rabck from MyssCyn; Dana's daughter was kidnapped for 3 months, then returned. Does this have anything to do with her husband's defense of a man who murdered children, and despite that David can't afford to drop the case because they are financially in the hole too deep. Dana was studying for her thesis, and when in Italy, she falls into a torrid affair with her best friend's brother, but that can't have anything to do with Bailey, can it? When Bailey is returned, Dana and David are fighting all the time, best friend Lexy is going through a crisis of faith and Bailey, a slow child, won't even talk. Everything implodes in the end & it turns out that Dana's lover took Bailey. ( )

It's a bit difficult to review this book and yet avoid spoilers. There are so many twists and turns in this novel that pulling one plot string tends to unravel large portions of the overall picture.

Briefly -- a young defense attorney is in the midst of defending an accused child murderer when his own family comes under assault. Is this a vigilante movement gone rogue? Or something worse?

As he, his wife, and their community continue to search for their missing daughter, multiple levels of trust and betrayal are explored and there are seldom any easy answers.

Suffice it to say this is a terrific read, and not one you will forget quickly. ( )

AUTHOR: Campbell, Drusilla
TITLE: Blood Orange
Date Read: 03/17/14
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Fiction/2005/Kensington Books/335 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: 2005/San Diego, CA
CHARACTERS: Dana Cabot

FIRST LINES: Dana Cabot stood in the doorway to the undercroft holding a pastry box full of $26 worth of still-warm croissants.

COMMENTS: 1st time reading this author & have quite a few in my TBR. Dana Cabot is in her early 40's married w/ a 7-yr-old daughter. Her husband a workaholic attorney is defending a rather despicable man -- accused of murdering a young girl. It is a high-profile case and altho' this man is entitled to legal defense Dana wonders why it has to be her husband. She feels he is putting their family at risk and has skewed priorities. Dana has put her career on hold -- she has studied art history & has intentions to someday work on her graduate degree, meanwhile she is dabbling in her art history part-time while focusing on her 7-yr old daughter, Bailey, who has some learning disabilities. When Bailey disappears from their home one afternoon … Dana is sure it is related to her husband's new case. Bailey is missing for 3 months and then suddenly is returned home. This has put a major strain on their marriage. There is a bit of suspense in wondering who the kidnapper is, altho' it quickly became apparent to me of who was guilty. This was OK because I think the story was more of a relationship study than a thriller-suspense. I was not overly keen on Dana so wasn't overly impressed but it was still a nice way to pass the time. I am interested in reading more by this author. ( )

great! ( )

The novel, Blood Orange, encompasses that family is stronger than friendship. In the beginning, Dana, the protagonist struggles with the fact that she is married to a former football star quarterback. She also struggles with the fact that her daughter is mentally incapable of doing things on her own. In the middle of the story, Dana goes on vacation to Paris to search for modern arts because her dream has always been to be an artist. By the end of the story, her daughter, Bailey, is kidnapped but returned a month later. She later finds that the person who kidnapped her daughter was a person with whom she had an affair with in France. (200/352) ( )