As a long-time Jess Lourey reader, I eagerly anticipated Bloodline. Her Murder by Month mysteries were eminently enjoyable, and I could identify with snarky heroine Mira James. Her last book, Unspeakable Things, set a new standard for excellence, so my expectations were extremely high. Set in 1960's small town Minnesota, Bloodline felt like a combination of the Twilight Zone meeting Rosemary's Baby meeting the Stepford Wives. It took me a while to grasp the plot, but once I did, I enjoyed the ride. I'm enjoying the author's use of real-life cases to form the foundations of her stories, and I'm truly looking forward to the next one. Small-town America can be a scary place.

I received a copy of the book from the author and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

It is 1968 and Joan Harken is a reporter in Minneapolis, MN. Her world is turned upside down by a mugging, and in order to protect her unborn child, save her fiancé Deck from the possible Vietnam draft, her fiancé suggests they move back to his hometown in Lilydale, MN. Lilydale is your perfect town, two and half hours northwest of Minneapolis with a welcome sign “Lilydale Come Home Forever”.

The perfect town that seems too perfect. They only thing that ever occurred was in 1944 when Paul Aandeg disappeared on his first day of kindergarten and he was never found. What secrets is this perfect town hiding?
I was drawn in straight from the beginning based on the storyline. The story seemed to be slow paced in the beginning as there were flashbacks, memories, or flashforwards at the end or beginning of chapters that did not seem to flow or fit. There were a few things in the story that I also did not quite understand about the characters. For example, why was Joan stealing things? After a little less than halfway through though, it was like a mad rush for the end for me. I could not put the book down as I could not wait to see what happened next or what was around the next corner.

Lilydale is the perfect town that reminds you a little bit of the Stepford Wives with a twist you never thought you would see coming. It may have you saying at the end, “Lilydale, Come Home To Hell”!
Overall, I loved the story and enjoyed the read. Thank you Jess Lourey, NetGalley, and Thomas & Mercer for this free Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for this honest review. #Bloodline #NetGalley

While not as compelling as Lourey’s previous novel, Bloodline still manages to be an entertaining and solid mystery suspense. The writing felt much less immersive and I did struggle a bit with relating to the main character. The novel does a wonderful job of portraying both the benevolent, as well as overt sexism in place during 1960’s America which is one of its strongest points. What I ended up struggling with the most was the over-the-top twists, which all felt too borrowed from horror films of the period. I think fans of happy endings will enjoy Bloodline’s conclusion, but it felt a bit too sappy for my tastes.

I would still recommend this book to thriller aficionados, especially those who love creepy small towns. The atmosphere is quite good and none of the characters are trustworthy. Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC for review purposes.

Having been familiar with Jess Lourey after reading Unspeakable Things, I was intrigued to read Bloodline. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but I was drawn in for exactly that! The creepy cover told me that it was going to entail all the suspense and tension that I crave in a mystery/thriller and it didn’t disappoint. The first chapter kicks off with a bang and sets the whole precedent for the novel, after reading it, I knew I made a good choice! The chapters slowly build and leaves you longing for more after every one. I wasn’t able to read this book as quickly as I usually do and I really longed to get back to it and read “just one more chapter” each time I set it down. While I am usually very good at guessing the plot twist in books I will say this one was one that I wouldn’t have guessed. All my theories were completely wrong. I was thankful that Lourey managed to write a female main character that I wasn’t shaking my head in disappointment with every decision they made. Joan was very smart and intuitive. Considering the time period is known as a time where woman submitted to their husbands, I enjoyed seeing how she followed along with those expectations all while being an undercover badass. Some mentioned that the book has a Rosemary’s Baby feel and while I see how that comparison can be made, I do think it posed its own storyline and plot twist.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this read!

1968, a small tight knit town, a pregnant journalist and lots of deep, dark secrets ...
I am a Jess Lourey fan but this novel took her writing to the next level. Based on a true story Bloodline is an incredibly well written thriller that skillfully leads readers through a seemingly normal couple's move from big city to small town life. When Joan and Deck move to small town Lilydale after Joan got mugged in Minneapolis adjusting to small town life was just that - an adjustment. But what Joan didn't know at first was that this very tight community had secrets that somehow included her.
Lourey skillfully builds characters with descriptions that made me giggle a little bit at times and that is part of the beauty of this novel. The residents of Lilydale are colorful in more ways than one and as Joan meets and gets to know each resident she discovers another piece of the puzzle that Lilydale has to share.
The main character, Joan, is an amazingly strong female who is able to rise above what Lilydale expects of her. She is smart and savvy, knows how to play the game when she needs to and not compromise herself in the process. And she has a cat. Slow Henry was also obviously one of my favorite characters in the book.
I have come to expect excellence from Jess Lourey and this was no exception. I stayed up late and got up early to finish Bloodline and did not have the dark twists of this story figured out at all. Kudos to Lourey for weaving yet another spellbinding story for her long time fans and new fans to read. Do. Not. Miss. This. One. I count it as the best book I have read in 2020 so far.
Special thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer & Jess Lourey for the ARC .

