Thicker than Blood
Publisher Description
Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She's putting her past behind her and working hard to build her career as a buyer for a large used bookstore. So far she's been able to keep her drinking problem at bay, but everything changes when she lands a DUI on her thirty-third birthday.
When she's accused of a crime she didn't commit at work, she has nowhere to turn. She yearns for her estranged family, especially her younger sister May whom she hasn't seen for fifteen years. Now the owner of a failing cattle ranch in Elk Valley, Colorado, May couldn't possibly want a relationship with the big sister who didn't even say good-bye all those years ago, could she?
Soon Christy's fleeing from her shattered dreams, her abusive ex-boyfriend, and God. Could the Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she's searching for, or will May's new-found faith give her even more reason to reject Christy?
Thicker than Blood is Book #1 in the Thicker than Blood series. All books stand alone entirely and can be read independently of each other, but for the best reading experience, we suggest reading them in order:
Book #1: Thicker than Blood
Book #2: Bound by Guilt
Book #3: Ties that Bind
Book #4: Running on Empty
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Darlington, a debut author and winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest, enters the evangelical Christian publishing arena with a story that deals in antique bookselling and unresolved interpersonal relationships. Orphaned sisters Christy and May Williams have chosen very different paths after the sudden death of their parents 15 years earlier. Christy retreats into alcohol and abusive relationships, while younger sister May tries her hand at running a ranch. When the death of a close relative brings the two estranged sisters together, internal pain resurfaces that cannot be ignored by either one. Slowly, amid violence and false accusations, Christy moves toward May, emotionally and spiritually, as both young women discover the possibility of second chances. Darlington's setting in the fascinating world of antiquarian bookselling is clever; unfortunately much of the story is too formulaic to provide what could have been a compelling reading excursion.
