Blood Brother
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Product Description
Review
Praise for the Carson Ryder series:
'Superb stuff' Independent on Sunday
'Kerley will truly scare the pants off his readers. This one's another winner from a writer moving towards the top of the thriller heap' Publishers Weekly
'Kerley, who writes like a house fire, has a boundless and truly ghastly imagination that'll keep you awake long after you turn the last page' Kirkus
'A fascinating and frightening take on the genre' Independent on Sunday
'A chilling journey into a pitch-black mind' Michael Marshall, author of The Straw Men trilogy
'A sturdy hero with a clearcut mission and a setting that holds possibilities for fresh adventure. Kerley writes in a thrusting style that pushes the action from crime scene to autopsy table' New York Times Book Review
'Superb… fantastic' Sunday Express
Product Description
The spine-chilling serial killer thriller featuring Carson Ryder – the homicide detective with a hidden secret that could destroy his career
These brothers have murder in their veins. Detective Carson Ryder's sworn duty is to track killers down. He's never revealed the fact that his brother, Jeremy, is one of America's most notorious killers – now imprisoned. Secretly, Ryder has used Jeremy's homicidal insight to solve cases. He's made a career out of it. Now his brother's escaped and is at large in New York.
With Jeremy the chief suspect in a series of horrifying mutilation-murders, a mysterious video demands Ryder be brought into help. It looks like a straightforward manhunt. It couldn't be more different – or more terrifying. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game develops between Jeremy, and the NYPD with Ryder in the middle, trying to keep his brother alive and the cops in the dark. But it's a game of life, death and deceit, a game with an unknown number of players and no clear way of winning…
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jack Kerley's Carson Ryder series are a smart, taut and compelling set of novels with great characterisation and range of technique beyond the usual budget crime gore. Carson is an Alabama cop who specialises in analysing the twisted psyches of criminals in order to catch them, aided by his equally sharp if nattily dressed partner Harry Nautilus. The characters in these novels are warm, relatable and feel very realistic; in particular I love the relationship between Harry and Carson, so I was a little disappointed that by necessity the two men are kept apart for this unique case, as Carson is summoned to hunt another psychopath for the NYPD whilst Harry runs down the leads in Mobile, Alabama.
Blood Brother is by no means a stand alone book, and to read it as such will leave the reader infinitely poorer, so it's best to start in the beginning with The Hundredth Man (if this is your introduction to Carson) if nothing else revisiting the first novel will show just how much Kerley's prose has sharpened. The relationship between Carson and Jeremy grows more complex in this installment as Jeremy, Carson's psychopath brother has managed to engineer his own escape and is running loose on the streets of NY. Carson has a moral duty to apprehend Jeremy but we also learn more about his guilt that Jeremy's twisted beginnings had root in saving Carson.
If I had one complaint about Blood Brother it would be that Jeremy and Carson's relationship is explored perhaps a little too much, and in the process Jeremy becomes more understandable but also loses some of the edginess that made him so unique. I also wish that Kerley would crack and find Carson a nice girl to settle down with as the revolving door of girlfriends met on the job, is just a tad too James Bond for me!
Blood Brother is by no means a stand alone book, and to read it as such will leave the reader infinitely poorer, so it's best to start in the beginning with The Hundredth Man (if this is your introduction to Carson) if nothing else revisiting the first novel will show just how much Kerley's prose has sharpened. The relationship between Carson and Jeremy grows more complex in this installment as Jeremy, Carson's psychopath brother has managed to engineer his own escape and is running loose on the streets of NY. Carson has a moral duty to apprehend Jeremy but we also learn more about his guilt that Jeremy's twisted beginnings had root in saving Carson.
If I had one complaint about Blood Brother it would be that Jeremy and Carson's relationship is explored perhaps a little too much, and in the process Jeremy becomes more understandable but also loses some of the edginess that made him so unique. I also wish that Kerley would crack and find Carson a nice girl to settle down with as the revolving door of girlfriends met on the job, is just a tad too James Bond for me!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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If your idea of a passing the time with a book is a page turning thriller, heavy on the graphic details of several murders, and wading knee deep in para-psychology, then my friends - this be the book for you!
I'm a long time fan of the genre (probably says a lot about me!) and that probably makes me far more critical of J.A Kerley's creation. It's the standard set up as detective Carson Ryder is undoubtedly meant to brilliantly solve his way through several more books than this one. The twist is that for every crime he solves, he carries the weight that he has probably only been able to do so because he understands the mind of a killer. Namely his brother, who murdered their abusive father when they were boys.
It provides a few interesting conscience clash moments, but otherwise tends to steal from Silence of the Lambs type criminal profiling sessions. Carson is a likeable enough hero, but seems to lack a bit of backbone in crucial moments. His brother, Jeremy, is obviously damaged and quite the genius, but is nothing new in the stone cold killer market.
