Blood Secret in Aussie Readers

Feb 07, 2013 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-release, autographed-book, own-read, aussie-authors, australian-thriller

On the night Rennie Carter and Max Tully drove along the beautiful shores of Lake Macquarie toward a friend’s 50th birthday party, the atmosphere in the car was a little tense. But when a teenage driver cut them off at a roundabout then tailgated them to the bottle shop and restaurant, tensions escalated alarmingly. The road rage incident was so over the top, if it hadn’t been so scary the attitude of the young driver would have been laughable. So when they finally stepped inside and joined thei On the night Rennie Carter and Max Tully drove along the beautiful shores of Lake Macquarie toward a friend’s 50th birthday party, the atmosphere in the car was a little tense. But when a teenage driver cut them off at a roundabout then tailgated them to the bottle shop and restaurant, tensions escalated alarmingly. The road rage incident was so over the top, if it hadn’t been so scary the attitude of the young driver would have been laughable. So when they finally stepped inside and joined their friends, Rennie breathed a jagged sigh of relief.

Working in the kitchen, circulating amongst her friends, Rennie only spotted Max a couple of times during the course of the evening; but when she went to find him to head home, no-one had seen him for at least an hour. Someone said he’d gone out to check on the car - Max had disappeared; all their searching of surrounding bush and parkland found nothing. Finally, having nowhere else to turn, they called the police….

As the hours passed by, the questions mounted; Rennie seemed to be the only one concerned about Max. Suddenly rumours began circulating about him; horrible rumours Rennie knew couldn’t possibly be true – could they? Max’s cousin and business partner plus the police were just so off base, she knew she’d have to search herself. But with her past one she couldn’t and didn’t talk about, was the danger coming from another direction entirely? The secrets from her past seemed set to collide with the secrets from Max’s….

Suddenly danger, violence and horror were all around her! What was going on? Would she find Max before it was too late? Or was it finally too late for Rennie?

I absolutely loved this third book by Jaye Ford. I’ve been waiting anxiously for the release, and it certainly didn’t disappoint! The setting is in beautiful Lake Macquarie where I live, and the descriptions of the landscapes and small lakeside villages is so true to life, I could easily visualize where events were happening. The pace was fast, racing from one gripping happening to the next, I just found I was unable to put it down. A fantastic psychological thriller by an author who is definitely a master at her game! Highly recommended.
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Aug 07, 2013 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-are, netgalley-reviews, aussie-author, provided-by-publisher

Jaye Ford follows the success of Beyond Fear and Scared Yet? with her third exciting psychological thriller, Blood Secret.

Rennie Carter never expected to stay long in the sleepy Australian coastal community of Haven Bay, but then she met Max Tully, and after a lifetime of running she dared to hope she finally found somewhere she could stay, somewhere she could be safe.
And then one night Max disappears without a trace and Rennie is terrified her past has finally caught up with her - but Rennie i ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-version, netgalley, australian, arc, crime, suspense, thriller, aww2013

Rennie Carter has been in Haven Bay for five years, possibly the longest she’s ever stayed anywhere in her whole life. Previously it’s always been about running, keeping on the move, laying low. Don’t make friends, don’t settle in, don’t get close to people. You never know when you just might have to pack up and leave.

But that changed the day she drove into the small town on the beautiful Lake Macquarie in NSW. She got a job working in a cafe, she begin to make tentative roads towards friendship Rennie Carter has been in Haven Bay for five years, possibly the longest she’s ever stayed anywhere in her whole life. Previously it’s always been about running, keeping on the move, laying low. Don’t make friends, don’t settle in, don’t get close to people. You never know when you just might have to pack up and leave.

But that changed the day she drove into the small town on the beautiful Lake Macquarie in NSW. She got a job working in a cafe, she begin to make tentative roads towards friendships. Her sister Jo left after a couple of weeks, but Rennie remained. She met Max, became involved with him and eventually moved into his house with him.

