BLOOD TIES (Nigel Hinton)

The story begins in September 1944 when the army dumped tins of
chemicals into a lake on Kirren Island. The chemicals were meant to
shorten the war, but made soldiers crazy and thirty died. In the present
year one of the old tins leaked and farmer Ian Mackie drank from the
lake going insane two hours later. Mr Mackie shot his sheep and when
his wife tried to stop him he shot her along with his two children and his
dog.
A week later 16 year old Tom Sharp along with his 10 year old brother
Bob and their parents, who were devout Christians, went on holiday to
Kirren Island. The Rochester family who had a large yacht came to the
island and met the Sharps. They had a daughter called Vicky who was
Tom's age and a son, Sam who was Bob's age. Tom's parents didn’t
want to be friends with the Rochesters but they didn’t want to be rude
when they were invited to eat dinner with them. After dinner the
children stayed on the island outside the tents. while the parents slept
on the yachts. After kissing, Tom and Vicky heard their younger
brothers scream and they found them in the tent. They told them that
they heard a noise like a wild animal and blood poured in through the
roof. Outside Tom found a sheep's head that looked like it was cut with
a knife and he threw it into the grass not wanting to scare Vicky. They
slept the night in the other tent.
In the morning Tom showed the adults the sheep's head and the blood,
then they decided to see Mr Mackie whose house was the only one on
the island. When they reached the lake the adults felt thirsty and drank
from it then they went in to the farmhouse. The house had gunshot
walls, dried blood and a horrible smell in the air. The adults decided to
went back to the yachts and send a message to the police.
On the way the adults started to feel ill and when they got to the sea
they found the yachts burning. Vicky's father accused her of starting
the fire and hit her. This made Tom and Vicky realized that something
was wrong with their parents. After watching the yachts sink, Gavin
Rochester started wielding an axe and they insisted they ate. They
found the food the Rochesters had already brought from their yacht
and Gavin smashed Sam's hearing aid. Refusing to wait for the eggs to
cook they mixed them with the orange juice, and poured it on the
bread. The children were ordered to eat by Tom's mother who was
wielding a knife. After that Gavin who was annoyed at Vincent Sharp's
references to religion killed him then killed Margaret Sharp before she
could stab him. The children ran into a cave feeling their way through
the dark. Vicky fell over and lost Sam, then their father found him and
killed him. The other children hid in one of the side tunnels then they
headed for the exit. Bob started running when they saw the light and
Gavin and Danielle followed them. As Tom was climbing the ladder
Gavin grabbed onto him but Tom got the axe and cut Gavin's shoulder
and fingers sending him crashing onto his wife.
When they got to the farmhouse they went upstairs to use the radio
then Mr Mackie entered wielding a knife. Mackie stabbed Vicky in the
shoulder and Tom in his side. Tom found Mackie's gun under the desk
and shot him. They managed to contact a man in a boat who sent a
message to the police. The police arrived five hours later and took
them to their boat.
It is a mystery novel, this was a fun read, it has a teen romance, it’s a
page turner and best of all a fast read. This is a really good option for
people that are learning English and that want to read something
creepy.