THICKER THAN WATER by Brigid Kemmerer-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 29, 2015

On his own

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. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers.

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

•••••

REVIEW: THICKER THAN WATER by Brigid Kemmerer is a young adult, paranormal, suspense-filled story line that focuses on eighteen year old Thomas Bellweather-the prime suspect in the strangulation death of his mother- ten days following her marriage to a local cop. When Thomas is befriended by Charlotte Rooker, a seventeen year old girl whose three brothers and father are all police officers, things go from bad to worse when a number of incidents and accidents befall Charlotte all pointing to Thomas as the guilty party. What ensues is a police investigation by Charlotte’s brothers that finger young Thomas regardless of his declaration of innocence or clues proving otherwise.

Brigid Kemmerer writes a story that is both emotional and frustrating as it pertains to Thomas’s innocence or guilt. As the number one suspect he is always on the cop’s radar, as well as the focus of public accusation and the mistaken belief that our hero is guilty of any number of crimes. As the story line builds the finger of guilt continues to point at Thomas Bellweather but we are well aware that our hero is always in the right place at the wrong time.

THICKER THAN WATER is told from alternating first person points of view (Thomas and Charlotte) that allows the reader into the mindset of a young man whose life imploded upon the murder of his mother. Living in a strange town, with a man he barely knows, Thomas becomes the target and a victim when the past returns for a final showdown.

To address the paranormal aspect of the story line, I think I would have enjoyed the story line more if this particular trope had not been included. THICKER THAN WATER made for a great murder-mystery, a story of accusation, suspense and betrayal but the ‘supernatural’ element is a big of a red herring that added an unbelievable aspect to the story.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy