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Cover of Tidewater blood
Book details

Tidewater blood

a novel

by Hoffman, William

Published 2002290 pagesISBN 978-0-0600-0758-4

For two hundred and fifty years, the LeBlancs of Tidewater Virginia - landed, rich, and proud of it - have been celebrating their French Huguenot ancestry. Each year, over an extravagant lunch and in period costume dress, they relive the beginnings of the LeBlanc line, reminding everyone of their rise from meager beginnings to a position of great stature, wealth, and privilege. But this year's celebration goes horribly wrong. At the stroke of one, a deafening explosion brings down the massive plantation house columns, crushing every member of the family present. As the dust settles, all fingers point to the black sheep of the family, the youngest brother, Charles LeBlanc. Long estranged from his family and living in a makeshift cabin on a spit of land off the Chesapeake, Charley has managed to make more enemies than friends - he was dishonorably discharged from the army, and then served time in prison. Facing prison, if not execution, Charley takes off on the fugitive run of his life. With the police at his back, he makes his way through the mountains of West Virginia to find the real killer. What he didn't mean to discover were the even darker secrets about the LeBlanc blood.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

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Themes to notice

Fiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest violence, death, or criminal harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Dark tone · Steady pace

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneDark
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
Tidewater bloodHoffman, William
Heightened4.2/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read290 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2002
Primary categoryFictionExplore similar books below
ISBN-13
978-0-0600-0758-4
Language
English
Edition record
OL3953688M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Begin with its place in Fiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. What does the central character want, and what do they misunderstand about that desire?
  2. Which detail or relationship changes how you interpret the story?
  3. What feeling or question does the book leave with you after the plot moves on?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.