Annie Hansen, a young schizophrenic private eye, is tasked with solving the murders of the town mayor and a local doctor in the small town of Serendipity, Canada. Together with handsome detective Mark Snow, they set to bring the killer to justice.But Annie is haunted by her past, unable to overcome her mother’s death and her father deserting their family. Soon after, the investigation takes a … takes a surprising turn when Annie and her boyfriend find themselves among the suspects.
What is the cryptic message left on the late doctor’s charts… and is it possible that Annie, or one of her friends, is responsible for the crimes?
Praise for BLOOD SISTER:
“A charming murder mystery” – Gisela Hausmann, author & blogger
“A uniquely courageous and quirky whodunit with a fresh voice.” – Jesse Giles Christiansen
more
I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry after finishing this enjoyable crime-mystery, because it deals with the serious difficulties of mental illness. Kenna McKinnon uses her special perspective to portray the boundaries of sanity in a light-hearted manner. The author uses her main character Annie, as a way to shed light on the voices, medications and visions accompanying schizophrenia, thus educating readers while being entertaining at the same time. My favorite parts were the clever metaphors, similes and allegorical comparisons throughout the novel, pulling the reader down into a rabbit hole, into a work of true creativity.
After her father took up with a woman from Curacao and her mother passed away, Annie ended up alone and on the streets of Serendipity Island. After getting in and out of trouble, she finally receives medication and a job working undercover for the Justice Department. This time the case is a double murder and everyone’s a suspect, especially her Sudanese boyfriend Samir and his cousin Pepsi. But those awful, distracting voices make her doubt everything, until they hire a special investigator called Mark. That’s when she calls Tess the Avon representative with Attention Deficit Disorder for some coral colored lipstick. Annie’s working hard on the case but she has a newfound interest in her clothing and looks, which help develop confidence while dealing with condescending people who have known her for a long time. With Viking blood coursing through her veins, she knows she’s strong and faces all her fears. Will she crack the case? Read Blood Sister and find out.
Lines such as “You’re crazy as a rabbit with its ears caught in a sewing machine,” or “The sergeant was grinning like a dog eating cat turds,” had me laughing aloud.
This talented author not only pulled me into her story, but also into the scariest place of all: her mind. In other words, it’s a great book and I recommend it.
Annie has issues & plenty of them. Voices in her head and OCD cause havoc as she struggles to hold down her job as assistant detective on Serendipity Island but she carries on regardless, determined to bring Doc’s killer to justice. I absolutely loved the light-hearted way in which the author carried the story forward, yet could also appreciate the difficult mental health problems & disabilities that are handled within the tale. This is a perfect example of empathetic writing, where bold, vibrant characters have been created, yet realistically touching upon otherwise taboo subjects. A must read for any crime lover.
The story line of this murder mystery is well drawn and though you might guess the culprit you will not know for sure who it is until the last pages have been read. That is why I say Keep Reading. The characters are interesting and vital, especially the main character whose experiences with schizophrenia might well be mirrored in those of the author. I wondered if this was autobiographical for a while. Whether it was or not, great job with her character makes a very interesting and challenging piece of work.
Why This Book
I’d heard a few good things about Blood Sister by author Kenna McKinnon from some fellow readers and decided to take a chance on it. It was published in 2015 by Creativia and has a very unique set of characters and multiple voices (you’ll get this joke later on)… let’s get on to the review.
Plot, Characters & Setting
Set in contemporary Canada, this quirky novel tells the story of two vicious murders of the town mayor and doctor in Serendipity. While the police lead the investigation, they’ve called in a consultant private-eye who has a unique relationship with the detectives working on the case. She’s a schizophrenic who still hears voices and is currently on a stress leave while she re-adjusts to new medication levels. As if that’s not enough of a reason to draw you in, Annie is married to another interesting fellow, Samir, a Sudanese man who has a few issues of his own to deal with, but they may just be trying to pull the wool over their guardian’s eyes… as they’re barely in their early 20s and not quite ready to be on their own based on a few crimes they too committed in the past. Add in a sexy new detective named Mark Snow who just happens to have the same initials as the possible murderer and you’ve got yourself quite a corker to figure out!
Approach & Style
I read this 294-page mystery and suspense novel over ~4 hours on my iPad via Kindle Reader. It’s broken into ~90 chapters which means each one is relatively short around 3 to 4 pages. While it could be difficult to tell who’s talking, given all the personalities sometimes taking control of Annie, author McKinnon has kindly italicized those moments so readers are quick to follow along. The story is told in third-person POV with a perspective focusing on the main character, Annie, and her adventures not only in solving the crime, but deciding how to handle her relationship with Samir and feelings for Mark.
