Blood Relative by Carolyn Hougan is an interesting story, told from two points of view.

Rolando has been living a life filled with guilt, grief, and rage ever since his wife and daughter were murdered during Argentina's "dirty war".  Rolando feels there is only one person to blame for the slaughter of his family - his niece Maria.  But Maria has been long gone, out of Rolando's reach.  Until now, when a clue about her whereabouts comes to light.  Now Rolando has only one goal - revenge.

Sixteen-year-old Mariah is a bright American teenager with her whole life ahead of her.  She has no idea that she was adopted, that her life is built upon a complete lie.  She has no memory of her early childhood, nor of the tragic events of which she was a part, back when she was a little girl.  Except why is she all of a sudden having fleeting memories/dreams that she can't explain, but which feel very real?  And how come she can suddenly speak Spanish, when she has no memory of ever having been taught the language?

Yes, Mariah's memories are slowing coming the surface at the same time that her Uncle Rolando is tracking her whereabouts.  From both points of view we will be told the whole story - of tragic events long ago.

I liked the way the story is told from both points of view.  Mostly, I enjoyed the chapters told from Mariah's point of view.  The subject of memories buried so far in one's psyche that they can barely be reached was fascinating.  Especially as little snippets started coming to the surface.  I did feel bad for her, though.  She should have been able to talk to her parents about what was happening to her; instead she hides it from them.  For their part, the parents are so eager to "protect" her, that they discount her obvious growing discomfort.  It's just a shame that nobody in Mariah's life was honest.

The chapters told from Rolando's point of view were dark with a tainted, evil feel.  The problem is that while Rolando's pain is very real, and easily understood, it's hard to believe that a grown man can hold such a grudge against a mere child.  After all, the events that took his family from him happened over a decade ago.  His story loses its credibility and my sympathy, simply because it's ridiculous to hold a small child accountable for her actions.  As a result the story was completely unbalanced.  Rolando and his cohorts were drawn as merely evil, with no valid basis for their actions.  By having Maria be a small child at the time of the tragic events, the author makes this a completely one-sided story.   It would have been a much stronger story had we been able to really sympathize with Rolando, and understand his need for revenge.  Not that we'd likely root for him, but at least we could have seen both sides of the issue.

Still, I enjoyed Blood Relative, turning the pages quickly to find out what really happened all those years ago.  The book works, as a thriller, with a sympathetic protagonist and an evil antagonist.  I just felt that the story would have worked even better, if it had been better balanced.

Recommended: Yes