Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC, in exchange for an honest review. Quite the ride! Very cinematic in scope and very much had been guessing till the very end. I want more!

Not by Blood is a standalone debut thriller by author, Chris Narozny. A story of childhood trauma, family relationships and the questions we ask about how well we really know those who are our ‘blood’. Tina and her biological brother, Bill faced in childhood something that no child should have to. Their father was convicted of murdering their mother and Tina was sent to live with a foster family and Bill, a group home. Years later, Tina’s search to find her missing brother might uncover more than she bargained for. This one was a quick read and the pace fast moving. The story took a little bit to set up all the characters, layers and backstory but then what unfolded was a gripping ride to the end as the author peeled back layer after layer until the very end leaving me shook. I enjoyed this chilling family mystery and would read more by this author.

This was an okay read but I struggled to get into it, the premise was good although it reminded me a lot of a previous book I've read. We follow Tina through most of the book and I just couldn't warm to her as a character. Some great parts, I just didn't love it.

@cnarozny1’s debut crime thriller novel is a page turner with a great twist at the end. The story follows EMT, Tina Evans, who had a traumatic childhood. Her biological father is in jail for murdering her mother. After the murder, Tina and her brother, Bill, are put into the foster care system. Tina ends up being adopted while Bill is put into a group home.
Now Bill reaches out to Tina because he is in trouble and this leads to Tina trying to figure out why her family is being targeted.
I highly recommend checking out this book and can’t wait to read more books by @cnarozny1

Thank you @crookedlanebooks and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

This book was hard for me to get into. Tina gets a call from her brother saying he’s in trouble….again. When she arrives at his home, she discovers the body of a detective. Good idea for a book, I just had a hard time getting into this book. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

A great debut novel from this author. It was a quick read at less than 300 pages and I finished in an afternoon.

The story was fast moving but I did guess the ending. A woman searching for her brother, a troubled man who she believes in danger. She will do anything to protect him, putting herself and her family in danger.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for my copy of this book to read.

When Tina gets a text from her brother for help, she expects to find him overdosing again. What she finds instead is a dead body of a detective. Just as she is about to call the cops, she gets a mysterious text saying Shh. She decides to uncover the truth to save herself.

The writing here just wasn’t for me. I think it could’ve started too with the Shh then worked back to get there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This one was not a bad read but was ok.
I tried to connect or relate to characters and wasn’t really able to. They were not very likable.
Not my favorite.

Unfortunately, I could not connect to this book at all. I read about 20% and basically nothing happened, there wasn't anything that could get me interested into the story. The first couple of chapters were fine and complling, but after the husband's mysterious accident, it seemed to drag on forever. The main character, Tina, seemed all over the place, and it didn't convince me to want to find out what happened to her brother, husband, or anyone.

Sorry, did not finish.

A gritty crime thriller for fans of No Exit or The Chain!

Tina is yet again hitting up a trap house to come to the rescue of her older brother Bill.

When she arrives, he is nowhere to be found.
His sketchpad is left behind with some portraits of a face she doesn't recognize and a phone number in the back.

A weird old man with a pet cockroach does take her to see a friend of Bill's tho. Dumb Jake, who's actually just Dead Jake, a private investigator with a link back to her family.

Where is Bill and how is all of this connected?!

This was really good. I'm not usually into thrillers but the addict brother aspect interested me and I felt a lot for the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review! This is definitely an author to watch out for in this genre.

I had a hard time getting into this novel. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters, which was unfortunate. The concept itself was really interesting, but for some reason it didn't wow me.

Not by blood was okay but I can't say I was blown away by it, I found the plot improbable and the main character Tina wasn't someone i warmed too and with the convuluted plot I found I sometimes had to reread sections to make sense of them. Maybe it would work better as a tv programme as the book is definitely missing something to make it wow.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book! I appreciate the tension built in this book, but I don’t think the characters were developed enough for me to really feel invested in their lives.

