Bloodline

Perfect town. Perfect homes. Perfect families. It’s enough to drive some women mad…In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting.And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village.The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows.Her fiancé tells her she’s being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth.

“Fans of Rosemary’s Baby will relish this.” —Publishers Weekly “Based on a true story, this is a sinister, suspenseful thriller full of creeping horror.” —Kirkus Reviews “Lourey ratchets up the fear in a novel that verges on horror.” —Library Journal “In Bloodline, Jess Lourey blends elements of mystery, suspense, and horror to stunning effect.” —BOLO Books “Inspired by a true story, it’s a creepy page-turner that has me eager to read more of Ms. Lourey’s works, especially if they’re all as incisive as this thought-provoking novel.” —Criminal Element “Bloodline by Jess Lourey is a psychological thriller that grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let go.” —Mystery & Suspense Magazine “Bloodline blends page-turning storytelling with clever homages to such horror classics as Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, and Harvest Home.” —Toronto Star “Bloodline is a terrific, creepy thriller, and Jess Lourey clearly knows how to get under your skin.” —Bookreporter “[A] tightly coiled domestic thriller that slowly but persuasively builds the suspense.” —South Florida Sun Sentinel “I should know better than to pick up a new Jess Lourey book, thinking I’ll just peek at the first few pages and get then back to the book I was reading. Six hours later, it’s three in the morning and I’m racing through the last few chapters, unable to sleep until I know how it all ends. Set in an idyllic small town rooted in family history and horrific secrets, Bloodline is Pleasantville meets Rosemary’s Baby. A deeply unsettling, darkly unnerving, and utterly compelling novel, this book chilled me to the core, and I loved every bit of it.” —Jennifer Hillier, author of Little Secrets and the award-winning Jar of Hearts “Jess Lourey writes small-town Minnesota like Stephen King writes small-town Maine. Bloodline is a tremendous book with a heart and a hacksaw…and I loved every second of it.” —Rachel Howzell Hall, author of the critically acclaimed novels And Now She’s Gone and They All Fall Down

Jess Lourey is the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things, The Catalain Book of Secrets, the Salem’s Cipher thrillers, and the Mira James mysteries, among many other works, including young adult, short stories, and nonfiction. An Agatha, Anthony, and Lefty Award nominee, Jess is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology and a leader of writing retreats. She is also a recipient of The Loft’s Excellence in Teaching fellowship, a Psychology Today blogger, and a TEDx presenter. Check out her TEDx Talk for the inspiration behind her first published novel. When she’s not leading writing workshops, reading, or spending time with her friends and family, you can find her working on her next story. Discover more at www.jessicalourey.com.