Blood Lies

Author Daniel Kalla is an Emergency Room physician in Vancouver and in this story the protagonist, Ben Dafoe, is an ER doctor in Seattle. The story takes place in both cities. At the beginning of the book I thought, for an ER doctor, this guy is making a lot of bad choices but this less important as the story became more complex and the twists piled up. And although there is an identical twin factor, it's not the old worn out motif but fits well into the plot. It was a first rate medical thriller with excellent characters. I can't wait to read more of Kalla's books. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys mysteries.

"What on earth is this author thinking?" is what I thought as I began to read this book. Daniel Kalla has written a thriller/murder mystery utilizing the good ol' EVIL TWIN routine. I just couldn't imagine this novel could be that great, centering around such an eye-rolling, forehead-slapping cliche.

Fortunately, Daniel Kalla is an emergency room physician whose medical experience allows him to take this age-old trope and make it more believable. With DNA evidence (which is a perfect match among twins) and other pleasant little bits of medical knowledge, the story premise becomes much less far-fetched.

Add to that some likable characters, an intriguing mystery, and an addicting plot; and you get what turns out to be a very well-written show more thriller. This is my 2nd novel written by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

(Warning: Reading the Amazon plot summary spoils the ending of the book) show less

Emergency room doctor Ben Dafoe receives a call from the police. This is not unusual as he often consults on matters of blood in murder cases. However, this one is a little different – the victim is his ex-fiancee. To make matters worse, some of the blood found at the scene belongs to Ben. Proclaiming his innocence, yet fleeing Seattle in favour of Vancouver Ben tries to clear his name.

This book is full of twists and turns, doctors, cops, crooked lawyers, sex, drugs but, alas, no rock and roll. Ben is a truly likeable character and he carries the book well. A light summer read for fans of a pretty good who-dun-it.