Spilled Blood

A Novel

By: Brian Freeman

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A taut thriller about two rural Minnesota towns locked in a deadly feud - and a teenage girl caught in the crossfire.

Linked by the Spirit River, the two towns couldn’t be more different: in affluent Barron, a powerful and secretive scientific research corporation enriches its residents, while downriver in blue-collar St. Croix, victims of that company’s carcinogenic waste struggle to survive. The bad blood between the communities escalates into open warfare when the beautiful Ashlynn, daughter of the corporation’s president, is found shot dead - and a St. Croix girl, Olivia Hawk, is accused of the crime.

Reluctantly, Olivia’s mother summons her estranged husband, Christopher, a Minneapolis lawyer, to come defend his daughter. As Christopher struggles to unravel the mystery of Ashlynn’s murder and save his own daughter, he uncovers some ugly truths that endanger the residents of both towns. And looming over everything are the chilling, apocalyptic threats from a murderous psychopath known only as "Aquarius".

©2012 Brian Freeman (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

Thriller Award Winner, Best Novel, 2013

“Brian Freeman is, quite simply, a first-rate storyteller.” (Nelson DeMille, New York Times best-selling author)

“This guy can tell a story.” (Michael Connelly)

“Harrowing.... Freeman ratchets up the suspense steadily, and then provides a cataclysmic ending.” (Publishers Weekly)

Good trusts and turns

This was a good read. Had some interesting plot twists and it wasn't predictable. I liked the way the characters related I'm a believable way

I'm ready for another Brian Freeman book now!

Gosh, this one was a winner. It's about adults and their struggles but the teens who are involved make this a richer book and story. I was completely engaged throughout the entire book. Freeman is a master with story and somehow pulling in so many facets of people and possibilities. Joe Barrett does a great job with the narration. I have enjoyed him on other Brian Freeman books and will be looking for this duo for the next one. I'm going shopping right now!

A Brian Freeman stand-alone, very good.

Another novel from Brian Freeman, a stand-alone, this time about southern Minnesota. Freeman is particularly good at describing scenery. Two towns on the Spirit River: one a prosperous town with a plant that manufactures pesticides and genetically modified grain. Down the river a second town, where working class people live, many without jobs, and some dying inexplicably of cancer, perhaps from the water brought down river from the first town? The working class town files a suit against the owner of the plant in the other town regarding the cancer deaths, but a top knotch scientist is brought in to analyze the river and the soil, and finds the company not at fault. But now the two towns are at the boiling point, and teenagers from either town roam into the other town reeking havoc-not unlike gang warfare in cities. Ashlyn, the daughter of the plant owner, is murdered in a deserted ghost town that used to be a town before the land was too damaged to support life. One of the last people to see her was Olivia, whose best friend, Kimberly, had died from leukemia, which people blame on the water. Olivia and Ashlyn have an argument, and the next day Ashlyn is dead. The last one people think saw her alive was Olivia, so the county attorney is going to bring murder charges against her. Olivia’s mother, Hannah, calls her ex-husband, a top knotch criminal defense lawyer in to help his daughter. As the story moves along, more and more layers of secrets involving the residents of both towns are revealed. A very good thriller which doesn’t back down in intensity through the entire book. Joe Barrett continues to read Freeman’s books for the audio version, and his somewhat informal chatty style fits these books well.

The writing keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Very well written and exciting the entire way through. Great character building.

What did you like best about this story?

As the story moves along, more and more layers of secrets involving the residents of both towns are revealed. Excellent character building. A very good thriller which doesn't back down in intensity through the entire book. Wonderful twists and turns. Just as you try to figure out the mystery, you learn something new and I was caught by surprise at the ending. This is a very exciting book!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I wish I could have listened to this in one sitting, but I needed to break up the time.

Complex but easy to understand 'who done it'

If you could sum up Spilled Blood in three words, what would they be?

This is a terrific book with a story so complex yet easily followed leaving me guessing until the very end - and then to have more than one killer. Three words: complex, understandable, strong finish.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Spilled Blood?

The dad/attorney who was not so good

Have you listened to any of Joe Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Spilling Blood is fine by me

My First Brian Freeman Won't Be My Last

Took a long time to get past the narrator making everyone other than the main character sound like they just got off the boat from Sweden. Annoying. He also leaned toward the melodramatic too often. Otherwise, he did okay, good diction and easy to understand. There are really three mysteries and two of them kept me guessing until the very end, as suspects were slowly eliminated. Even down to the last two, I wasn’t sure. The ending was great. I love it when mystery authors not only tie up the loose ends, but give me that little extra satisfaction. The characters were all well-developed and believable and the dialog realistic. The setting was excellent, enough but not too much detail. The overall quality of the actual writing was weak in places, but story trumps for me, and he nailed that. 5 stars. Sensitive readers should be aware of triggers. Recommend for everyone else.

Loved it.

I really enjoyed this book. I did not expect the ending so it was refreshing to be surprised and a little taken aback.

Just Okay

The story was decent but the narrators voice sounded like he was trying too hard to do a Minnesotan accent.

gripping

Could not put it down. Loved the chsracters though they were not believable. strong plot.

excellant

Terrific Story first time with this Author, woukd have never of guessed. the ending