
Thicker than Blood
by C.J. Darlington
Published by Tyndale House
Winner of the
2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel Contest!
Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late?

C. J. began writing the story that would become Thicker than Blood (her first novel) when she was a fifteen-year-old homeschool student. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in the novel before cofounding her own online bookstore. Thicker than Blood was the winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel.
C. J. co-founded the Christian entertainment Web site TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Visit her website www.cjdarlington.com for more info.
C.J. Darlington has a cool name. It just shouts writer, don’t you think?” She also has a love of books that is obvious in her story telling.
In her first novel, Thicker than Blood, two sisters live in totally different worlds. Separated by years of remorse and confusion after the death of their parents, both are doing what they love most. May owns and runs a ranch, while Christy works for an antiquarian bookseller. The difference is—Christy’s life is a mess. Just when she thinks things are starting to look up, her world comes crashing down. In the resulting mayhem she realizes that she has nowhere else to go but to the sister she ran out on fifteen years before.
C.J. Darlington strives to show how Christians should reflect the love of God and reach out to those wounded and hurting in a sinful world. Thicker than Blood is a sweet and tender story that reminds us that God does deal in second chances. It’s a story about forgiveness and redemption. If you like quiet, thoughtful stories, filled with interesting details, this is the novel for you.
I’d love to win a copy of Thicker than Blood. I love the book trailer and the cover of the book. The plot sounds exciting.
“sweet and tender”, did you think of that on your own?
Not exactly a kindred spirit to your style of writing. 🙂
The world of fiction is big enough for both kinds, however.
Barbara… thanks so much for reading and reviewing Thicker than Blood!