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Blood on Blood
When half-brothers Mick and Jerzy Sawyer are summoned to their father's prison deathbed, it isn't for a tearful goodbye. The spiteful old man tells the two estranged brothers about an old diamond heist with outstanding loot, and sets them on a path of cooperation and competition to recover the jewels.
Jerzy is the quintessential career criminal, fresh out of a short bit and looking to get back into the action right away. Mick is the failed cop and tainted hero struggling to get by with a clean life that doesn't seem to ever pay off. Both men see this score as their ticket out of Chicago.
Throw in the mysterious, blond Ania, and Blood on Blood is hardboiled Hardy Boys meets Cain and Abel. Jerzy and Mick battle each other for all of it -- the diamonds, the girl, and survival -- and nothing else matters...not even blood.
Jerzy is the quintessential career criminal, fresh out of a short bit and looking to get back into the action right away. Mick is the failed cop and tainted hero struggling to get by with a clean life that doesn't seem to ever pay off. Both men see this score as their ticket out of Chicago.
Throw in the mysterious, blond Ania, and Blood on Blood is hardboiled Hardy Boys meets Cain and Abel. Jerzy and Mick battle each other for all of it -- the diamonds, the girl, and survival -- and nothing else matters...not even blood.
- GenresMystery
264 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2012
37 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Frank Zafiro
143 books96 followersA former police officer, Frank writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 14, 2021
Two brothers, one bad and one not so good, one woman who wants both (maybe), and a situation where stepping over some lines results in stolen jewels. Mr. Zafiro pumps in a gallon (or two) of testosterone and you have a tight, little story that really exciting and fun to read. Set in Chicago, Zafiro grabs all the atmosphere of the mean streets and adds plenty of underworld characters. Zafiro is a retired policeman. The book reflects his experience.
I took this story on vacation to Key West and finished most of it in a lawn chair sipping an adult beverage. I don't want to divulge any more of the plot, but this is the first of a trilogy called "Ania". I'll be looking for more of Zafiro's books
I took this story on vacation to Key West and finished most of it in a lawn chair sipping an adult beverage. I don't want to divulge any more of the plot, but this is the first of a trilogy called "Ania". I'll be looking for more of Zafiro's books
March 2, 2024
Pretty good story very Cain and Abel with a hottie in-between them and a very Old Testament daddy,
Cover art is really, really bad though I must say, I was embarrassed to read it in public even, sadly I noticed it was done by a great writer of his own right, Eric Beetner, think he might be sabotaging the completion?
Anyhow goes pass the real noir test in this world of people putting "noir" or pulp on any old piece of junk book to sound cool.
And as a Hillyard boyo I was never arrested by Mr. Zafiro...
Cover art is really, really bad though I must say, I was embarrassed to read it in public even, sadly I noticed it was done by a great writer of his own right, Eric Beetner, think he might be sabotaging the completion?
Anyhow goes pass the real noir test in this world of people putting "noir" or pulp on any old piece of junk book to sound cool.
And as a Hillyard boyo I was never arrested by Mr. Zafiro...
October 25, 2020
What an entertaining read! Two half brothers who hate each other. A dying father who hates his sons. A sexy blonde who has both boy's attention....Stolen jewelry to find.
Crime. Violence. Killings. Shadey characters. Smokey noir. Excellent entertainment.
I listened to Audible version. It was performed masterly. Different voices with different accents for each character. Made the story feel like a movie. 5 Stars all around!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Crime. Violence. Killings. Shadey characters. Smokey noir. Excellent entertainment.
I listened to Audible version. It was performed masterly. Different voices with different accents for each character. Made the story feel like a movie. 5 Stars all around!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
January 11, 2022
Blood on Blood
Excellent suspenseful story about two brothers, sons of a professional criminal. One grew up to be a cop and the other a crook. Childhood jealousy and competitiveness sometimes never ends.
Excellent suspenseful story about two brothers, sons of a professional criminal. One grew up to be a cop and the other a crook. Childhood jealousy and competitiveness sometimes never ends.
November 10, 2023
Great thriller
This story had more twist and turns than a roller coaster. The twist that Ania played them both and ended up with all the money was just too good. A good read!
This story had more twist and turns than a roller coaster. The twist that Ania played them both and ended up with all the money was just too good. A good read!
August 8, 2013
Gar’s a cynical, cold jailbird who’s dying in a prison hospital. He’s hard and mean right up to the end. Before leaving this world, he asks his doctor to set up a visit from his 2 sons so that he can rest in a kind of peace.
