Christoph Fischer's Reviews > Dominoes

"Dominoes" by C.B. Blaha is a well plotted and gripping thriller about a child abduction. It is one of the best plotted series I have read since "Tales of the City", the book(s) throw plenty of twists and unexpected connections our way as well as showing unexpected consequences, falling like the proverbial dominoes in the title.

A possibly only minor and harmless incident in a supermarket starts a chain reaction of events for a family with two unconventionally acquired children. One through sperm donation, one through adoption. The donor suddenly takes an interest in 'his' child, while the biological mother also has a rekindled interest in her 'lost son'. This takes place in Nevada County during a bluegrass festival.
The story is surprising at every corner with unexpected connections, turns and events. I found it difficult to stop once I started and wanted to know what was going to happen next.
The book allows us to witness the child and his kidnappers at the same time as we see the rest of the story unfold, which I appreciated very much. This allowed the plot to stay away from stereotypes and formulaic dramatisation.

The series leads us through a bunch of colourful and interesting characters, focusing on further connected issues as the falling dominoes of the plot move one direction, only to turn our attention elsewhere. Everything in this turbulent and hugely enjoyable series of family, murder and kidnapping does live up to the hype of the previous episodes but no more said about the plot for fear of giving the game away. All I can say is that I was surprised how many loose ends there were to tie up and how well they all eventually came to the end.
Well written, very entertaining and full of interesting characters and stories this is a series not to be missed.