Blood Ties: A Clara Thriller

Norwegian author Lillegraven’s disjointed sequel to 2021’s Everything Is Mine finds widow Clara Loftus, whose husband, Henrik, recently drowned while swimming in a lake, welcoming her new job as Norway’s minister of justice, despite her minimal political experience, because it’s her big chance to help abused children. Soon after taking office, though, she starts feeling trapped by her new role. One day, she returns to her Oslo home to discover that her young sons, twins Andreas and Nikolai, have been kidnapped; a note warns her not to contact the police. Accompanied by her government-assigned driver-cum-bodyguard, Clara embarks on a search for her sons that takes her to her hometown in western Norway, where her mother has recently been released from a mental hospital after 30 years. Clara’s dark past gradually emerges in short, rapid-fire chapters narrated from the chilling perspectives of multiple characters. Lillegraven tries hard to mesh various strands of guilt and retribution together, but too many plot lines are left unsatisfyingly hanging. Psychological thriller fans will hope for better next time. Agent: Gina Winje, Winje Agency. (July)