Within the small town of Kanesville, Utah, two popular cheerleaders commit suicide, but when a third body is found dead by the same method, Detective Samantha Montgomery begins to suspect that there's more to these deaths than first suspected. As more teens die, Sam digs deeper into the secrets of this Mormon community, exposing the dark and unspoken evils harbored within.

TIES THAT BIND by Natalie R. Collins is a fantastic novel. Tense, gritty, and real, it gives us a flawed protagonist who struggles to balance her family and work inside a community she no longer fits into. As Collins was born and raised within the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints, she knows the culture and the people and portrays them with realism.

The moral attitude of the Latter-day Saints is very much an intricate part of the plot and Collins teases out these threads without harsh criticism and condemnation. While the characters stand on both sides of the line between faith and rejection, Collins gives both believable and real motivation. I'm impressed with how she's handled these polar opposite attitudes.

Like most thrillers, the plot exposes the extremes within human nature. We see the best and worst within humanity and struggle to come to terms with the worst while clinging to the best. Each person contains these extremes and Collins shows us this duality. No character is completely good. None is completely bad. All are real in their motivation and struggles.

Sam is herself a wonderful example of the extremes within us. She's self-destructive, intelligent, dedicated, stubborn, and fragile and yet, she continues to cling to her beliefs without regret or shame. She drives this story very much like she drives herself, pushing us to the brink of our boundaries and then going just a bit further into that uncomfortable place where we have to question our beliefs and actions.

I can't say enough how wonderful this story is. The suspense continues to build to the last second, revealing each clue at the perfect time. Every character becomes an intricate piece to the story and every action becomes suspect. TIES THAT BIND will keep you guessing while you hold your breath to see what happens next. If you like thrillers which delve into the darkest corners of our minds, then you will love TIES THAT BIND by Natalie R. Collins.