Gwyn Bennett’s Secrets of the Blood welcomes us to the largest island in the British Channels – Jersey with an inviting description of the quiet European landscape. Peeping through the eyes of an elderly tourist couple, the alluring views immediately transport one away from the noise-filled bustling cities. Feels like a wonderful, promising escapade! Or is it?
Like a lifting mirage, the beauty unveils the dread beneath. The couple tumbles into a grotesque execution of a prominent local figure amidst the ruins of Batterie Lothringen and, thus, begins the police investigation.
Picking up the effects of World War II, Gwyn stitches the story of the Cabot family dipped with family secrets and long-standing grudges painted within the theme of Karma. Can the impact of one’s actions trickle down generations before the circle of life completes?
The novel is an out-and-out police procedural that calls upon the might of Detective Inspector Winter Labey and forensic psychologist Saskia Monet to investigate the crime. We see the usual build-up of the suspects, detection, and a hell lot of monotonous interviews, yet the story never loses its steam.
Much credit for establishing an unwavering interest goes to the unique characterisation of Monet. How does a criminal profiler who is also the daughter of a serial killer and sister to a high-functioning psychopath visit horrendous crime scenes every day and manage her interpersonal relationships while keeping herself perfectly sane?
“One simple action can so easily snowball into a chain reaction with terrible consequences.”
I love when crime stories focus beyond the main storyline and expand their narrative scope to include a sneak peek into the personal lives of their leads. It makes one form a direct connection with the character and ensures that we read, re-read, and keep reading the pages. Gwyn does that with Monet. She makes us feel for her, empathise with her, and, in the end, scream at her not to screw up her life!
Like the MCU’s (Marvel Cinematic Universe) famous post-credits scenes and in-line story nuggets, the author also packs a lot of potential threads to allow the growth of the novel into a full-fledged series. This novel is the second in the Monet series following “The Stolen Ones”, and the open story arcs will definitely want us to pick the next Monet story. Just to satiate our curiosity.
That being said, unfortunately, the novel’s main story suffers from a predictive plotline and lack of “I caught you by surprise” twists. Despite many potential red herrings, figuring out the black sheep became pretty simple towards the end. The back-cover premise itself had all but spelt out half of the story and parts of the killer’s motive!
Yet I will tag this steady-paced whodunit crime story as enjoyable not because of the spilt Cabot blood but because of the very much alive Monet’s bloodline!
