Could not really get past the first 10% of this book.
You know those books that get started right in the middle of a story - sort of like you're pushed into the deep end of a pool with a flimsy float that eventually starts to do its job?
Blood Relations was like that - but with sharks swimming around you, no end in sight, and the float disintegrates the moment you hit the water.

It just got more and more convoluted and had so much assumed knowledge on part of the reader, that I was lost from the beginning and just kept getting more lost.

Tried to read it three times from the beginning thinking maybe I missed something. I didn't. Gave up eventually.

Description
A new thriller from a writer who’s been compared to Michael Crichton, Alfred Hitchcock, Raymond Chandler, Blake Crouch, and David Cronenberg takes us to the most menacing core of California’s upper crust, a class of billionaires with more money than they could spend in an eternity.

Who is Claire Gravesend? So wonders PI Lee Crowe when he finds her dead, in a fine cocktail dress, on top of a Rolls Royce, in the most dangerous neighborhood in San Francisco. Claire’s mother, Olivia, is one of the richest people in California. She doesn’t believe the coroner: her daughter did not kill herself. Olivia hires Crowe, who—having just foiled a federal case against a cartel kingpin—is eager for distraction. But the questions about the Gravesend family pile up fast. First, the autopsy reveals round scars running down Claire’s spine, old marks Olivia won’t explain. Then, Crowe visits Claire’s Boston townhouse and has to fend off an armed intruder. Is it the Feds out for revenge? Or is this connected to the Gravesends? He leaves Boston afraid, but finds his way to Claire’s secret San Francisco pied-à-terre. It’s there that his questions come to a head. Sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, he finds Claire—her face, her hair, her scars—and as far as he can tell, she’s alive. And Crowe’s back at the start:

MY REVIEW:
Blood Relations by Jonathan Moore is one of those books if you start will be able to put down until the very end. Moore has been compared to Michael Crichton, Alfred Hitchcock, Raymond Chandler, Blake Crouch, and David Cronenberg rightly so. As a fan of several of these authors, Moore is right up there with the best.

There are many books that you have to read several chapters into the novel to start enjoying it. Not with Blood Relations. This novel grabbed me from the start and did not let go of me until the very end.

What person sees a dead body and instead of calling 911 starts taking pictures of the deceased? Lee Crowe does just that and as a disbarred attorney turned private eye I guess he figured he could make some extra money selling the pictures. Little did he know that finding this particular dead woman in her Rolls Royce would change his life.

Claire Gravesend is dead and the daughter of one of the richest women around. Jim the man who he has been doing work for tells him a client needs a detective. They know Crowe sold a photograph to a tabloid and the mother Olivia wants to know what happened to her daughter. This leads Crowe into a world of secrets. Leaving Boston behind he heads to San Francisco for answers. There he finds more than he bargained for - was it suicide, did somebody kill claire or is there more to the story?

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jonathan Moore is one of my favorite writers, and I can now add this book to my list of top reads. Lee Crowe is a disbarred attorney turned private eye, working for his former lawyer friend Jim Gardner. While out on the job he comes upon a young lady sprawled on the top of a Rolls Royce on a late night in a bad area. He takes a photo, knowing he can sell it to a local paper, and if it turns out the lady is famous for one reason or another, he'll make a pretty good amount! Turns out the young lady is the daughter of one of the richest women in the year, and his photo now leads him on a course of murder and mayhem filled with secrets and lies of the rich. I enjoyed the storyline and the way he put the story together. Great read.

I'm a fan of the author and as per his previous books, I expected the usual brand of crime noir with a complicated protagonist and suggestions of dark technology. Blood Relations delivers on that front!

I felt immersed in the setting. There's a gritty darkness where everything has its place, and every move has a purpose. There is plenty of action and while Crowe's abilities to bounce back from his injuries may seem a little preposterous, I found myself rooting for him. Despite his moral greyness and questionable methods, he wants to do the right thing. There is a sideplot involving his ex-wife where there is a sense of unfinished history between them. This is where we see another side of the hard investigator and makes him more human.

While the plot veers into science fiction it doesn't fall into melodrama. The noir elements remain intact and make the story feels grounded. The villains are believable and real enough to be terrifying. Propulsive and compelling, Blood Relations is highly recommended.

I am new to this author but this will definitely not be the last time I read any of his books. Blood Relations is a past paced book about a private detective (disbarred attorney) who is hired to look into the apparent suicide of a beautiful rich young woman.
The story takes us through California and Boston leaving a trail of bodies in its wake all for the sake of eternal life.
I loved the main characters Lee Cowen as the PI and Olivia Gravesend as the 5th richest woman who is the mother of Claire who was found sprawled dead on the roof of a luxury car. The plot is believable up to a point but so are most scams.
I will definitely recommend this book and happily give it 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I will read anything this author writes, and I am never disappointed. I just bought copies for my fiction collection and will look forward to recommending this one to my Noir fans. Thanks for the opportunity to read it early! I have promoted it on Twitter a number of times already. Hope @JonMooreFiction continues to write books.. He also has a great surname. :D

Blood Relations by Jonathan Moore is really more of a 3.75 book, but Goodreads and this site don't offer that. I liked the writing style of Moore- it felt like an old school crime/detective novel. Kind of moody and dark. The story kept me guessing for a long time- why does she have the marks on her? How is there someone out there with the same marks who looks just like her? As with many thriller type novels, the ending was a bit implausible. But still, the concepts put forth in the book were different from other books in this genre- the quest for eternal youth, our youth obsessed society, etc. I would definitely read other books by this author!

Lee Crowe runs Leland Crowe Agency, Private Investigations, after being struck off from the California Bar Association. Lee now works undercover for attorney Jim Gardner and Lee is known for getting the job done whatever it takes.

Claire Gravesend, a beautiful blonde wearing a black cocktail dress, falls onto a half million dollar car. Last place Lee wants to be when the police arrive especially working undercover but he thinks a couple of quick photographs could provide a good investment.

Jim asks me to assist his client Olivia Gravesend understand what happened to her daughter, Claire.

What starts out as a conservative investigation into a potential suicide starts to unravel into a suspense thriller with gripping twists to the end.