Ruth Lillegraven’s psychological thriller - Blood Ties - is the second book in the Clara Lofthus series. I recommend to read the first one as I am not sure that "Blood Ties" would work as a standalone.

The book features Clara Lofthus, a newly appointed minister of justice in Norway, and her twin sons, Andreas and Nikolai, who have been kidnapped from their home. Clara’s search takes her back to her hometown in Western Norway, where she hides secrets about her past and her family.

The novel’s plot is intricate and it keeps readers captivated in the story till the very end. The author's writing style is fluid and the pace of the book is steady, even sometimes slow, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the story and the emotional experience of the protagonists. Clara’s character is complex and her past experiences have shaped her life.

The themes of betrayal, revenge, and murder are deeply embedded in the plot and are handled with care by the author.

Blood Ties by Ruth Lillegraven is a very good read full of suspense, twists and turns leaving readers wanting more from this talented author. I Highly recommed this book for fans of psychological mysteries.

Blood Ties was another pageturner, just like the first book in the series, and didn’t disappoint. It continues the story of Clara, now a single mother to twins about 8 years old, who has just been appointed Minister of Justice in Norway but doesn’t have much time to accomplish anything before her boys disappear. I had to suspend disbelief for a couple of things (lack of surveillance/supervision on the boys and a character’s lapse in judgment), but it still worked for me. The story is written from different perspectives, including one of her boys, which provided interesting insight into the plot. I’m looking forward to the final installment because there are definitely elements that need wrapping up.

This was a dark, well written book. Despite not reading the first book it was still a good read.

The pace could have been a bit faster but overall a good read

Blood Ties is the second book in the Clara Lofthus series. I'm really glad I read the first one as I'm not sure this would work as a standalone.

Clara is a politian completely absorbed with her job and not spending much time with her family. The kidnapping of her twin boys changes evrerything as Clara races to find them and keep her secrets hidden.

This series isn't as dark as other Nordic Noir. It is very politically focused, which I always find interesting. My struggle is with Clara. I don't need to connect or like a character to enjoy a book but I need to feel some sort of emotion. Clara is just there. She says things passionately but for me they remain words on a page instead of an emotion.

I do love seeing a strong female lead who isn't afraid to share her opinions and fight for what she believes in. I know many love this series and I am intrigued enough to read what's next!

Thank you to Amazon Crossing & Netgalley for the eARC to read and review.

This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending I think people would like this one it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy.

Clara discovers that her sons have been kidnapped and dark secrets from her past may be discovered.
It is fast pacing, but I would like to read even the first book to understand more.

Blood Ties, written by Ruth Lillegraven and translated by Diane Oatley, is the second instalment in the Clara Lofthus series but it works somewhat as a stand-alone. Clara is a politician in Norway and has recently been promoted to Minister of Justice. This leaves little time for quality time with her twin boys, Andreas and Nikolai. The boys need her attention more than ever because their father, and Clara’s husband, has recently died. The plot heats up when the twins are kidnapped. This novel held promise but I did not feel interested in the characters, especially Clara. The story development is lacking in realistic situations. The potential is lost while the reader reads about one predicament to another, none of it making much sense. I am a fan of the Nordic noir genre but was disappointed with Blood Ties. This is only my own opinion and I am confident that many will enjoy this psychological thriller. Thank you to Amazon Crossing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit confusing, but I am certan that is because I haven't read the first book, so I definetly recommend reading Book 1 before this one.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found it too disturbing to continue and was not expecting children's POV. Thank you for the opportunity and your consideration.

This book is the follow up to the previous book - Everything is Mine. I don’t think this would work well as a stand alone, it is really better to read book 1 first. However, I also think this will be end of the story so, for those who don’t want to embark on a never-ending series, never fear. Both books are really very good!

The stories are set in Norway. In the previous book Clara Lofthus was the Secretary General for Justice. She is passionate about improving services for at risk children. In this book she has been appointed the Minister of Justice and is hopeful she make a difference in pursing her cause. Unfortunately, this job places even more demands on her time and, since she doesn’t want to leave her twin boys (ages about 8 years old) in the care of a nanny she must rely on her mother-in-law and a neighbour to watch over them after school. Her husband, Henrik, died in the previous book.

One day she comes home to find some things have been moved around and then there is a note - “I know what you did”. That’s not good, not good at all! Because Clara does have some nasty little secrets.

