Blood Vines [Paperback]

Erica Spindler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2010

Thirty-something Alex Owens knows very little about her childhood or who she really is, her only family an absent, emotionally fragile mother. Alex spent most of her adulthood searching for the missing link, drifting from job to job, relationship to relationship. But when an infant's remains are unearthed in her hometown in back-country California, Alex suddenly realises that she has a connection to the case. As if opening Pandora's box, long-lost memories start flooding in, dark and terrifying nightmares that haunt her every waking moment. When she arrives in Sonoma, the tight-knit community greets Alex with silence and suspicion, but Alex presses on, determined to get to the heart of a secret no one wants to see uncovered. As more violent deaths and a series of deadly rituals shock the small town, Alex is finally forced to confront the terrible truth about a single night that changed her family's lives forever...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When her bipolar mom dies from an overdose of meds, Alex Clarkson discovers the old gal has been hoarding family secrets, mainly a marriage to a member of a Sonoma Valley winemaking dynasty. Alex, a San Francisco bartender working on her doctoral thesis in human belief systems, puts her life on hold and rushes to wine country to meet the family she's never known she had and on the way reconnecting with a childhood friend now a handsome local. Orlagh Cassidy does her best, but the material, including some melodrama, a murder or three, sexual depravity, and even ritual sacrifice among the grapes, is a bit too listless for even a spirited rendition to help. A St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 18). (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Alexandra Clarkson is suddenly haunted by frightening images of anonymous hooded people and a baby without a face. Daniel Reed, a police detective, believes that newly unearthed remains are those of a baby who was abducted 25 years ago. Alex discovers that her dying mother has been keeping secrets, and that Alex’s whole life might have been an illusion; then she finds out that she has a connection, not merely to Daniel Reed but also to the baby who disappeared all those years ago. All that in about 40 pages. Soon after, Spindler asks us to accept that Alex has entirely wiped from her memory a member of her own family, forgotten he ever existed. Despite its unnecessarily truncated opening (which makes its revelations seem silly, not suspenseful), and its general air of implausibility, the book does have some effective moments, and its story of family secrets and murder is not without interest. Still, this one is best recommended only to Spindler’s fans. --David Pitt --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere; Export ed edition (February 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847442315
• ISBN-13: 978-1847442314
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,151,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Published in 25 countries, her stories have been lauded as "thrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits."

Raised in Rockford, Illinois, Erica had planned on being an artist, earning a BFA from Delta State University and an MFA from the University of New Orleans in the visual arts. In June of 1982, in bed with a cold, she picked up a romance novel for relief from daytime television. She was immediately hooked, and soon decided to try to write one herself. She leaped from romance to suspense in 1996 with her novel Forbidden Fruit, and found her true calling.

Her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a three-time RITA® Award finalist. Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.

Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons and is busy at work on her next thriller.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love to Read, March 10, 2011

By 

Dawn T (South Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Vines (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a keeper! From page 1 until the end, I did not want to put the book down. The ending was great, in only it matched the middle and the beginning. This is a really good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't do it for me, July 23, 2010

By 

mahikahn (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blood Vines (Hardcover)

I generally like Erica Spindler's books but couldn't get into this one. The info on wine country was great and not excessive. But the characters had no depth. I really didn't care about any of them and the ending was stupid and not everything was resolved. Plus I don't get the thing with Alex and Reed. They never went out in public together and half the time Reed thought Alex was a murderer. There were three or four sex scenes which totaled, not kidding, about two pages. Borrow this one from the library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you hanging on to every page, May 8, 2011

By 

Melissa (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Vines (Mass Market Paperback)

As always, Erica Spindler does not disappoint! Blood Vines was a great book that kept me waiting on the edge of my seat. Set in Sonoma California, the ending has a twist that you don't expect. Just as I thought I had it all figured out, I was wrong again! I love that her books are never predictable, I can never guess the ending no matter how hard I try. I've read all of her books and this one is as good as the first. You will enjoy Blood Vines.