Review: 
About the Book
Libby Meeker is seeing things.
The young Salt Lake City architect is experiencing visions of her twin sister, despite the fact that Melissa died mysteriously almost one year ago.
If that’s not bad enough, a serial killer surfaces in northern Utah, and a series of bizarre clues lead Detective Troy Hunter to Libby…and unspeakable possibilities that begin to shatter her fragile world.
More from Jim
I had a dream years ago about identical twin brothers horsing around on a bridge over a rushing river. One tragically fell in and his body was never recovered, but years later the surviving twin began seeing his late brother outside his bedroom window, in the shadows of the church next to his home, and in passing cars and buses.
My Review
This is one of those books that, had my schedule permitted, I would have read straight through in one sitting. It is unsettling and intense, the epitome of a psychological thriller, and of all the books that I have reviewed, this is probably the most frightening. Suffice it to say I would not read this one while home alone! I vacillated between a rating of 4 or 5 stars, eventually settling on the latter for several reasons, one being that I have always enjoyed this genre and seem to encounter it rather seldomly in Christian fiction. I also, as aforementioned, wanted to be able to read this from cover to cover all at one time because it is honestly that absorbing, with zero slow points in the story.
Jim O’Shea has certainly written a memorable suspense novel with “Blood Sisters”! Usually I figure out whodunit early on, and while I had various suspicions, I give the author kudos for pulling off the surprise twist at the end. That is the quintessential element of the genre, yet all too often I find that, for me at least, I am not very surprised when I get to the denouement. On the surface, Libby Meeker is an ordinary woman, working as an architect and spending time with her aging parents. However, the family is still healing from the passing of Libby’s twin, Melissa, one year prior. At least, they’re trying to: “Although her memories remained remarkably vivid for a long time after the tragedy, they had faded somewhat in recent months—until an innocent remark from a stranger opened the eyes of a dead woman.” And so begins an escalating series of events that seem to point to either a ghost or insanity or both.
Overall, this novel exceeded my expectations and absolutely had me looking over my shoulder at particularly chilling moments, and I would recommend it to mature readers interested in clean but dramatic psychological suspense. There are a few things that bothered me, such as not having resolution for a certain character whose history is mentioned as troubled and what I perceived as a lack of metanoia on Libby’s part. I may be off-base here, and would appreciate the thoughts of anyone else who has read the book. To me, it did not seem that Libby changed much throughout the story; “Blood Sisters” is billed as a Christian book, published under a Christian imprint, and while I can recognize the religious elements in the novel, I am not sure that I would automatically recognize it as a Christian novel aside from the devotional at the end of the narrative. Mostly, I feel this way because Libby says that she is not sure whether or not God exists, and I did not really see significant change in her actions or beliefs by the end. Nevertheless, I found this novel to be well-executed and compelling, and it somewhat changes how I always thought it would be so neat to be a twin!
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 18
Rebecca Tews, June 19
Wishful Endings, June 20 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 21
Texas Book-aholic, June 22
For the Love of Literature, June 23
Inklings and notions, June 24
For Him and My Family, June 25
Betti Mace, June 26
A Baker’s Perspective, June 27 (Author Interview)
April Hayman, Author, June 27
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 28
deb’s Book Review, June 29
Artistic Nobody, June 30 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, June 30
Blogging With Carol, July 1
Giveaway
Original post:
sorcharaicheal.booklikes.com/post/2708136/blood-sisters-review-and-giveaway
For the Love of Literature 