His sons are an interesting pair and they can prove or disprove nature-nurture theories in any way you like, given that they were born to different mothers.
Mick is the Irish son, Jerzy is the Pole. Mick was once a cop and might have a soft side well hidden somewhere, but in truth the pair are just about as stubborn, brutal and mean as their father.
When they are reunited in the hospital it’s the first time they’ve seen each other in many years.
Gar gives them a mission that will force them together for a short while. Is he intending to bring his progeny back to the glory days of youth in a Coupe-De-Ville style journey as his final act? That would be a noble final act from any man, I’d say.
Thankfully, the 2 men have little on their plate other than a turf war assassination and a competition where they’re both fishing for the heart (and body) of the beautiful Ania.
All the strands fizz and eventually the fuses blow to ignite
a dynamite ending.
Explosive and engaging right from the off and another success for the gritty and blossoming Snubnose Press.
His sons are an interesting pair and they can prove or disprove nature-nurture theories in any way you like, given that they were born to different mothers.
Mick is the Irish son, Jerzy is the Pole. Mick was once a cop and might have a soft side well hidden somewhere, but in truth the pair are just about as stubborn, brutal and mean as their father.
When they are reunited in the hospital it’s the first time they’ve seen each other in many years.
Gar gives them a mission that will force them together for a short while. Is he intending to bring his progeny back to the glory days of youth in a Coupe-De-Ville style journey as his final act? That would be a noble final act from any man, I’d say.
Thankfully, the 2 men have little on their plate other than a turf war assassination and a competition where they’re both fishing for the heart (and body) of the beautiful Ania.
All the strands fizz and eventually the fuses blow to ignite
a dynamite ending.
Explosive and engaging right from the off and another success for the gritty and blossoming Snubnose Press.
June 14, 2013
Mick and Jerzy Sawyer are half-brothers in Chicago, but there's no brotherly love between these two. Jerzy is a career criminal, Mick is a disgraced former cop who went to prison because he took the fall for other cops. The two of them basically hate each other . . . but they're forced to work together when their dying convict father puts them on the trail of a stolen necklace and earrings worth millions of dollars. More complications ensue when Jerzy finds himself in the middle of a gang war and both brothers (wouldn't you know it?) fall for the same beautiful blonde.
BLOOD ON BLOOD is the first novel collaboration by Frank Zafiro and Jim Wilsky. Zafiro has written other crime novels and short stories and Wilsky has authored quite a few short stories. They've joined forces here to produce an excellent hardboiled crime thriller. The narration switches back and forth between Mick and Jerzy, and also between past and present tense, and while those are both techniques I often don't care for, Zafiro and Wilsky make them work very well.
They've also written a sequel to this novel, QUEEN OF DIAMONDS, that's out already, and I plan to read it as well, but I recommend you start with BLOOD ON BLOOD. If you enjoy fast-paced, gritty crime fiction, I think you'll like it a lot.
BLOOD ON BLOOD is the first novel collaboration by Frank Zafiro and Jim Wilsky. Zafiro has written other crime novels and short stories and Wilsky has authored quite a few short stories. They've joined forces here to produce an excellent hardboiled crime thriller. The narration switches back and forth between Mick and Jerzy, and also between past and present tense, and while those are both techniques I often don't care for, Zafiro and Wilsky make them work very well.
They've also written a sequel to this novel, QUEEN OF DIAMONDS, that's out already, and I plan to read it as well, but I recommend you start with BLOOD ON BLOOD. If you enjoy fast-paced, gritty crime fiction, I think you'll like it a lot.
January 28, 2013
Surprisingly bold and ambitious and yet as hardboiled as it gets. BLOOD ON BLOOD is the story of two brothers, haunted by their father's recent departure. One has turned exactly like him and the other is a passive-aggressive reaction to his old man's existence. Together, they work at verifying an omen of possible future wealth he uttered with his last words.
The characterization is tremendous. You can feel the weight of time, years, success, failures and treason between everyone. Beyond being a heist story, BLOOD ON BLOOD is a family saga at the age of dysfunction. It's classic hardboiled, yet it has a strong identity. It's a lot of fun.
The characterization is tremendous. You can feel the weight of time, years, success, failures and treason between everyone. Beyond being a heist story, BLOOD ON BLOOD is a family saga at the age of dysfunction. It's classic hardboiled, yet it has a strong identity. It's a lot of fun.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews