WOW! That feeling when you’ve just finished an amazing book, excited by what you’ve just read, excited that others will get to read it too…

I was at a Q&A, C.L. Taylor and Lisa Jewell, hosted by Luca Veste, one of the questions was ‘What was your last five star read?’ - C.L. Taylor and Luca Veste immediately answered, in unison Blood Like Mine, Lisa Jewell answered Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry.

It’s the story of Rebecca Carter, a mum on the run with her daughter Monica (nicknamed Moonflower), staying hidden and anonymous. There’s an FBI agent Marc Donner who has been tracking a k*ller for nearly two years, he’s as determined to catch the k*ller as Rebecca is to protect Moonflower.

This is an amazingly fresh and original novel. It goes deep into a mother’s need to protect her child. The mom and daughter as anonymous fugitives on the run is very powerful and Stuart Neville builds this story perfectly. There are heart-stopping twists and reveals that will chill your blood.

For once, I’ll say this book is crying out for a sequel or ongoing series and needs to be made into a movie.

This is a book of the year, emotionally involving while throat grabbing as a cat and mouse high stakes thriller. This is a book I’ll be shouting about. Read this as soon as you can!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK

I thought this book sounded interesting, but when I started reading it I struggled. I felt myself disconnecting after a while, and I am afraid this just wasn't for me.

I hadn't really realised what this was to begin with. I'd assumed it was a story of revenge, of a mother wanting to hurt the sort of people who had hurt her daughter. Then I realised it was something totally different. It wasn't my normal type of story - but actually I really really enjoyed it and it kept me enthralled right to the end, with a few surprises.

An intriguing story that starts with a mother and daughter on the run that develops into a gothic horror story with lots of bite. The daughter has special dietary needs which just happens to be human blood and the mother has decided that the best providers are child abusers as it was one such individual who infected her in the first place. The chase involves an FBI agent who had become obsessed by the case and as his chase causes even more tragic events he’s thrown off the investigation but carries on regardless. A blood soaked ending but the perpetrator is still out there. Beware!

A really gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to look out for more by this author.

A desperate mother is on the run, sacrificing everything to protect her child. Following close behind is FBI agent Marc Donner, equally driven he won't stop until he catches them. From the opening chapter right the way through to its intiguing ending this novel had me completely under its spell.

Superb characterisation, I wasnt sure how I felt or even which party I was rooting for as the lines between hunter and prey became blurred and they headed on a collision course towards the explosive ending.

A powerful and moving novel that held my attention from start to finish. Not quite what I was expecting but a terrific read nonetheless. I'm hopeful there's more to come and if so I'll look forward to reading it.

I chose this book as it was labelled as a mystery/ thriller. It is also fantasy/horror not my usual genre. Mother and daughter are on the road across America. They are being tracked by an FBI agent who thinks they are responsible for a trail of death. They don’t fit the profile of serial killer but the agent doesn’t know the whole truth. I gave up about a third of the way through partly because I had already worked out the mother and daughter’s secret. I also felt that the story really has nowhere to go. As an almost 70 year old woman, I don’t think I am the right audience for this sort of book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this !
Monica and her mother are on the run -we are not sure from whom or from what at first .
As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Monica has certain needs that her mum is helping her with -and the bodies are piling up !
Great little horror story -loved it !

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Well that was unexpected!
I ought to start by thanking all of the reviewers for not giving it away. For the record, I'm not about to either.
What starts out as a cat and mouse chase between a woman and her daughter who are on the run and the FBI agent who has spent the last two years trying to track them down at the cost of his marriage, home and possibly his career takes a sinister turn about half way through..
I actually loved it.
It's a great thriller, with a fast, enjoyable plot and a very satisfying conclusion. The characters are, shall we say, interesting and that's as much as I dare give away.
Thanks for taking me out of my comfort whilst still managing to entertain me..
Much appreciated.

#BloodLikeMine #NetGalley
Brilliant
You would do anything to protect your child.
Even if she’s a monster .Rebecca Carter and her daughter Monica, nicknamed Moonflower, travel the American West, always on the move, always hiding, always looking behind them, always keeping Moonflower out of sight.
They speak to no one, only interacting with people when it’s absolutely necessary.
But wherever they go, bodies are left behind.
Special Agent Marc Donner of the FBI has been tracking a killer for the best part of two years. A murderer that strikes once every few weeks. The victims are all men, many disappearing only to be found months later, dumped in forests or rivers or quarries, far from their places of death. All of them with their throats opened, their bodies bled out and their spinal cords severed. The killer leaves no trace, no clues – only a trail of corpses.After all this time, Donner has gleaned only a handful of facts from the few witnesses and snippets of CCTV footage available. He’s hunting a middle-aged woman who drives a van with blacked-out windows and false plates. Often she poses as a child online to lure in her prey. It’s never been enough to track her down though. And so begins a cat-and-mouse game between Donner and his prey, Rebecca and Moonflower. But who is the actual hunter – and who is the actual prey? For perhaps Moonflower isn’t the child that her mother claims she is. Perhaps she’s something else – and as Donner puts everything on the line to capture them and prove his suspicions right, perhaps he isn’t prepared to face what is really out there.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Schuster UK for giving me an advance copy.