Not long after that she comes home to find the house deserted. No boys. She has a suspicion of who might have taken them and when that doesn’t pan out she is distraught. But her driver/bodyguard tells her that the boys watches, although now not transmitting, we’re last showing as being in Clara’s home town in western Norway.

They race off to find them. Clara has some ideas of where to look but dead end after dead end leaves her reeling until there is only one place left to look. When she arrives she gets the shock of her life. Things were so totally not as they seemed. And that is all I can tell you.

This was another excellent Nordic noir thriller by Lillegraven. I will be very keen to see what she writes next. Many thanks to Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

When I picked this up, I didn't realize this is the second book featuring Clara Lofthus. I haven't read the first book, and because of that I missed too much information.
The story just starts, and I had a hard time getting into the story, filling in the gaps.
Sadly, I gave up half-way. I didn't like the writing sytle, and because I missed out too much in the end, I couldn't connect with the story and the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc. Sadly, this is not my kind of book.
DNF.

It’s a pretty good mystery, love the setting and definitely liked this book.

Thank you to Ruth Lillegraven, NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for the ARC of this book

Atmospheric, Pacy…
The second in the Clara Lofthus series, and translated from the Norwegian, bringing a blend of mystery and suspense. When Clara discovers that her sons have been kidnapped a catalogue of events ignites as she searches and it becomes entirely possible that her own secrets from the past may be discovered. With engaging characters, an atmospheric setting and a pacy, energetic plot this is a worthy addition to the first in the series.

This is a interesting story. As I was reading I realized there was another book before this one. So I have to read the first book to understand the story with the character. This has some trigger points who may be sensitive for some people.

Despite starting off slowly, this book was such a page turner, I was eager to turn the page to understand what was happening! This was a book that would get you out of a reading slump with its fast pace and suspense. It did have flaws, but the good sides of the book outweighed the bad. I haven't read the first book, but I felt like I didn't need to read it in order to understand this one.

Whilst the premise of this novel seemed interesting to read, the plot had me a bit confused. The protagonist has a lot of flaws, however, acting normal once her kids had been kidnapped baffled me. I did still enjoy it and read until the end to find out who was behind it all. I feel like that was too obvious too. I'd still recommend it, I feel like a lot of people would enjoy this, it just wasn't for me.

Wow I liked this a whole heck of a lot. It was gritty and the story took you to places you didn't think it would. I would recommend this!

** spoiler alert ** I read "Everything is Mine" in 2020 and have been woken up again with "Blood Ties" in 2022. I remember Clara watching as her husband gets washed over the waterfall to his death in the prior book and now she's got a lot more problems in this book. Let's just say that her driver (Stian) has Clara's best interest at heart. Although she has problems with Sabiya her husbands lover she ends up telling Stian about what happened. Ruth Lillegraven lets everything happen as it does until Clara finds her twins with her mother and finds out that they know what happened in the prior story. Stian finds Clara's father hanging in his barn as if to follow what had been in the note that Clara found. Clara has been tied up about her father even after his funeral. Will she be the Minister of Justice after all. We will have to wait and see. Her next book should tell us if she recovers. But is she as messed up as her mother now? We wait for the next installment.

This book has corrected the pitfalls of the first in the series by maintaining a fast pace throughout and a good suspense in the end. I liked it better than the previous book.

When Clara Lofthus is appointed as Norway's new Minister of Justice, she has no idea what's in store for her. Government coworkers see her as an outside and a bit of an interloper. And it's not easy to be a widowed mother with a demanding job while raising two young sons.

Not long into her new role, she returns home one day only to find that her twin boys have been kidnapped. Clara has to admit she has several enemies who might wish to harm her, so she has to trust a virtual stranger to help her without involving the police.

This turn of events forces her to face her past - from a traumatic childhood with a mother who has been institutionalized for decades, to the death of her husband, which she will never admit to having been a part of. And that isn't the only "accident" that took someone's life in her past. Who knows her secret?

Clara is a deeply flawed and complicated character but I still liked her and was rooting for her to reunite with her missing children. I also loved the setting - I learned a lot about Norway and its government and geography.

As someone who virtually never reads mystery series in order, I was able to easily follow along with this second book in the series without having read the first. Now that I've finished it, I definitely want to go back and read the first book. I am also interested enough in what happens next with Clara and her family that I plan to continue reading future installments of the series.