Thicker Than Water by Samantha Adair
Published: December 22, 2022
McFarlane Press
Pages: 239
Genre: Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Samantha Adair was a finalist in The Wishing Shelf Book Award for 2021 for her debut novel, Blood Orphan, book 1 in The Tom Grant Series. She enjoys writing fast-paced thrillers with characters you can relate to. She also writes short stories that she features on her website. She takes inspiration from events she has been involved in or witnessed and uses her own emotional connections and feelings to colour her characters and tell stories that twist and turn. Samantha lives in Sydney, Australia, with her family and mischievous golden retriever.
Isabella moves forward again, her mouth almost touching his. “I do like the sound of expensive,” she whispers.
In her first undercover role with the agency, Isabella infiltrates a sex trafficking ring operating in the heart of London. Tom oversees the job, while also searching for the lunatic stalking Martha.
With his attention pulled in two different directions, and the usually unshakeable Martha nervous and evasive, the pressure is on. Isabella’s past trauma affects her performance on the job, triggering an argument with Tom that culminates in Isabella walking out and not coming back.
As Martha’s stalker intensifies his psychological assault, Tom must focus his efforts on finding the man threatening the safety of one of the two most important women in his life. But when Isabella fails to show up for work and no one can locate her, he must deal with the terrifying possibility she may have been trafficked.
“I never want to be chained up again.”
Isabella is now working for Martha, much to Tom’s dismay. As the team gets deeper into a human trafficking case, everyone is on edge. When Isabella leaves, Tom is a wreck. When someone starts stalking Martha, Tom becomes murderous. When the past comes crashing into the present, no one is prepared for the truth.
HOLY MOLY, THE ENDING, THOUGH. As someone who had been reading this series from the beginning, I was blown away by how emotionally driven the plot of this book was.
I love having Iz as a main character and seeing her become her own. She is such a strong character, and I love that she represents compassion, forgiveness, and life.
Tom is his usual self, moody and sarcastic. He is devoted to the two women who mean the world to him: Iz and Martha. I love how far we have seen Tom come throughout this series and that there is still so much to be revealed.
We get to know more about Martha’s past in this book. I love how dynamic Martha is as a character and that she is constantly evolving. Her relationship with Tom is one of pure love, and this book challenges everything they thought they knew.
As always, the banter between James and Tom is fantastic. Those two have such a complicatedly lovely friendship, and we see their relationship strengthen significantly in this book.
The character development is strong, and I love that. This book cements this team as a family, no matter how much Tom might grumble.
I enjoy getting to know the dynamic of Tom and Martha’s relationship, and we see such vital elements of trust, betrayal, and unconditional love throughout this novel. The twists in this book are so profoundly twisted that you won’t be able to look away.
I am looking forward to the next installation in the Ton Grant series. Something tells me we have only just begun to encounter the emotional rollercoaster Adair has planned for us.