[H6O]∎ Download Free Blood for Blood Ziba MacKenzie Book 1 edition by Victoria Selman Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Blood for Blood Ziba MacKenzie Book 1 edition by Victoria Selman Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Download As PDF : Blood for Blood Ziba MacKenzie Book 1 edition by Victoria Selman Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Blood for Blood Ziba MacKenzie Book 1 edition by Victoria Selman Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

I am glad I kept going. The beginning of the book felt like a writing class exercise. Then there was the oddity of two people reading the same article in a newspaper. And how would the other know that? Then a mistake that a person sitting in a rear facing seat sees what the train is about to hit. (That's not s spoiler.) The Catholic lady repeats the same message from before but Ziba has no idea what she is talking about, but she did before? Anyway, all of these things seemed to me like an editor asleep at the wheel for the first few chapters.

It was hard for me to get past these things and awkward writing. I tried to think of the awkward choppy writing as being an effect of the action. It is worth ignoring things and sticking to the larger story. Ziba is an interesting character. The story is intriguing.


Tags : Blood for Blood (Ziba MacKenzie Book 1) - Kindle edition by Victoria Selman. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Blood for Blood (Ziba MacKenzie Book 1).,ebook,Victoria Selman,Blood for Blood (Ziba MacKenzie Book 1),Thomas & Mercer

Blood for Blood Ziba MacKenzie Book 1 edition by Victoria Selman Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks Reviews

I almost didn't finish this First Reads pick for January, and that would have been a shame. But the phrasing was awkward, and I couldn't get into the characters. I persevered though, and I'm glad I did.
Ziba MacKenzie is an ex-special forces operative turned profiler. She's also a recent widow in a world of pain. When the train she's traveling on is in a horrific accident she inadvertently catches the attention of a serial killer who has been dormant for years, but he's ready to start killing again.
Results admittedly the awkward and sometimes strange phrasing is difficult to get past, but if you can get through the first five chapters you'll find an interesting and exciting thriller.
There was some strong language, and some adult themes, but nothing very graphic. It would be fine for older teens and adults.
Wow, I felt as if every paragraph was cut and pasted to later sections in the very short time that I spent reading the very few chapters that I read. Deleted this book from my library.
Desperately needs an edit, a lot of thoughts repeated or redundant. But if you hang in there and overlook that, there is a great story here! Very fast read, quick chapters, reminded me a little of James Patterson.
I'm glad I chose Blood for Blood for my January First Read, it's a great mystery thriller with the bonus that it is the first in a series.

Ziba Mac is an endearing character, she is still grieving the loss of her husband Duncan two years ago. She gets caught up in the death of a woman killed in a train wreck that coincides with the reappearance of a serial killer after a twenty-five year hiatus. As a profiler she gets in the killers head as he sets his sights on her. There is quite a twist to the story, this is an exciting read. Can't wait for more in the Ziba Mac series.
This was my First Read pick for January. It's not a book I'd recommend, and it's not a series I'll follow.

Some things that bothered me include

Ziba is an annoying character who tries too hard to be a badass. She has a habit of calling people ridiculous derogatory names, constantly, such as "moon chicken" and "DI Dipstick." She also uses her personal lingo for common things, such as "lifer juice" instead of coffee. And a man's hands are "dick grabbers." I swear, she never just talks like a normal person. All this makes her unsympathetic and unlikable.

Ziba lectures about serial killers at every turn. We're besieged with textbook recitations of infamous serial killers' behavior, as if in doing so Ziba proves her brilliance as a profiler. She also provides a litany of observations about people she sees, again to prove her profiling ability, when in reality most anyone would pick up on the things she points out with a flourish.

There is a constant, obvious attempt to throw readers off with red herrings. It's as if the author shouts for us to look over here at this person, because it must be him, and then, no, look over here, because it's really this guy instead. It all feels too contrived.

Clearly, this book was not for me. I couldn't find anything to like here at all. But that's just my opinion.
I think I should have stopped while I was ahead. What I mean is, I enjoyed my first choice for First Reads, but, this month, is letting us choose two books for free.

In “Blood for Blood,” we have a police procedural with plenty of twists and turns, but told in a way that makes it a struggle to read. At least for me. Let me elaborate just a bit.

BLUSH FACTOR Profanities (including the eff-word) and a certain degree of violent imagery (with sexual inferences) necessitate a warning, but without elaboration due to a possibility of spoiling the story.

POV First person.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Good, but not superior. This is more of a plot-based story, rather than character.

WRITING & EDITING I prefer writing that glides effortlessly through the story. Although I do respect the artistic choice selected by the author, it was just not effective for me. Perhaps at some future date, I will embrace the writing method though, so don’t pass on this book simply because I was bummed out. After all, I AM a bit old-fashioned and might be out of sync with younger readers.

EXCERPT

‘...The killer’s early crimes weren’t my main focus, but Marcus Lynch wasn’t to know that. Less than an hour after making my discovery, I knocked on the front door of a terraced house on Inverness Street in Camden, North London. The same place Aidan’s body had been found twenty-five years earlier.

‘Thank you so much for letting me come over,’ I said as Marcus handed me a mug of Nescafé. A few undissolved granules floated on the surface like dead flies.

He settled himself into a flowery armchair by the fireplace, a little gas contraption with bits of coloured glass in the grate designed to look like hot coal.

‘It’s been a while since we’ve been asked questions about what happened to Aidan.’ He looked across at me over the rim of his mug, his expression curious.

I noted the ‘we’. It would take him a long time to get used to saying ‘I’ again. Duncan had been dead for nearly two years and I still wasn’t there yet.

There were dark shadows under Marcus’s eyes. His lids were pink and puffy. I felt bad barging in at a time like this and yet didn’t I owe it to his wife to find out what...’

Taken from Chapter 19 (page 64) of Blood for Blood by Victoria Selman, published by Thomas & Mercer. Copyright 2019, Victoria Selman.

BOTTOM LINE

Three stars out of five.

I am striving to produce reviews that help you find books that you want, or avoid books that you wish to avoid. With your help, my improvement will help you and me improve book reviews on . Together, you and I can build a great customer review process that helps everybody. Will you join me? It is people such as you who have helped me improve over the years. I'm still learning, and I have a great deal yet to learn. With your help, I'll improve every day.

One request Be respectful and courteous in your comments and emails to me. I will do likewise with you.

Thank you so much for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment. for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment.
I am glad I kept going. The beginning of the book felt like a writing class exercise. Then there was the oddity of two people reading the same article in a newspaper. And how would the other know that? Then a mistake that a person sitting in a rear facing seat sees what the train is about to hit. (That's not s spoiler.) The Catholic lady repeats the same message from before but Ziba has no idea what she is talking about, but she did before? Anyway, all of these things seemed to me like an editor asleep at the wheel for the first few chapters.

It was hard for me to get past these things and awkward writing. I tried to think of the awkward choppy writing as being an effect of the action. It is worth ignoring things and sticking to the larger story. Ziba is an interesting character. The story is intriguing.