This is one of those intense, well written reads that will definitely have you flipping pages like crazy! Fair warning, do not start before bedtime or any plans, as once you start you won’t want to stop until you have finished! This author really knows how to spin an intense tale, which you get to watch unravel! Riveting! Original and full of the necessary thrills, chills, and shocks! Highly, highly recommend!

From the very first page of Bloodline I was hooked. The narrative device of sporadically inserting the future traumatic experiences of the main character into the present main story until the latter catches up to the former is but one example of how the author’s ability to create suspense has evolved from good to simply great.

The book’s plot is seemingly simple, at first. Heroine Joan is moving with her boyfriend and trusty cat to her boyfriend’s picturesque hometown, mainly to escape the problems associated with the big city and have their baby in a safe place. Upon arrival, things immediately take a turn for the sinister, and Joan eventually figures out that small towns can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than the teeming metropolis she left behind.

I really liked the tight plot, with tidbits given away gradually while the reader almost begs for more. Another plus was the excellent character development: Joan realizing that her husband’s family—including her husband—don’t have her best interests at heart led to feelings of dread and sustained the suspense. There are, however, well-timed moments of humor, usually having to do with Joan’s inner musings. She’s not a saint (hello, kleptomania!), but that’s probably why I really liked her. The townspeople are smotheringly creepy and similar to one another, and that’s kind of the point.

The book is set in the same town that the author’s previous book Unspeakable Things is, but about 15 years earlier, linking place and even a few characters to her previous novel. Will there be more in this series? I certainly hope so.

Oblique references to The Stepford Wives and overt references to Rosemary’s Baby add to late-60s vibe, which is also highlighted with period-specific clothes, food (hot dish or casserole?), and music.

Read if you like smart, multi-dimensional women protagonists, unravelling small-town secrets, and psychological thrillers but know that this is NOT a cozy mystery like Lourey’s Mira James Murder by Month series.

Warning! Readers who are triggered by references to incest, racism/classism, and rape should tread carefully.

I highly recommend this book! 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and entirely my own.

This is Jess Lourey's best book to date in my opinion! It did not disappoint!! I stayed up way too late 2 nights in a row to finish it (I read it in these 2 settings). I could not put it down!! Pleasantville meets Stepford Wives meets Rosemary's Baby all in one! There were many twists and turns I did not see coming. Lourey had me hooked right from the beginning trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together.
Set in the late 60's, reporter Joan Harken finds herself settling down in her boyfriend's idyllic hometown (his childhood home actually), pregnant and having recently lost her mother, whom she was very close to. They moved around a lot during her life, so to be settling down in a small town (a thing her mother told her never to do) and finding it all a bit too perfect, she knows something is going on, especially when a man shows up claiming to be a child that went missing without a trace in 1944 when walking home from school during lunchtime. Dark and creepy, but not scary.

Bloodline is a fictional account of a Minnesota community where things are not what they seem. It is based on some real life events that boggle the mind. Joan Harken and her boyfriend, Deck Schmidt, move to Deck's hometown in central Minnesota in 1968. This is back when couples didn't get pregnant and live together. It is back when Cream of Mushroom soup was a main ingredient in casseroles. It is back when jello and pudding were major players in meals. The neighborhood is tightknit and Joan is not quite comfortable with events that play out. In fact, as a reporter, she finds a dark and sinister history that threatens her and her child. Who can she trust?? Jess Lourey has written a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, guessing until the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book. #Bloodline #NetGalley

I received an ARC from the author/Netgalley. All reviews are those of my own.

Jess Lourey has done it again! Reader beware! You are about to immerse into a world of small town drama and secrets. You think you’ll be able to escape but I’m sorry to tell you, you are wrong - you are stuck in Lilydale!

All silliness out of the way. Bloodline grabs the reader and inserts them smack dab in the middle of a small town in Minnesota called Lilydale. The reader takes on a journal with Joan, who moves to Lilydale with her boyfriend, Deck, after being attacked in an alley in Minneapolis.

The first day Joan and Deck arrive in Lilydale, the whole neighborhood shows up to greet her and Deck. Joan believes Lilydale is a perfect small town, but while investigating a decades old mystery of a missing child, Joan realizes that something strange is going on and Joan is determined to not only solve the mystery but must plan to escape if she wants to live.

I honestly could not put the book down. It gripped me from the first page and I needed to know why Lilydale seemed too perfect. All I can say is that I definitely will not want to ever live in a small town.

Excellent read!

