Blood Ties

Nope, I’m not talking about a new vampire story. Or even a new paranromal one. I’m going to tell you about a great new series i’ve found. Blood Ties is the first book in Lori Armstrong’s mysery series with heroine Julie Collins.

Blood Ties…What do they mean?

How far would someone go to sever…or protect them?

Julie Collins is stuck in a dead-end secretarial job with the Bear Butte County Sheriff’s office, and still grieving over the unsolved murder of her Lakota half-brother. Lack of public interest in finding his murderer or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men.

The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells. When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied. Then she learns Kevin has been hired, mysteriously, to find out where the murdered girl spent her last few days. Julie finds herself drawn into the case against her better judgment, and discovers not only the ugly reality of the young girl’s tragic life and brutal death, but ties to her and Kevin’s past that she is increasingly reluctant to revisit. On the surface the situation is eerily familiar. But the parallels end when Julie realizes some family secrets are best kept buried deep. Especially those serious enough to kill for.

Blood Ties is a contemporary mystery with a heroine who is real. She’s rough, tough, smart and sexy. The mystery is great, in all honesty, it’s one that kept me guessing Whodunnit right until the end.

The story starts with Julie working in the Sheriff’s department as a secretary, but she also works part time helping out a friend who is a private detective. So when the body of a young white girl shows up – killed in the same manner as her half brother, she can’t help but lookinto things. The trail takes her into biker bars, fights, and deep into family secrets territory.

While the mystery is good, the character is awesome. She’s a bit foul-mouthed, and she likes to drink tequila, and she likes to have sex. She also makes mistakes. In her relationships, and her acting before she thinks at times. She’s not a superhero, and she has no special powers. She gets in a fight or two, and even manages to win, sometimes. She is my favorite kind of protagonist, She’s real! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this author or this series before!

Blood Ties is this first in the series, and it was released in 2005, I’ve already ordered books 2 and three, and hope that there will be more! If you like a great mystery that keeps you hooked from page one, be sure to look for Blood Ties, Hallowed Ground, and Shallow Grave. Oh, and did I mention there’s a few hot men in Julie’s life too?