A Blood Thing

Never trust a blackmailer.

Vermont’s promising young governor, Andrew Kane, is at another public meet-and-greet when a stranger from the crowd slips him a cell phone and whispers, “Keep this with you…keep it secret…you’re going to need it after the arrest.”

Hours later, Andrew’s brother, Tyler, is taken into custody—framed for the brutal murder of a young woman—and Andrew discovers there is only one way to free him: answer the mysterious phone and agree to a blackmailer’s demands. All the governor has to do to make it all go away is compromise everything he stands for and grant a full pardon to a convicted felon. With no better option, he complies. Which is his first mistake…because the stranger isn’t through with him. He has another little condition. Then another. And another. And Andrew has no choice but to play along until he can find a way out of this personal and political nightmare. But he isn’t prepared for what he will face, or how far he will have to go to save his brother and keep his family together.

“This dark, edgy tale touches a multitude of human emotions and is filled with sacrifice, loss, and terror. Hang on tight and remember to breathe.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

“Both a family saga and a political thriller, Hankins’s latest novel puts a governor’s family on the brink of destruction and explores how far siblings will go to protect each other. This is James Patterson on steroids.” —Charlie Donlea, USA Today bestselling author of The Girl Who Was Taken