After turning the last page of Stuart Neville’s brilliant, landmark new novel, I found myself at a loss as to how to categorize it. The book has clear elements of horror, along with classic crime noir and thrills running through it. I could talk about how it reminded me of the earlier works of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, or even compare it to more contemporary horror/thriller writers like Christopher Golden and Adam Nevill. I have never read anything quite like BLOOD LIKE MINE in my entire life.

Rebecca Carter and her daughter, Monica (whom she calls Moonflower), are traveling by van through snowy Colorado on a late December night. They avoid an animal on the road and end up stuck in a drift. Nevertheless, they refuse the help of the man with the dog in the pickup truck when he comes upon them and offers to pull them out. Rebecca prays that he will tell no one about running into them because we soon learn that they are running from and towards something in a mission that must be secretly their own.

"The finale is especially devastating, which makes it that much more memorable. BLOOD LIKE MINE is an instant classic and easily one of the best reads of 2024 or any year."

Special Agent Marc Donner of the FBI has diligently, almost obsessively been on the trail of a serial killer who has left a path of bodies around the country for at least the past two years. The modus operandi is always the same, the throat cut and the spinal cord severed, and all the victims were convicted or suspected pedophiles. Nevertheless, Donner has a job to do, which includes ensuring that this type of vigilante justice does not happen on his watch.

Bryan Shields is the most recent registered sex offender to have been killed this way in Colorado. The bodies that have been found are always so well hidden that Donner and the FBI can only imagine how many victims there actually are. At this point, you may see a pattern among the characters I have introduced and think you have it all figured out. You would be wrong. In fact, the twist that comes in the middle of the story will have your head spinning and force you to reexamine your feelings about everything that has been revealed thus far.

Rebecca is extremely protective of Moonflower and even frowns upon her making brief friendships with other young girls they meet at the various campsites they frequent. The mission and their safety must always come first, but at what cost? Donner is relentless in his pursuit of the killer, even if it means the loss of his marriage and relationship with his daughters, as well as his tenuous partnership with Agent McGrath, whom he needs on his side for emotional and physical support.

While it may be obvious at this point that Rebecca and Moonflower are the ones luring and punishing bad men across the county, their motives are not so clear-cut. It is a wonder to behold how they go about locating and trapping their prey. The more you get to know them, the less concerned you will be about their victims. However, there is so much more at play that needs to be enjoyed here that I guarantee you will be heralding Stuart Neville as a genius long before you turn the last page.

The finale is especially devastating, which makes it that much more memorable. BLOOD LIKE MINE is an instant classic and easily one of the best reads of 2024 or any year.