Blood Brothers

by Jody Zimmerman

Thirty-three year old Philip Hampton is an award winning freelance writer and investigative journalist. His younger brother, Billy, an A-list New Yorker, is on the brink of stardom in the international art market.

Orphaned as children, the two brothers are the only family either has until Billy is murdered. Shattered by his brother’s death, Philip vows revenge.

During a visit to Billy’s studio, Philip discovers Billy’s final painting. Certain that the painting somehow holds clues to Billy’s murder, Philip begins to unlock the painting’s secrets.

He finds himself drawn into a frantic search for the treasures from the largest art theft in history—the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist of 1990. Discovery of the treasure is Philip’s only hope of solving the murder, attaining retribution, and healing from emotional and sexual trauma from his childhood.

Genres: Mystery, Abuse, Suspense

476 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2012

About the author

Jody Zimmerman is the author of Blood Brother’s, a psychological thriller within the framework of a literary novel. His belief that a good story awakens emotions, excites the senses, and encourages self-exploration has inspired his work as an author.

In addition to his writing, Zimmerman has worked as a process design engineer, a nuclear engineer, an instructor of economics at a junior college, an entrepreneur (founder of an environmental consulting firm), a manager/owner of a commercial real estate firm, and a certified hot yoga instructor.

His passions are fiction writing, gourmet cooking, and hot yoga. He enjoys entertaining, tending to his organic garden, and walking with his dogs.

Jody resides in Louisville, Kentucky with his partner. He grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admire this book for its originality. It's a murder mystery, but it also is very thoughtful and detailed. There is much in-depth characterization, and a lot of description, more than you would usually find in a mystery. I didn't mind at all that the pace was not bam-bam-bam; the emotional hits were quite strong enough without requiring constant action to move the book forward.
The book is explicit about child sexual abuse, but I found this fitting. The author does not shy away from anything, and it gives the book immediacy. While it is sometimes hard to read because of that, it has a gritty reality that adds to its impact.
I do think the book could have done with more editing; there are repetitions that are unnecessary, but very hard for an author to catch on his or her own. All in all, a hard-hitting, heartfelt novel that has an emotional impact because the author pulls no punches, and obviously cares deeply about his characters.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I never thought I could Love-Hate-Love a book, until Jody Zimmerman’s Blood Brothers came along. Blood Brothers is a story of pain, loss, abuse, discovery, retribution and finally redemption and freedom. Toss in some intrigue, very heavy emotional baggage and there was no way to do this story justice without Mr. Zimmerman’s willingness to keep creating until the characters and events finally stopped talking to him, well beyond the length of many novels today.

Phillip and Billy were all the family each other had. The brothers were both successful in their lives, choosing divergent, yet artist paths. When Billy dies under what Phillip deems suspicious circumstances, Phillip is left shattered and begins to re-live long forgotten memories, both of love and abuse. As he unravels buried revelations and uncovers a side of his brother he knew nothing about, the focus shifts to finding a priceless art collection stolen and hidden away decades before. Could Billy really have been part of this fraud? His artistic gift was astounding, and proof of his forgeries led me to believe Billy had many secrets kept from Phillip. Or did he? Phillip’s investigations follow a twisted and barbed trail in search of the original collection point to the involvement of the very man who molested and abused the boys as children. Will his hatred and need for revenge cloud his judgment or will close friends and allies from unlikely sources keep him on track?

I mentioned a Love-Hate-Love relationship with Blood Brothers. I loved the attention to detail given to every emotion, every gruesome scene, not that I like gruesome, but because they were necessary to fully understand what made Phillip tick, what made him the internally dark person he is today. I hated what happened to those who were abused. I hated being party to witnessing it, to feeling their emotional pain. I loved that Jody Zimmerman sought fit to fore-go pages and pages of fast-paced action to allow the characters to drive the story. Is this book for everyone? No, but really, are there many books out there that are? Is it dark, gritty and mentally disturbing? Oh yes! Leave it home when you go to the beach or on vacation, it will affect you that much, but do give it a try, a chapter at at a time, at least!

A review copy was provided by NetGalley and JEZ LLC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: February 28, 2013
Publisher: JEZ, LLC
ISBN: 9780615652641
Number of Pages: 476
Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery
Recommended Age: ADULT
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Available at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novel received courtesy of Jody Zimmerman, author

When I was contacted by Jody Zimmerman about reading his book and reviewing it, I was all too happy to do so. My first impression of the book was, "Yikes, it's huge!" The book is the size and shape of a paperback textbook which made it awkward to hold while reading it. At 476 pages, I can't imagine how long it would've been in a traditional paperback or hardback format.