Key Thoughts
Let’s focus on the mystery first. Two dead people always make a story more complicated. Was it a single murderer, a serial killer with more victims in his/her plan, or just two very unrelated incidents. Lots of red herrings and different motives, both real and faked, help move this plot along nicely.
You’ll either love or hate the characters. They are portrayed quite well, so it’ll really come down to your ability to see through the quirks and nuances versus the games they seem to be playing with each other and within poor Annie’s mind. I’m in awe of how the author kept this all in line!
There are a lot of side-stories going on which help keep readers interested in all the action and characters. Between birds and cats, foreigners and natives, old historic beliefs and medical approaches, the novel seems to have a bit of everything. It’s a lot to keep track of, but imagine what that’s like for Annie who has to try to assemble all the clues while her schizophrenia idles up and down depending on her adjustment to the medicine.
Throw in a bit of romance, some Canadian humor, and the potential for some fun and silliness, you’ve got yourself quite a unique read. If you’re looking for something different and logical in its own right, this would be a great choice to push your reading comforts. The best part is following Annie’s mind and voice throughout the story. She’s got a lot of charm and intelligence, and you never quite know what she might say out loud unintentionally. I know a few people like that!
Summary
This was a unique book and I don’t think I expected it to be what it turned out to be — but that’s certainly not a bad thing either! It has all the drama, mystery and suspense you’d expect in this type of novel, but it gives you a very different setting and tone as part of the ride. I like when books throw me for a loop, especially when you need to re-orient how you think in order to align your reading style. Kudos to the author for finding great formatting, approaches and character descriptions to help make everything pop on the page.
i enjoyed the novel. It was informative about the struggles of schizophrenic people, who overcome the what folks think about their abilities, and prove that they can be successful in spite of their mental condition.
very interesting story & a view of how things are not always what we see or think. my first good understanding of schizophrenia written by an author who suffers from this mental illness. it took a few pages for me to get the hang of how this story went then it became very interesting.
tedious and poorly written. i stopped reading it after about 30 pages.
Remarkable heroine who is schizophrenic. Definitely a new take on the genre.
Great read.
The author writes from what she knows. The main character was equally charming and frustrating! While it took forever to solve the case, I really didn’t seem to mind the wait. I was enthralled with the way Annie managed the challenges of her life.
It sure wasn’t your average detective novel. See the world through the eyes of a real schizophrenic cause the author is one…which made this psychological thriller amusing in all the right places. Try something truly different-read this book.
A little long winded at times, and nothing to do with the murders. It was like filling up the pages to make the book longer. About half way through you get the impression you are going to find out who the killer is, but no,. Wanted to finish the book to see who did the deed.
Loved this book!
This was totally unpredictable! If you like surprises keep reading!
I got maybe 10 pages in before I deleted it from my kindle.
The author, apparently, is actually schizophrenic and seems to want to give us a real version of life from that point of view. I would applaud that. However, I found the book hard to follow, rambling, and characters that were not well-developed. A lot of repetition that did not add to the whole narrative.
The main character in Blood Sister makes it clear from the beginning that she’s schizophrenic and OCD. This initially caused me to wonder if this was going to be yet another fictional work in which the main character’s disability or disabilities–or rather educating the reader about it– is going to play a more important role than the character him/her (or their) self at the expense of the plot, dialogue and other elements that make a good mystery a good mystery.
My concerns were for naught. Yes, Annie Hansen has her hangups–don’t we all?–but experiencing these through the eyes of a schizophrenic young woman trying to pull her life together and balance the costs and medications to help her takes this book above the pack. Annie is who she is and, unlike a lot of us, she’s knows this. She works hard, she makes mistakes, she does things her own way because she has to.
I fear I’m not describing this in a way that does justice to the book or the author. The author enables the reader to get inside of Annie’s head which turns out to be a sometimes strange place to be. In retrospect, I think the main reason I was willing to stay in Annie’s head is because she’s such a tough survivor. She makes mistakes, but she never gives up. Can’t help admiring her for that.
It was different but interesting. Some facts not right. You can’t get dried blood off a fireplace poker that was dropped in the ocean.
Poorly written and repetitive throughout the book. Just weird.
For the most part it is a good book. Interesting characters. Good story line. But kind of wordy.