Frail Blood

by Edward Stanton

Overview

A love strong enough to shatter crystal, a secret so perverse that it destroys a family, crimes so far-ranging that they convulse a nation. Set in the heart of Buenos Aires, Frail Blood unfolds in the turbulent aftermath of Argentina's civil war and the ruthless military regime of the 1970s and 80s. Robert, a recently divorced journalist from Los Angeles, arrives in Buenos Aires seeking to escape his past. He meets Gabriela, a woman as alluring as she is enigmatic. Their fierce passion absorbs them both, but her family conceals a dark and elusive past that could separate the lovers. As threats against him grow, Robert faces an agonizing choice: to escape the country or risk everything for Gabriela.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781962984492
Publisher:	Waterside Productions
Publication date:	04/22/2025
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.77(d)

Editorial Reviews

2025-01-24
In Stanton’s thriller, an American falls for an Argentine woman whose dark family secretsmay prove deadly.

In 1990, Los Angeles newspaper journalist Robert Wells catches a flight to Buenos Aires. On the day he lands, he meets Gabriela Roca Dafiume, a 20-something doctor who immediately helps him forget his recent divorce. She lives with her parents and her younger brother and is largely secretive; she doesn’t answer all of Robert’s questions and seems intent on keeping him away from her home. Things take a startling turn when Robert receives friendly warnings to avoid Gabriela’s family and full-on threats are left at his hotel. But the couple’s romance only deepens, both physically and emotionally. They can’t hide their relationship from her father, César Roca Steele, whom Gabriela describes as “possessive.” There’s a chance he already knows about them, as he likely has people following Robert and Gabriela. If it’s true César had something to do with one of Gabriela’s past lovers disappearing, then Robert is in serious danger. Stanton’s slow-burn story develops an absorbing romance. The couple’s shared scenes gradually intensify, and it’s easy to understand why Robert doesn’t hightail it back to L.A. A sinister tone pervades the narrative; César always seems to know where Robert is or what he’s up to, making Robert’s plan to unearth proof of wrongdoing all the more unnerving. Further reinforcing the novel’s suspense is a mystery surrounding the generally tight-lipped Roca family involving Gabriela and her brother, a priest. Throughout the narrative, the author aptly details Buenos Aires and its people. One passage memorably evoking life outside the lovers’ bedroom describes “aromas of coffee,tucos or tomato sauces, chitterlings andchurrascos from the neighbors’ kitchens” and “windblown fig leaves rubbing like sandpaper against the balcony.”

An unforgiving past becomes a present-day menace in this gripping romantic thriller.

Kirkus Reviews