I will start out by saying that I loved the main story of brotherly love, rekindled relationships with estranged family and coming to terms with the deaths of loved ones. I thought the relationship between Phillip and his brother, Billy, was well characterized. The relationship between Phillip and his father that is coming back together after years apart was lovely, as was the relationship between Phillip and his step-mother and half brothers. I found the descriptions of Phillip's relationships with his mother and grandmother well described; I knew the pain he felt from their deaths. I found the story totally engrossing, well thought out and very well-developed.

The part of the story that I didn't like as well was all of the sex scenes, sex talk and weird sex scenes. I found the story of the boys' abuse at the hands of their "Uncle" Adrian very hard to read. As a teacher, I felt the children were exploited, not only at the hands of their abuser, but also a bit at the hands of the author. Now, I am no prude and don't mind sex scenes if they benefit the story. I'm not sure how much of the sex was beneficial to the story and how much was the author wanting to find a vehicle for these scenes. The story was definitely strong enough to stand without all of these scenes.

I also felt that so much of the description in the novel was unnecessary. It seemed as though the author wanted very much to tell his whole story. I totally understand that, however, much of the detail of parts of the story took away from, rather than added to, the total experience of the novel.

This novel wasn't very far from being a 4-star book for me. I think that with a good edit from someone who really cares about the story, "Blood Brothers" would be a 4 or 5 star book.

[Jerreb · Rating 4 out of 5]

overall I really enjoyed the story. in fact I ended up dreaming about the book several nights (I was trying to piece all the clues together). my only complaint is that the author needs a good editor working with him. there were a number of spelling issues as well as some places where the story didn't flow very well. also while I loved the incredibly detailed descriptions of architecture, design and fashions, I felt that it often got in the way of the overall story. this sounds like I didn't really like it but quite the contrary - it is an incredible story that pulls you in and doesn't let you go. in fact I would love to have a sequel updating me on the various family members.

[Teresa Lavender · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part I would say Blood Brothers was very intense. This explores some areas that would probably make a lot of people uncomfortable - pedophiles, sexual deviance, murder - and it goes into detail. It has a great story line and really does give you a clear picture of the experience of being sexually abused. The characters are well developed and the writing is excellent. I do feel that it is a bit long and there are some areas that could be edited. You will most certainly feel some discomfort as you are reading, but that is perfectly normal considering the subject matter.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

Kindle freebie 7/5/13!

[Sam Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for everyone. In order to solve the mystery of his brother Billy's death, Philip has to dig deep in to his very troubled and depressing past. He and his brother were molested by their mothers art mentor, whom they called Uncle Adrian. Uncle Adrian also molested other boys whose mothers he mentored. The book is very descriptive and in some parts too much so. The sex/molestation scenes did help with the understanding of Philip's past, but I felt that there was a little too much description of the acts. The descriptions of the art pieces and rooms was also a little over the top, there were quite a few times I lost interest in reading about the intricate details of the bathroom walls.

I really loved the flow of the book, each chapter (for the most part) kept on track with the solving of Billy's murder. The whole book also showed the evolution of Philip from a broken soul to one of understanding.

My biggest problem (probably because I have OCD about it) is the editing in the book.

The following excerpts were the ones that bugged me the most.

Page 666 of 1000 (iBooks on iPad):
And Ricky really didn't have a second in command here, so your Mother and I assisted Luka...
--Charles (Philip's father) is talking about Brenda (his second wife, not Philip's mother)

Page 800 of 1000 (iBooks on iPad):
"You all come join us over here. We're getting reading to have dessert."
--Obviously it should be ready.

Page 874 of 1000 (iBooks on iPad):
"That is, if you want to insure the safety of your niece and nephews."
--BIG slip up. The kids are Philip's half brothers and sister.


But overall I enjoyed the book.

[Chella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok... this book is definately not for everyone. And if I'm being honest, most would find it repulsive. For me, it was VERY hard to get through it. "Philly" is constantly conjouring up his childhood memories (I mean, why wouldn't he...his brother is dead so he is reminded of his childhood with Billy). However, their lives growing up, and the memories that were made were not the kind a child should remember or a life they should EVER live. For Phillip and Billy, at a very young age their trust is broken and a secret bond between the brothers is formed. Years later, when Billy dies unexpectantly, his brother and friend Lush start their own investigation into finding out what really happened to him. If the author's intention is to "shock" his readers, I was definately shocked throughout the whole read. I did want to jump ahead while reading because I did get bored with some of the "chatter". That being said..even though I struggled with it, I didn't put it down because the author kept me intrigued...I wanted to know who and I wanted to know why.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is heart wrenching. This is for mature readers that are okay with stepping out of your comfort zone and falling into a story. Brothers, Billy and Philly were molested by Uncle Adrian at a very young age, and continued sleeping with one another off and on into their adulthood. After Billy is murdered, Phillip starts to unravel horrible secrets and murders. Phillip decides to solve this on his own for Billy's sake. This book is extremely well written and you become part of the story. Amazing details are provided through out the story to make it real in the readers eyes. Molestation is a hard topic for many people to read about, but I applaud this author. I hope to read more from this author, his book truly made an impact.

