Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville

Description from the Goodreads:

" You would do anything to protect your child.

Even if she’s a monster . . .

Rebecca Carter and her daughter Monica, nicknamed Moonflower, travel the American West, always on the move, always hiding, always looking behind them, always keeping Moonflower out of sight.

They speak to no one, only interacting with people when it’s absolutely necessary.

But wherever they go, bodies are left behind.

Special Agent Marc Donner of the FBI has been tracking a killer for the best part of two years. A murderer that strikes once every few weeks. The victims are all men, many disappearing only to be found months later, dumped in forests or rivers or quarries, far from their places of death. All of them with their throats opened, their bodies bled out and their spinal cords severed.

The killer leaves no trace, no clues – only a trail of corpses.

After all this time, Donner has gleaned only a handful of facts from the few witnesses and snippets of CCTV footage available. He’s hunting a middle-aged woman who drives a van with blacked-out windows and false plates. Often she poses as a child online to lure in her prey. It’s never been enough to track her down though.

Until now.

And so begins a cat-and-mouse game between Donner and his prey, Rebecca and Moonflower. But who is the actual hunter – and who is the actual prey? For perhaps Moonflower isn’t the child that her mother claims she is. Perhaps she’s something else – and as Donner puts everything on the line to capture them and prove his suspicions right, perhaps he isn’t prepared to face what is really out there."

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I haven't read nearly enough of Mr Neville's work for my liking as each one I have read has been totally addictive from start to finish and this was no exception.  

This is a crime novel that's so very different and I would say that it's best to approach it with an open mind, free from preconceived ideas; you do that, and you will definitely enjoy the ride!

From the very beginning, I was captivated by the stories of Rebecca Carter, Moonflower and Special Agent Marc Donner.  Rebecca is a flawed but fiercely protective mother, driven by love and desperation. Donner is a dedicated lawman haunted by his mistakes.  Moonflower is .... well I will let you read the story to find that out!

Full of suspense and oodles of tension that just keeps on building, this is a story that had me intrigued and totally invested; it has everything I enjoy ... crime, thrills, serial killers, action, suspense, tension and a bit of the supernatural and horror thrown in for good measure ... what's not to like?!?

Recommended to those of you who enjoy reading something a bit different than the usual crime stories and I must thank Stuart Neville, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this compelling book.

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