3.5 stars.
Tina has been caring for her drug-addict brother forthe last twenty years, but this time is different, Bill calls for help but when she arrives it's the body of a dead detective she finds instead of Bill. To make matters more confusing, his two last missed calls are from her husband, a filthily rich philanthropist architect. What happened in that squat? And what have the three man to do with each other?
As Tina starts to investigate, things start to unfold, Tom's a victim of a hit and run, her brother went visiting her incarcerated father without her knowing, she also has a detective on her back.

The characters:
To be honest, I had a hard time connecting with Tina's character, I understand the fact that she wants to save her brother, but what mother never calls or texts to ask about her only child? She meant well by leaving him at his uncle (her step brother), but never asking for news for days? And what kind of reckless person leaves out hunting potentially dangerous criminals without notifing the authoroties or a trusted someone?

The plot:
It was solid with lots of twists and turns, was a bit slow at the beginning but then picked up the pace, I had my doubts on what's going on but nothing to back it up, beautiful move by the author to keep me reading and wondering if my suspicions were well placed or not.

For a debut novel, it certainly is an interesting one, and kind of unputdownable if you start to suspect someone early in your reading. So, I do recommend it for thriller lovers, for we might be witnessing the birth of another good thriller writer!

Thanks Netgalley for the copy!

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Tina’s brother is an addict and when he calls for help she goes to his place but he is nowhere to be found and there is a dead private investigator in his place. Additionally her husband is in a coma after an accident and her father is serving a long jail term for killing her mother years ago. What is going on?

This book was ok for me. Solid enough premise. I found I got bored midway through. I lost interest in the various nefarious characters that turned up and had trouble keeping them straight. Good enough ending that I didn’t see coming but I was too checked out in the middle to fully get back into it. Would consider reading more from this author though.

2.5 stars - rounded to 3
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an exciting thriller with an interesting and complex plot with many moving pieces. I think Narozny did a good job of describing Tina's past and the nature of the important relationships in her life.
I'm always skeptical of a male author trying to write a female character, and this was no different. The very voice and tone of the text made me think that the protagonist was male until her name (not her nickname) was spelled out in Chapter 3. This made some parts wildly unbelievable to me, such as Tina not telling anyone her whereabouts before going to meet a murderous and potentially threatening man. I also didn't find it believable that Tina wouldn't call the police to protect her brother. I don't know what it's like in the USA, but in Canada, there are some situations where people addicted to substances won't be indicted.
Though the book was fun to read, the author's depiction of an "overdose" was not accurate. Someone who's overdosing is unable to stand, speak, or carry a weapon. Maybe this was just a glitch in terminology, but it was a big one, I thought.
Oh, and having 3 different characters named Alan, Alden, and Aiden? What is that about?
I would recommend this for people who like butch straight women and those who can handle a long list of characters without getting them mixed up or confused.

I really enjoyed this book. I wish there was more relationship interactions. A lot of the story was Tina (Teen) on her own (which makes sense in the story so I’m not complaining.) I just enjoyed the characters so I would have liked to seen the way they interacted.

Following a phone call one evening, Tina Evans is led on a crazy search to locate her addicted brother. While trying to find her brother and rescue him from peril, Tina learns many family secrets.

The book was good; nothing more, nothing less. However, the plot simply didn't hold my interest as much as I had thought oror would have liked. would Despite being full of twists, they occasionally confused me or made me feel as though I had read a similar story previously.

It was a good thriller! Hard to follow at times. I wouldn’t read it again. It made my heart race in certain parts though for sure

This book started out strong, but fell flat afterwards.
Teena is looking for her brother Bill. She receives a mysterious call from him saying that things are really bad. With Bill being addict, Teena runs to his rescue, only to find he isn't where he said he would be once she has arrived.
Throughout the book she continues to look for Bill, meeting a few shady characters along the way, who also happen to be looking for Bill as well