The plot goes along well enough with enough little twists and turns to keep you interested, even if you know most of them are coming. There seems to be a strange need by the author to have everyone (and I mean everyone!) in the story connected in some way, either through a past friendship or unknown familial connection. The idea is probably to make everything all the more suspenseful, but ends up cheapening the storytelling.
If you've ever read anything by Dean Koonitz, Tess Gerritsen or Karin Slaughter and enjoyed it, then give this a go. It might not leave a lasting impression but it is a fine way to while away an afternoon or two.
I'm a long time fan of the genre (probably says a lot about me!) and that probably makes me far more critical of J.A Kerley's creation. It's the standard set up as detective Carson Ryder is undoubtedly meant to brilliantly solve his way through several more books than this one. The twist is that for every crime he solves, he carries the weight that he has probably only been able to do so because he understands the mind of a killer. Namely his brother, who murdered their abusive father when they were boys.
It provides a few interesting conscience clash moments, but otherwise tends to steal from Silence of the Lambs type criminal profiling sessions. Carson is a likeable enough hero, but seems to lack a bit of backbone in crucial moments. His brother, Jeremy, is obviously damaged and quite the genius, but is nothing new in the stone cold killer market.
The plot goes along well enough with enough little twists and turns to keep you interested, even if you know most of them are coming. There seems to be a strange need by the author to have everyone (and I mean everyone!) in the story connected in some way, either through a past friendship or unknown familial connection. The idea is probably to make everything all the more suspenseful, but ends up cheapening the storytelling.
If you've ever read anything by Dean Koonitz, Tess Gerritsen or Karin Slaughter and enjoyed it, then give this a go. It might not leave a lasting impression but it is a fine way to while away an afternoon or two.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I LOVED this book! It kept me well and truly entertained whilst i was working backstage during Oklahoma - a production in which teh backstage crew had very little to do, and so a very long time to read!!! Although the first book that I have read by this author, it will certainly not be the last - in fact, i have already ordered more.
The plot was well developed and intriguing, with well written and well established characters. The whole concept of a police officer with a serial killer as a brother was fascinating - and although the twist at the end was not unpredictable, it was wsell written.
The reason why i pulled it down to a 4 (although really it is more of a 4 1/2) is because some of the scenes are VERY bloodthirsty, requiring a strong stomach to read!
However, if you enjoy thrillers, you will enjoy this one.
It should appeal to readers of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs amongst others.
The plot was well developed and intriguing, with well written and well established characters. The whole concept of a police officer with a serial killer as a brother was fascinating - and although the twist at the end was not unpredictable, it was wsell written.
The reason why i pulled it down to a 4 (although really it is more of a 4 1/2) is because some of the scenes are VERY bloodthirsty, requiring a strong stomach to read!
However, if you enjoy thrillers, you will enjoy this one.
It should appeal to readers of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs amongst others.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dexter-Thriller
If I'm being honest, I don't read a lot of fiction, however I got this through the amazon vine program and thought I'd give it a go. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. A. Sands
A fun, if gross, read
Blood Brother, by J.A. Kerley, is a pretty decent book. It's the story of an Alabama policeman who's asked to fly to New York to help with the murder of a psychiatrist from his... Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Bowen
Far fetched, but not far off the mark
My first taste of this well loved series, and it's excellent. It's pitched towards the more fantastic end of the thriller market, but that's no bad thing. Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2010 by S. Taylor
Promising pretence - extremely let down with writing style and plot
The pretence of this story is one that sounds very interesting indeed, but I felt discombobulated with the extremely poor writing style and slow pace at times, making this a... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2009 by M. Blanchard
Very good and it did keep me awake for one night
I acquired Blood Brothers over a year ago as the result of an Amazon recommendation. Its claim though of being terrifying, exhilarating and guaranteed to keep me awake at night,... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2009 by J. Potter
All the Rage...
Well where do you start with this one?
Firstly I have to say that I'm a great fan of the mans work. Once youve read book one, youre hooked. Read more
Firstly I have to say that I'm a great fan of the mans work. Once youve read book one, youre hooked. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2009 by S. D. Crawshaw
Wow, enjoyed it more than I would
If I'm strictly honest, I bought this book because it was so cheap! I'm pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2009 by Book glutton
another good book
Another good book by this auther, kept me wanting to read on without stopping. A little complicated at the end but still a good read
Published on 30 April 2009 by Mrs. D. A. Kirk
Blood Brother Ticks The Boxes
I'll be honest here - I'm not a fan of serial killer type novels, detectives and the like.
But I must say that this tale of two brothers, one a tec, one a killer, was... Read more
But I must say that this tale of two brothers, one a tec, one a killer, was... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2009 by Mr. John Frank Herbert
Gripping thriller
Many reviews have compared this book to The Silence of the Lambs, not entirely unfairly. The bad guy is brilliant, cunning and forward-looking and - not to put too fine a point on... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2008 by M. J. Farncombe
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