And then one night Max disappeared.

Rennie is the only person who believes that Max might be in danger, because she’s the only person that knows about her violent past. She’s desperate as one by one, Max’s friends and family seem to come to the conclusion that he might’ve just left. His cousin even attempts to make Rennie see that he might’ve been planning something like this for a while. But Rennie refuses to believe it. He wouldn’t do that to her, wouldn’t walk out of her life without a word, without a goodbye. Not after all he did to get in it.

Rennie believes that her past might finally have caught up with her. She’s been running from it for so long now, with brief respites but it seems that the time of relaxation is over. She got careless, she stayed too long and now someone that she loves is going to pay the price, the victim of someone who has a score to settle with Rennie. While the police are looking in the wrong places and while Max’s friends and family are wondering what would’ve made him want to go, Rennie knows differently.

Rennie has always run before, at the first sign of trouble. But not this time. This time she’s staying and she’s fighting…for Max.

Blood Secret is Jaye Ford’s third full length novel the first two being Beyond Fear and Scared Yet?. Ford is fast proving herself to be a master of the suspense novel, deftly weaving tales that keep the reader absolutely hooked and this one, the second of her books that I’ve read, proved to be no exception for me. I started it mid afternoon and read it in one sitting, utterly engrossed in the story,

Rennie is one heck of an amazing character. Her childhood and adolescence was spent always on the move, running away from a never-ending danger that culminated in two savage acts of violence. Since then she’s had some time to relax, the danger safely out of the way for the time being, which has allowed her to let her guard down some. She has become a part of the community of Haven Bay, a small dot on the western side of Lake Macquarie on the NSW central/hunter coast. She isn’t just a temporary waitress anymore, she’s a part of a team in the cafe and she’s become a part of Max Tully’s life as well. Although she’s never told Max, she loves him and when he disappears, Rennie is the one who really fears for him. At first she believes that it may have something to do with a random road rage incident but after that is discounted, Rennie begins to think that it might be her fault that Max is missing. That something from her past has finally caught up with her and gone after something that she cared about, the first person that she’d ever really allowed herself to care about. The police are looking in all the wrong places and when they find out about Rennie’s past, they focus on that instead of on what she’s telling them. That frustrates her and also spurs her into action. Rennie is so interesting because in this novel, you can clearly see her two halves – the one that has always run, that is still prepared for that moment where she has to leave with what she needs stuffed into one pack, and also the woman who wants to stay, who wants to be a part of something and have a life.

Rennie never gives up on Max, not even when she’s given some information about him that she wasn’t privy to before, something that doesn’t portray him in a flattering light. She’s briefly thrown but she thinks about it, she thinks about the sort of person he is, the person that she’s come to know in the past five years and concludes that he wouldn’t have done that to her. That something must be wrong. She continues digging, looking into other possibilities and she takes Max’s teenage son from his previous marriage along for the ride, despite their rocky relationship. Being a stepmother myself, I’m aware just how difficult it can be to forge a relationship with a stepchild and how fruitless attempts can be at times. Hayden is a typically aggressive teenager who is rebelling and his ways are not what Rennie is used to because of her upbringing. At times I questioned the fact that she didn’t just put him on a train to his grandparents place, because there was a possibility he’d be in danger if he stayed. However she did her best to treat him as an adult and not keep him in the dark and involve him in the search for his dad, which was maybe what he needed.

