Sunday 16 April 2017

, , , , , , , ,

Review: Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer

Thicker Than Water by Brigid KemmererNetGalleyThicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer (eProof) - Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.

Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years.

The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. An old acquaintance was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple of answers.

Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden…
From Goodreads.

After loving Letters to the Lost and falling in love with Kemmerer's writing all over again, I picked up Thicker Than Water straight away. But now, having read it, I'm a little disappointed.

Not because the story was bad, it wasn't. I loved both Thomas and Charlotte, their individual voices and their chemistry together. I was intrigued by the mystery; who killed Thomas' mum, why did they, and how did they get into a locked house? But for a lot of the book, Thomas is arrested several times over, or Charlotte is hanging out with Thomas when her family - which includes three older brothers and a father who are all cops - warn her away from him, certain he murdered his mother. The book is told from both perspectives, so we, the readers, know Thomas didn't kill his mum, but Charlotte doesn't know that for definite, and she just keeps meeting up with him despite all she's told. It just seemed really stupid to me. I know Thomas was a good guy, but that doesn't excuse reckless behaviour from someone who doesn't. I know, if Charlotte didn't keep hanging out with Thomas, there wouldn't really be a story, but I just kept thinking, "What are you doing?!" Even more so given the fact that Charlotte is also diabetic, and with regards to her food intake and sugar levels, she's not as on the ball as she normally is when around him, and puts her health at risk.

Other than that, not a huge amount happens, not until pretty much the last 30% of the book. We find out a few things, and the story gets more interesting... and then all of a sudden, there is a huge climax 95% where we get our answers, and then the book ends. So abruptly! It just seemed so bizarre to me that there's nothing much happening for a great deal of the book, and then for everything to happen in the last 5%. Everything happens so fast, and then it ends. There are still unanswered questions. So many. And just behaviour at the end that I don't think was realistic. In spoilers, because I can't talk about it otherwise.



Saying all that, the book is seriously creepy. That ending, though very fast and abrupt, was just so awful. It made me feel so uncomfortable. It was so disturbing! The book is left open, though, what with all the questions left unanswered, and with how things are left. So if this is just a stand alone novel, then I'm hugely disappointed - which, as things stand, it looks like it is. If there will be a sequel, I'd definitely give it a go, because I did love the characters, and I'm intrigued by what we learn at the end, but I would want a whole lot more to happen.

So yeah, I have mixed feelings. Which is really upsetting for me, because I was such a huge fan of The Elemental series. And I just feel awful for not loving a book as much as I'd like by an author I think is awesome. I am sad and disappointed.

Thank you to Kensington Books via NetGalley for the eProof.

Add to Goodreads

Buy from:
Wordery



Published: 29th December 2015
Publisher: Kensington Books
Website

--
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to follow me on:
Bloglovin' | Twitter | Instagram

3 comments:

  1. I personally really enjoyed this book! I was not expecting it to be as creepy as it was and I loved the blend of thriller, mystery, contemporary, paranormal and romance all in one book! It totally caught me by surprise but in the best way possible!

    xx Anisha @ Sprinkled Pages

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have this book on my TBR shelf. I don't know why I haven't read it, but even when you had mixed feelings, you made me curious.
    Thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This was my first read by this author and I actually really loved it!! 😂 Even though the characters definitely made questionable decisions haha and I was REALLY surprised it went paranormal. I was kind of hoping it'd just be a thriller, so that was a bit of a wild turn?? But I still thought it was really fun and creepy and I loved Thomas.😂

    ReplyDelete