The fine characterization in Blood Tie is related to Settle's main narrative technique, a shifting third-person point of view. The point of view allows for detailed exploration of each character, including the character's past. Then the point of view shifts every few pages, resulting in the same treatment of a whole range of characters. How many times Settle returns to the same character depends on how important the character is to the action. The action itself is slow-moving and fragmented, deepening and coming together only through the different points of view.
For readers wanting fast action and immediate explanations, the technique is frustrating, though it does offer some suspense, like the old Victorian novels with several lines of action. The technique is superb,.....
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