In Their Blood
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Book Club Picks: In Their Blood

Jeremy Stroeb doesn't want to come home. He doesn't want to finish his accounting degree at NYU. He doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of his parents, living the life an exceedingly privileged young man.

All his wants become null and void when he gets the call that both of his parents have been brutally murdered in their own beds. Jeremy catches the first flight home from Europe to take his rightful place in his family home. Only now, it's just himself and his younger sister Elise.

He decides that the best thing he can do is avenge his parents death. Jeremy figures he'll sign up for classes at the local college where his dad was a beloved, tenured professor, and work as an assistant auditor in the firm his mother helped build from the ground up. He can be "on the inside" of his parents world, take care of his sister, and actually do something with his life all at once.

Of course, this is not as easy as it first seems. Jeremy is immediately caught up in a tangled web of love and deceit, woven by his own parents. With more than a few distractions along the way (Marina, the sexy grad assistant or Robbie, the thoughtful junior exec at the firm), he might have bitten off more than he can chew!

Book Club Picks: In Their Blood Opinion

Mysteries have been the name of my game recently, so I was pleasantly surprised, and then equally floored to read this novel from start to finish without stopping. It was an "up until the wee hours of the morning" kind of book for me. It doesn't get much better.

Although I had a pretty good list in my head of possible suspects, I liked that the author kept us guessing right up through the end. Every few chapters I would change my mind, intent on blaming one character or another, only to have it pulled in another direction once new, compelling evidence was brought to light. Not only did the book keep me guessing, it also had me literally on the edge of my seat. I felt jumpy, suspicious, and vaguely overwhelmed as I worked my way through the narrative.

All these other reasons aside, the best part of the book is that the two murdered characters, D.C. and Rachel, are so vibrantly alive in the action that it's hard to remember they are dead. But then once you do, it's like a stabbing pain to the heart all over again. Just like the fruitless wishing that the Titanic won't sink after all, I kept wishing that perhaps D.C. and Rachel weren't really dead. I wanted them badly to come back to life, if only for the sake of their children.

Overall, a very interesting read with a plot line that could definitely find its way into a theatre someday.

Book Club Picks: In Their Blood Discussion Questions

1. Is Jeremy an irresponsible brat? If so, is it his fault for behaving this way or a result of his upbringing?
2. Do you like Marina? Why or why not?
3. Which twist in the story was most shocking for you? Why?

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