I flew through this book. It was an addictive, riveting read that was creepy from the first page. It was also a deeply dark and disturbing story, which will make it memorable for sure. One thing that didn't work for me was that the emotional impact of some of the big reveals felt rushed or simply missing. The narrator makes some shocking revelations that change the course of the life she thought she was going to live, but the story moved so quickly that we didn't have enough time to really sit in that. In that way, some of those twists fell a bit flat. However, this was still a really fun, chilling read.

Such an incredibly well written and entertaining story. Jess Lourey gets better with each book and writes. I loved the characters and setting in Bloodline. Such a great premise for a book to. Absolutely can’t wait for her next book!

I picked up Bloodline owing to the fantastic reviews its received so far! The creepy cover also played a part in that decision. Bloodline by Jess Lourey starts with a dark & creepy chapter that hooks you right in. While reading I found myself wondering if this book would go in the direction that many books before have gone. It didn't and I'm so so glad about that. I'm tired of reading about naive pregnant women racing towards something that is disconcerting. Jess Lourey successfully builds a chilling & creepy atmosphere throughout the book; you will want to keep to turning those pages until the very end. I loved the character of Joan. She's smart & ambitious but no match for Lilydale's conniving townsfolk or is she? The ending of this book was super creepy but put together very well. I did not see the twist towards the end coming turning all my self-made theories on their heads. This book was inspired by real events so it made a compelling read for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer & Jess Lourey for an arc!

This is an original and super creepy thriller/domestic drama. The story started a bit slow, but by the halfway point I could hardly put it down! It takes place in picturesque Lilydale, MN in the ‘60s, but protagonist Joan quickly learns all is not as it seems. I loved the author’s use of Joan’s internal monologue and the way she kept me guessing - is there really something weird going on, or is Joan batty? Read to find out! (Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

It is the late 1960s and ambitious journalist Joan Harken is blissfully in love with her fiance Deck and has just discovered that she is pregnant. However, after a terrifying mugging, she agrees to leave the city and return with him to his hometown, Lilydale, although he asks her to pretend that they are already married so as not to scandalize the current residents. Lilydale seems like the perfect small town, if a bit cloying and old-fashioned for Joan's tastes, and as promised, she is hired by the local paper so she is able to continue her career, albeit on a modified trajectory, but things very quickly become uncomfortable and then frightening. She spots the man who mugged her in the city on the streets of Lilydale and finds out soon afterward that he has died mysteriously. Everyone in town seems to be watching her and obsessing over her pregnancy. Before long, she finds herself trapped in a nightmare from which she must escape.

This book was very readable, with echoes of the classic horror novels of its period such as The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby, but I found myself struggling to suspend my disbelief where the (exceptionally disturbing) premise was involved. Major issues - at least as far as I can recall - were never satisfactorily explained, like who the other people were who were involved in setting up the town (there have to have been more than two), where their initial prosperity, which enabled them to keep control of what we going on, came from, and how they were able to keep that control for all those years.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting. But is it? When strange things start to happen and then even stranger things start to happen Joan can't really be certain if she is truly sane. And those around her aren't encouraging her sanity. All of these events seem to tie back to the long ago disappearance of a little boy. Will Joan figure out if she really is sane and discover the buried secrets this town is hiding or will someone make sure she never gets there. As with everything this author does, the plot is tightly woven and complex. The characters are well developed and pretty creepy at times. I started this and couldn't put it down which doesn't happen for me very often. And at the end I learned perfection is not all its cracked up to be. Highly, highly recommend this book! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Bloodline is a thriller set in a small town in Minnesota. Joan Harkin and her fiance move back to his hometown after she is mugged. She is pregnant and they decide that Lilydale will be the perfect small town to raise a family. However, Lilydale has a dark past and many of its residents are strangely obsessive. This book has a very "Twin Peaks" vibe to it, and it didn't really work for me. Sometimes it was creepy, and sometimes it was just plain weird. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy. All opinions are my own.

I really liked this book. It reminded me alot of The Stepford Wives book/movie where a small town has perfect residents BUT there was a twist of darkness that was told slowly over time that really kept my interest right up to the end. I read this author quite a bit and was not disjointed in this book story line or outcome.

An incredible book of suspense and intrigue. Jess Lourey is an up and coming thriller writer that blends true life with fiction and does it well. A must read.

Jess Lourey’s latest novel “Bloodline” is a psychological masterpiece that will take the reader on a thrill ride from start to finish. Joan Harken is a strong independent women who is a reporter surviving the Vietnam and Civil Rights protests until she is mugged. Joan is terrified, but with the help of her wonderful boyfriend Dereck she finds herself to his quaint and safe hometown where life seems unrealistic, probably because it is. Joan finds the town unsettling and as he tries to acclimate she discovers that nothing happens without the permission of the town elders. When she finds out that Deck has told his parents that they are married and expecting a baby, begins to feel as if all eyes are upon her. The more she digs into the disappearance of a child many years ago, the more she is made to feel as if she is going crazy. This is an excellent story that will cause you to stay up just to finish the last page. I was given an advanced copy of this book, and all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.