Blood Brother [Paperback]

Carson Ryder is back and he is in pursuit of his most dangerous adversary yet - his own brother.

Alabama homicide detective, Carson Ryder has been summoned to New York. An old friend has been viciously murdered and only Ryder has the skill and insight to solve the crime. As Ryder investigates, his worst fears are realised as he discovers that his brother has escaped from the mental institution that has kept him secreted away for almost decade. As the investigation gathers momentum, the threat of danger escalates and Ryder has to battle the clock to solve the crime, save the girl, and catch an escaped lunatic. This book is a feast for fans of the thriller.

Blood Brother, the fifth of the Carson Ryder novels, is a thriller by the numbers--you have a damsel in distress, a main character with a dark past, and a few intriguing, if somewhat predictable, twists. J.A. Kerley, the author, combines elements of Silence of the Lambs with the fear factor of the Kay Scarpetta novels written by Patricia Cornwell. If Kerley's book has one flaw, it is that New York never really comes alive in the pages of this book. The setting could be anywhere and if you are going to set a novel in somewhere like New York City you should at the very least allude to the atmosphere or grandeur inherent in such a celebrated city.

Blood Brother is an easy read and offers its readers thrills and chills in equal measure. It is a must read for anyone who likes the Hannibal books, although the characterisation is not up to Thomas Harris' standard. But for those of you who just want a quick holiday read that won't tax the old brain cells too much, this is the book for you.

So sit back and relax as Carson Ryder steps into action once more. Expect grisly murders and killer twists - enjoy!

Mobile, Alabama police detective Carson Ryder and his partner Harry Nautilus work a special detail that investigates homicides with possible psychiatric motives, i.e. serial killers. He is surprised and confused when he is immediately summoned to New York City, with no time to pack or make other arrangements for his trip, and no explanation. When he arrives, he quickly learns that his friend and colleague Evangeline Prowse was the victim of a brutal murder, and before her death requested Carson personally investigate the crime.

Dr. Prowse was the director of a mental institution in Alabama that housed many violently insane criminals, included Carson's brother, Jeremy Ridgecliff. Carson had gone to great lengths to conceal the fact that he is Jeremy's brother, including changing his name and erasing a lot of his family history, including the extremely violent death of his abusive father, killed by Jeremy. Very few people knew his secret, and Dr. Prowse and Harry were two of them.

Carson was not warmly welcomed by the NYPD, who suspect his is nothing more than a hick detective, and treated him accordingly. Carson soon discovers he has a huge secret to keep: the suspected killer of Dr. Prowse is Jeremy, and he seems to be tormenting the citizens of New York.

As the investigation continues, the NYPD detectives warm up to Carson, slowly, but begin to trust him and his advice. However, when NY detective and Caron's new love interest Alice Folger goes missing, presumably taken by Jeremy, Carson has to protect Jeremy to keep Alice alive. He soon discovers a way to contact Jeremy to learn more than he could have imagined: Jeremy is not guilty of killing Dr. Prowse, nor did he kill the many people he was accused of killing many years ago. Instead, it was another man, a former police officer who investigated the death of Carson's and Jeremy's father, and now he is hunting Alice.

This is a great story by Jack Kerley. Although it is his fifth completed book featuring Carson Ryder, it is only the fourth published. It tells a great story, and sets the stage for the possibility of Carson moving to New York City. Carson is a wonderfully developed character, with uncertainty, charm, secrets to keep, and very likeable. In this book Jeremy takes a different turn, not guilty of the killing of the many people he was accused of killing, disgusted by murder, not able to stomach it. However, in at least one of the previous novels, Jeremy took great pleasure in causing Carson pain, seemingly in conflict to who he was in this book. That said, Jack Kerley has become one of my favorite authors in this genre and I look forward to reading his Carson Ryder series for many years.

This book features Jeremy, Carson Ryder's psychotic brother, escaping from the insane asylum and leading police (and Carson) on a dangerous chase. Many of the secrets in the "Ryder" family are revealed and Carson learns more about his big brother. He also learns about himself and what he's capable of. Jeremy comes across as a more likable character here. I thoroughly enjoyed reading more in depth about how Carson and Jeremy came to be who they are and why their relationship is as it is. The possibility of their future cat-and-mouse relationship (with Jeremy as the cat) is hinted at and something I look forward to seeing developed.

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