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devastating, this book is simply devastating. The completely depraved and vile evilness is difficult to believe, even though I know it does exist. The story is long and could do with some very heavy handed editing. I found myself skipping long pages upon pages of descriptions of rooms, furnishings, artwork, architecture and clothing. Overall an entertaining thriller, once you figure out it is okay to skim...

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book three times and have both a kindle and book version of this book. I like all the main characters especially Philip and lush. The story as many twists and turns and is a page turner. There are still a few unanswered questions at the end of the book and would like a sequel.

[Jo-Ann Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through the Goodreads giveaways. It is the size of a textbook, which made it physically difficult for me to read and made me wonder what I could be getting into.

This book deals with some very difficult and sexually explicit subjects. That almost turned me off but the writing was really very good so I could not stop reading. Thankfully, the explicit sexual situations calmed down after the first few chapters because they were so detailed it was getting to be a bit much.

Many times I shouted "TMI", not only in the sexual scenes but in some of the others where it wandered into setting or memories or art. Sometimes it was extremely detailed and in some cases it was not necessary to the story. However, the writing is very good and the details did not seem to be that distracting nor bog the story down to such an extent that I wanted to put it down.

I loved how he integrated the emotional component of fascial release in the story and actually used the word fascia in the story. I have never seen that in a novel.

The general story holds the interest and is very well thought out. I feel it is a very important psychological exploration of sexual abuse that can help those who have never suffered abuse understand how and why a victim may feel and react the way they do in this complex situation.

I was a little disappointed that there really was no great surprise in the book. I thought there were several opportunities to insert a twist that might have increased the suspense in the novel. One was hinted at near the end, but never explained or developed any further.

I was also a little disappointed in the ending because the characters and action were described in such detail throughout the book drawing the reader in that I felt the ending was not very detailed and that we never got to have an ending for the majority of the characters we had come to know.

I could not put the book down and feel that any reader that is willing to open their minds to difficult subjects and can handle explicit sexual scenes will enjoy this book. However, I also feel that the story would not suffer from some editing of the details that might make the print version easier to hold and read and move the story along just a bit more quickly.

I look forward to reading other books by this author.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this lengthy first mystery, an investigative journalist learns that his gay brother Billy has been murdered. Billy is a successful artist who paints men in sexually provocative positions.

Philip, the protagonist, decides to look into the murder and while he does, we learn about their mother who was a famous artist herself. Her agent, Uncle Adrian, was unscrupulous and was a child predator. He initiated both Billy and Philip into abnormal sexual behavior.

Philip is sent a photo of one of Billy's friends who has been murdered. There is a connection of his death and Billy's and the police are brought in. They believe that the killer was after something at Billy's home and since Philip is now living there, he is at risk. Therefore they give him police protection.

Adrian was also the agent for other female artists and took advantage of them. He also liked dealing with artists with young male children so he could perform sex acts with them.

Philip has flashbacks where he remembers Uncle Adrian performing sexual activity with him and with Billy. These acts are explicitly detailed and, in my opinion, unnecessary in the flow of suspense and telling of the story.

The author is certainly a good story teller but a problem with many first novelists is that they don't have sufficient editing and I think more editing could have helped cut down the great length of the story.

I enjoyed the suspense of the story and learning about the other artists and their children. The details of the art world were very well researched.

I'm sure that some readers would enjoy the story even more but it was outside of my normal reading selections.

[T.]

DNF/No star rating. Because this isn't a bad book. If it were, I wouldn't have spent 3-4 months trying to get through it. I just don't have the patience to finish it is all. The wiring is good, the characters are good, the plot line is good; it's the incredible longwindedness of it all that I can't do anymore.

My full review of Blood Brothers can be found at Caps Lock Thinks along with many others.

[Susan Lulgjuraj · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful.

Unbelievable characters.

Writing was far too long (I really don't care that the main character had to take a dump in the morning after he woke up).

This book could have been about 1/2 of the size and maybe it would have been worth reading. In its current state, I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

[Natalie]

Review and rating to come!!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read. Full review to come