Whilst I was totally gripped by the first half of the book with the FBI investigation into a series of kills, I found myself becoming less intrigued and invested as the novel approached the ending.
I like books that push boundaries but couldn't quite invest in this one

Every so often this book pops up on my social media, despite it not being out for many months, and it's always heaped with praise.
Here I am, adding to that praise.
Or I'm trying to.... its one of those books I can't review well, without giving spoilers, and nobody needs them.
For me, it just had everything I'm looking for in a book,
A brilliant read.

I found this book strangely adictive, despite working out what was going to happen fairly early on.
It is well written: the description of places and people enhances the reading, it isn't overly gory, it holds the reader's interest throughout.
The main characters are interesting and strangely likeable - considering the subject matter. I found myself conflicted as to who I wanted to come out on top.
I will be reading other books by this author.

I'm a massive fan of the author so went into this with high hopes and it did kot disappoint. It's a cross between police procedural and something darker and unnatural with horror vibes. The characters are well written and the narrative flows so easily. You think you have a grasp on what's going on but soon discover you have no idea! It's dark and tense and unsettling and I just loved every second of it! Another amazing installment from the author

Rebecca will do anything to protect her daughter Monica (affectionately nicknamed Moonflower) which is why they are constantly on the move from town to town and don’t draw attention to themselves. FBI agent Marc Donner will do anything to hunt down a serial killer who has left behind a trail of bodies over the last two years even if it costs him everything. Their two worlds are about to collide in an explosive way… Blood Like Mine is a dark, atmospheric and terrifying thriller-horror where nothing is quite what it seems. It will break your heart and haunt your dreams. Highly recommended!

I find reading a Stuart Neville book both exciting, exhilarating, exasperating and frightening. His characters don’t appear to have an easy life, and this agony is laid bare on the printed page and I felt every word. I must also mention, at this stage, the dazzling DCI Serena Flanagan books, and Neville’s portrayal of life on the edge with Serena balancing home and work and not always successfully. However I hear you say, and quite rightly so, we are here to discuss and review the author’s latest work of angst: Blood like Mine. My goodness this is a 400 page work of some brilliance, as Stuart aptly and expertly balances a police thriller with horror undertones that becomes evident after a number of chapters.
Rebecca Carter and her daughter Monica, known as Moonflower, are on the run throughout the United States from what or whom gradually becomes clear. We learn that Rebecca will do anything to keep Moonflower safe including killing or sacrificing herself. Meanwhile special agent Marc Donner has spent the last 2 years trying to identify and apprehend a serial killer who strikes with regularity and leaves no trace or clues at the scene of the crime. Donner is a troubled soul, he has become obsessed with the apprehension of this individual to the detriment of the love of his wife and children.
This novel was never going to have a happy ending, as the two sets of players attempt to achieve their individual goals, the tension and the pain is written across every page. I truly found it hard to put this book down, Stuart Neville had me hooked from page one. I hoped that mother and daughter would be safe but as the chapters flew by I began to doubt. Donner, a cop with a mission, was on a self-destruct course and only he had the power to turn this around for surely the love of his wife and young children would prove more important…or would it?
If you are going to read one thriller spiced with horror this year I heartily recommend Blood Like Mine, It is a brilliant, addictive read from one of Northern Ireland’s finest authors.

Wow what a rollercoaster of. A book looking forward to a follow up.
Rebecca will always be there for her daughter Monica whom she lovingly calls moonflower. They travel around the countryside in van running and hiding it from what?
Greta storyline and a keeps you on your toes

This book was definitely a tense read, the tension and suspension built keeps up the pace and kept me hooked.

There is a serial killer on the loose, and the victims are all men. The manner of the killings makes it hard to figure out what's going on, because the locations keep shifting.

FBI agent Mark Donner is determined to track the killer down. He has very few leads, just a couple of minor findings to help him with his search. The killer appears to be a middle-aged woman who drives a van (funny to even write that sentence, because it is such an inversion of the classic trope of dangerous men driving vans) and is catfishing men online by posing as a child.

But is that what is actually happening here? The issues of predator and prey are far from simple in this story.

And between an obsessed agent, a secretive mother and why the men are being targeted, who is the real hunter?

This is an interesting read - many of the traditional roles being switched up, from mother and child to predator and victim. Worth checking out if you like stories that contain some surprises and will make you think twice! But it's on the grisly side, for sure. It gets 3.5 stars.