Bloodline

• Nate and Marcus are half brothers born and raised in the ghetto of South Florida by their unstable, single mother. During a playground fight, Marcus defends his brother by stabbing a bully who is threatening his brother s life. When Marcus father finds out about his son s behavior, he removes Marcus from his mother s home. Years later, the brothers are reunited on the streets of Miami, but on diff

A killer is on the loose. The victims: children whose mothers can't protect them.

The past is coming back to haunt the people of London: a murderer is targeting the children of victims of Raymond Garvey, an infamous serial killer from London's past.

When Murder Squad veteran Detective Tom Thorne, who solves the London Police Department's most difficult cases, is called into what seems like, for once, an ordinary domestic murder, he thinks he's caught a break. A woman has been! murdered by someone she knows. A positive pregnancy test found on the floor beside her. Thorne plans to question the husband, arrest him and return home to deal with his own deteriorating personal life.

But when a mysterious sliver of bloodstained X-ray that was found clutched in the victim's fist is replicated at other crime scenes around the city, Thorne realizes that this is not a simple case. As the bits of X-ray begin to come together to form a picture, it becomes clear that the killer knows his prey all too well and is moving through a list that was started long ago.

As Thorne attempts to protect those still alive, nothing and nobody are what they seem. Not when Thorne is dealing with one of the most twisted killers he has ever hunted.The first book in Richelle Mead's brand-new teen fiction series - set in the same world as Vampire Academy.

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, th! e last place she expects to be sent is a human private school ! in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.

From Richelle Mead: A Letter to Fans

A lot of people ask me if I’m sad that the Vampire Academy series ended. And honestly…I’m not. There are a couple reasons for this. One of the biggest is that I’ve always known how Rose’s story was going to wrap up, and it was time for her to get a little hap! piness. She’s had a rough time in the series!

The other reason I’m not sad about Vampire Academy ending is because…well, it hasn't.

Technically, Bloodlines is the first book in a new series (which is also called Bloodlines), but it picks up almost right after Last Sacrifice ended. Fans aren’t going to have to wait long to find out what’s going in the Moroi world--and that’s the key point here. We’re still in the Moroi world. Bloodlines takes place around all the Moroi, dhampirs, and other supernatural intrigue and romance we loved in the first six books. We even get to see how a lot of familiar characters are doing--including Rose and Dimitri.

The biggest difference is that Sydney, the Alchemist we first met in Blood Promise, has taken over as our narrator. She’s telling the story now--and with good reason. Things have gotten a bit crazy in the Moroi world, and Sydney finds herself dragged into the he! art of it. Jill Mastrano, the young Moroi girl who learned abo! ut her r oyal status at the end of Last Sacrifice, is being targeted by assassins who want to remove her sister from the throne. To keep her safe, Jill is sent off into hiding--at a human school in Palm Springs, California.

To say this is a bit of culture shock for Jill is an understatement, but it’s just as difficult for Sydney. Sydney has to go undercover with Jill, posing as her sister, in order to make sure things run smoothly with a vampire hiding out in a human society. Eddie Castile, the well-intentioned dhampir always getting into trouble for Rose, also comes along to work as Jill’s bodyguard. Rounding out the cast is the notorious Adrian Ivashkov. He’s not posing as a student, but he has “helpfully” invited himself along to keep a brotherly eye on Jill--and torment Sydney with his constant jokes and party boy habits.

Rose was a great narrator, and Sydney’s fun in a lot of different ways. She gives us a human take on the Moroi world, whi! ch isn’t something we’ve really seen yet. Vampire life, through Rose’s eyes, is a very normal thing. For Sydney? Not so. It’s made worse because she’s been raised to believe vampires and dhampirs are wrong and unnatural, but spending time with them in Palm Springs begins to change her mind. The Alchemists don’t look favorably on those questioning their beliefs.

What’s also interesting is that Sydney has a much more analytic view of the world than Rose. Sydney overthinks where Rose rushes in, and both styles are fun to watch. Sydney’s super smart and can memorize reams of materialâ€"but is a little oblivious to how a normal social life works. That’s never been an issue while she was working as a field Alchemist, but in the midst of a high schoolâ€"with guys who want to ask her out? Yeah. There are a few complications! Roll in the fact that sinister, supernatural activities are going on in Palm Springs, and Sydney suddenly finds her mission a lot m! ore complicated than even she expected.

All in all, ! I think readers who loved the Vampire Academy series are going to adore Bloodlines. I purposely left a lot of questions at the end of Last Sacrifice…and those are going to get answered. And like I said, Vampire Academy hasn’t really ended. It’s just going to go on in a different form and give us a look at the vampire world in a new way. Fans of Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian are going to love learning more about them. So, have fun, and get ready for the story to continue!

--Richelle MeadNate and Marcus are half brothers born and raised in the ghetto of South Florida by their unstable, single mother. During a playground fight, Marcus defends his brother by stabbing a bully who is threatening his brother’s life. When Marcus’ father finds out about his son’s behavior, he removes Marcus from his mother’s home. Years later, the brothers are reunited on the streets of Miami, but on different sides of the law! Marcus has become a police offi! cer, while Nate has become a local drug dealer. The promise to stay brothers forever puts Nate and Marcus’ relationship to the test.