What could drive someone to want to kill his own brother? The answer will leave readers of “Blue Ridge” by Peter Malone Elliott stunned.
This debut psychological thriller follows a pair of identical twins, Cillian and Christopher, who are long estranged and filled with a deep hatred for each other. From the beginning of the book, readers are left to wonder what could have happened to cause this rift, and I can guarantee the answer is something you will never expect.
Driven by the rage he still feels toward Christopher, Cillian initiates a plan to murder his brother. In a shocking turn of events, however, someone beats Cillian to it and expertly frames him in the process.
Forced to go on the run, Cillian must unravel the truth behind his brother’s murder to prove his innocence. What he doesn’t expect is to be pulled into a web of dangerous politics and murder that challenges everything he thought he knew about his brother.
Throughout the novel, Elliott delves into the complicated and unconventional relationship between these brothers. Having worked in politics and having actively run for influential positions, Christopher is a public figure who has to work hard to protect his image. Cillian is a very different person, an Olympic equestrian contender who had to give up the sport that defined his life due to an injury. He resents the false niceties and perfect image that his brother has created for himself.
This is why it comes as such a shock to Cillian that there was a lot more going on behind the scenes regarding Christopher’s political agenda, something that he was ultimately killed for.
As the story progresses, Elliott takes readers back in time to describe the events that led to the feud between the brothers, and why Cillian felt that killing his own brother was his only option.
The one tie that they do have to each other is the mutual love of the same woman. Readers are left in suspense as they gradually learn of the jaw-dropping night that determined the fate of this woman and changed the course of the brothers’ lives forever.
At the same time, the story proceeds in the present day with Cillian in hiding and trying to identify who actually killed Christopher. Once Cillian finds out who is responsible, he knows he has to take action, not only for his brother’s sake but for the greater good. He is forced to accept the fact that he may not make it out alive and may not be able to avenge his brother in the end.