I picked the person behind the events, but not the motive however I did doubt my choice several times whilst getting towards the climax of the book, which I enjoyed. It’s always fun to try and solve everything before the characters do – but in their place I’d have not been able to put everything they did together! This is definitely a page-turner and I’d recommend it for anyone who has enjoyed Ford’s previous novels or someone who really wants to sink their teeth into a suspense novel. The added bonus is the way in which Ford captures the local setting and really makes it come alive. ...more

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Oct 18, 2013 Magdalena added it

I’ve never been a fan of thrillers. I just don’t have the stomach for blood, gore and gruesome scenes. Don’t let Jaye Ford’s scary titles fool you. Though there is certainly suspense and frightening scenes, Jaye Ford’s books are psychological, character-driven fiction. Her work might be more akin to the ‘cosy mystery’ genre than to the thriller genre as there is very little that is gruesome in her books, and the scenes unfold organically in a way that is very natural and smooth. In Ford's lates I’ve never been a fan of thrillers. I just don’t have the stomach for blood, gore and gruesome scenes. Don’t let Jaye Ford’s scary titles fool you. Though there is certainly suspense and frightening scenes, Jaye Ford’s books are psychological, character-driven fiction. Her work might be more akin to the ‘cosy mystery’ genre than to the thriller genre as there is very little that is gruesome in her books, and the scenes unfold organically in a way that is very natural and smooth. In Ford's latest novel, Blood Secret, the blood doesn’t refer so much to spilled blood, as to the genetic blood – as in blood ties. Rennie Carter has blood secrets, and she keeps them secret for a long time, living her life from day to day, and town to town, until she finds herself settling into life in sleepy Haven Bay with Max Tully. Then one day Max disappears and in Rennie’s attempts to find him, she has to uncover and unmask her own secrets, redefining who she is and what she needs in her life.

Blood Secret is, in many ways, Rennie’s journey. Her character develops along with the rest of the characters as they build, grow and challenge themselves through the mystery they find themselves embroiled in. Though the novel is very fast paced, with the suspenseful plot of “what happened to Max” driving the narrative, there is much more happening through the transition. As Rennie grows, she has to learn about different aspects of families and family life, along with Max’s surly teen son Hayden, the local community group, and Max himself. This fiction is all about the development of the characters as they move through their personal journeys, but it’s no less racy for that. Action builds through suspense in a way that leaves the reader breathless:

A whisper of sound reached her from over the fence and she was moving before her brain had time to decipher it – fast, bent, diving for the hedge. She hit the ground on her hip, rolled to a crouch, ready to run. Wanting to. Telling herself to wait. Wait, for God’s sake. It might be Max. She slide her eyes along the garden and the fence, sweat prickling in her hair, panic grappling for a hold. (49)

The narrative swaps between the perspective of Rennie and the perspective of Max, building the story in brief glimpses between these two characters, who, in many ways, are searching for one another. From start to finish, the writing remains taut and powerful. Ford rarely slows the pace with overt description, but the scene setting is done brilliantly through the eyes of the characters, combined with action:

A cry pitched from his throat and the hollow echo that ricocheted back made panic buck inside him. Eyes bursting open, he blinked fast, hard. It didn’t help. There was nothing there. Just black. Dense, suffocating black. (177)

Blood Secret is one of those books that is hard to put down, so it’s just as well that it can be read quickly in a single sitting. The characters are quirky and engrossing, and their unfolding story moves from one exciting cliff-hanger or moment of suspense to another. While the novel is undemanding and easy to read, the story is rich in verisimilitude and intensity, bringing into play a very rich and informed understanding of the complexities of love and families, and creating a work that is as moving as it is fun. ...more

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Sep 12, 2013 Jenny rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013, thriller-mystery

I'm pleased to say that Ford's writing and plotting have improved out of sight since her debut, Beyond Fear. Despite the fact that savvy character, Rennie, completely ignored a possible suspect until it was almost too late, this is nevertheless a gripping read. It doesn't have the finesse and twists of Gone Girl, but I believe Ford will get there. ...more

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Nov 01, 2015 Blue Eyed Vixen rated it really liked it

Initial review 3 stars at 200 pages. Storey well plotted, but I suspect I will change again.
This is my 3rd read by Ford, a local writer, and she knows how to twist the knife well so I'm expecting a hairpin bend or 2 soon. ...more

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