Review: Cain’s Blood by Geoffrey Girard

Cain’s Blood
written by Geoffrey Girard
published by Touchstone

find it here: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: I was asked by the publisher to review this book. While it was out of my normal comfort zone, I wanted to give it a try. And I am so glad that I did! (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Did I enjoy this book: I was asked this by some family members. My response: “I hate it. But I love it. I don’t want to read it. But I can’t not read it.” How’s that for an answer? I read every free chance I had, so long as it was during the day. I couldn’t read this book at night … at least, not at night by myself. If there were people around, then I was able to read a bit of it.

Cain’s Blood was well-written and had me hooked after the first gruesome chapter. As I said above, this book is not something that I would normally pick off the shelf at my local bookstore. Nor is it a book I would necessarily pick after reading the blurb. But I was in the mood for something different. And different is what I got. Cain’s Blood was exciting, disturbing, gross, terrifying. It scared the crap out of me for the most part. Not necessarily due to the graphic scenes, but more due the fact that the murders were based on truth. People actually performed those horrifying acts. It also scared me because cloning has been done. I don’t know about cloning humans and doing everything that was done in this book, for the reasons they were done, etc, — but cloning has been done. What will be done with it in the future in the name of science, who knows.

Cain’s Blood did take a bizarre turn toward the end. Not anything so unbelievable that would make the book less real, but borderline. Part of me wishes it hadn’t taken that step. I understand why it did and how it all fits together, but it could have been left out. I also would have liked to have learned more about Dr. Jacobson. I wanted more about his history. He was a major player in Cain’s Blood but this story was not necessarily his. However, it was partly his story and I wanted a bit more about him. I liked Castillo, Ox, and Jeff Jacobson. I really did like him. I felt so bad for him — well, for some/most of the boys.

Like I said, I was terrified by this book, but I could not put it down. I wanted to know what happened. I had to know how this book ended. The epilogue left me with a chill and a shudder, a shudder I still have thinking about it while writing this review a day after I finished Cain’s Blood.

Would I recommend it: I would recommend this book to anyone who likes exciting, scary, spine-chilling stories that have an air of truth to them. Cain’s Blood is not for the faint of heart, squeamish, or for those with sensitive ears.

Will I read it again: I will not.

About the book – from Goodreads: Ted Bundy. The Son of Sam. The Boston Strangler. Albert Fish. Henry Lee Lucas.

The DNA of the world’s most notorious serial killers has been cloned by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a new breed of bioweapon. Now in Phase Three, the program includes dozens of young men who have no clue as to their evil heritage. Playing a twisted game of nature vs. nurture, scientists raise some of the clones with loving families and others in abusive circumstances. But everything changes when the most dangerous boys are set free by their creator. A man with demons of his own, former black ops soldier Shawn Castillo is hot on their trail. But Castillo didn’t count on the quiet young man he finds hiding in an abandoned house—a boy who has just learned he is the clone of Jeffrey Dahmer. As Jeffrey and Castillo race across the country on the trail of the rampaging teens, Castillo must protect the boy who is the embodiment of his biggest fears—and who may also be his last hope. Melding all-too-plausible science and ripped from- the-headlines horror, Cain’s Blood is a stunning debut about the potential for good and evil in us all.

 

Happy reading wherever you are and whenever you get a free chance!!!