have no friends, no-one to fall back on, hardly any money and they are reduced to stealing wherever they go. Rebecca is determined to keep Moonflower safe. So much so that she will go to any lengths including sacrificing herself. Rebecca shows the strength of her love by the extraordinary lengths to which she will go to protect her child.

It’s a powerful bond between mother and child and Stuart Neville excels in showing us the strength and determination that ensures that bond is never broken.

FBI Special Agent Marc Donner is hunting a serial killer who severs the spinal cords of the victims and bleeds them dry. He’s obsessed with finding this killer and for the past two years, he has focussed on nothing else. His family and his partner at work have pretty much given up on him and his solace these days is in a lonely bed with a bottle of Jack.

This killer’s victims tend to be not much of a loss to society. They’re male and when their backgrounds are investigated, they’re usually found to be violent, or abusers or worse. That their deaths have been gruesome is very true, but there are few who will miss these specimens of the more brutal in our society.

Neville tells this story from the perspectives of Rebecca, Moonflower and Donner. But interspersed with these narratives are extracts from letters Rebecca has written to Moonflower over a long period. Letters that tell of her mother growing up, dating and how she has a vision for the life she wanted to lead. These extracts are interspersed between the current daily lives of Rebecca, Moonflower and Special Agent Donner and so it takes a while to understand what has brought Rebecca and Moonflower to this state of constantly being on the run

In her letters Rebecca comes across as much more likeable, unsurprisingly as when we first meet her she is nearing the end of her tether with frayed nerves and the need to constantly look over her shoulder, She is afraid and that fear takes its toll on her.

Because she is likeable, you can see so clearly the darkness that now surrounds her and the emotional strain that keeping her daughter safe brings upon her. That strain, the fear and the emotion are so near the surface they are tangible and its impossible not to get caught up in these emotions, too.

As Rebecca and Donner draw closer to each other, it is easy to see that they are like two sides of the same coin. Both driven and determined to do what is right. Both unafraid to sacrifice themselves in pursuit of their goals and both determined to stand in the way of the other.

Stuart Neville has written an immensely dark and emotive thriller with a strong emotional core and a fierce understanding of the nature of a mother’s love. It’s a tremendous piece of imaginative and different fiction with a strong plotline and excellent pacing.

Verdict: This is a book that will grab you from the beginning and never let you go. Different, exciting, haunting and sometimes horrifying, it is written with skill and beauty. Blood Like Mine is an intense, chilling book that will stay with you for a long time. A five star must read from me.

Blood Like Mine is a chilling, bloody crime thriller with a hefty dose of horror thrown in. It's fast paced, gripping, and it sure takes you on a wild ride. When I started reading it, I wasn't really sure what I was going to get but the more I read the more I liked it and just couldn't put it down.
Stuart Neville wrote a compelling and yet gruesome story depicting some great characters, story that as dark as it is it's also deeply compelling and I really enjoyed it.

I love it when an author goes 'all in' - if you are going to write horror, write HORROR, don't mess with the formula, don't try and reinvent the rule book and don't ever look away. This is a beautifully written, genuinely terrifying story in the best tradition of early Stephen King. A triumph

Rebecca Carter is a mother who will do anything to protect her daughter, but times are tough, they are living in a van with almost no money and very little food. If only things were as straightforward as they seem. Being poor is not their biggest concern. Moonflower, her daughter has a dark secret. A secret that will destroy their lives if it comes out .
To add to their misery they are being hunted by Marc Donner an FBI agent who suspects one of the them is a serial killer, as bodies have been discovered wherever the two suspects have last been.
In the ultimate game of cat and mouse can mother and daughter survive with their secrets and liberty in tact?
I’m not sure I’ve read a more dark and poignant book than this in a very long time.
I’ve read all of Stuart Neville’s books and loved them all, but this something very special.
A truly remarkable piece of fiction that is impossible to put down.
It’s one of those books that gets into your soul and leaves you thirsting for more.