PJ Grondin    The Official Website

Reader Reviews

        Under the Blood Tree

For more reviews go to Goodreads.com and search Under the Blood Tree

I bought this book at a local craft show directly from the author. He was a very friendly guy and did not push me to any of his books. I bought this one just because I enjoy a good mystery. I was hesitant to start the book being as though it was from a local author, I just wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it. Well... I started the book and would read it until I fell asleep and then as soon as I had a free moment during my day, I would pick it back up. I LOVED IT!! I was sad to see it end! It held my attention through every page. I would highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to read other books by this author. - Amber R. U.S.

... I am so moved and impressed by the incredible writing style of PJ Grondin that I wanted to share it with my friends ... "Under the Blood Tree" would make for a wonderfully entertaining movie. This is a story about four boys living with a secret for 16 years that had multiple twist and turns as it unraveled a complex web of secrets, silence, cover ups and murders. Debbie D.S. - Maryland

... What a great read! I enjoyed every minute- there was not one chapter that was less compelling than the others. The character development and detailed settings were done so well; I am still picturing the trailer park and palm scars, hearing the conversations, feeling the summer heat. Joann P. - Cleveland, OH

I finished your book, Under the Blood Tree and it was great, loved it. When you are sad when the book ends, you know you just read a good book! ... I gave my husband my Kindle and had him read it, he is not really a reader. He took my Kindle with him everywhere he went, he loved the book too! Congrats, it WAS your best book to date! Marilyn P. - Orlando, FL

I bought Under the Blood Tree from you last October in Findlay, Ohio at a craft fair. It is one of the best mysteries I have ever read! Well done! Jeanne F. - Northwest OH

Drug Wars

Fast paced who done it that I couldn't put down. Easy read with lots of plot twists. This is the 4th or 5th book book I have read by this author and I have loved them all.  Marilyn P. Orlando, Florida

A Lifetime of Terror

A highly suspenseful plot that will keep you reading and keep you guessing until the very end. Despite this being a genre that I'm not typically interested in reading, I enjoyed the plot, connected with the characters, and appreciated the conclusion.  Rebecca  *Note - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Got this book from the author himself at Imaginarium. It looked interesting and it definitely was. I enjoyed how it panned back and forth between the terrorists and the ones trying to solve the mystery. Shows how hatred warps a person's ideals. If only that cycle could be broken in real life ... overall a great read. I recommend it.  Adeniz – Ohio

A Lifetime of Exposure

The rich and beautiful people of Eastern Virginia want the best. After all, they've earned the right to live in huge, beautiful, custom-built Messier homes And they've passed muster with Theo Messier to be allowed to buy these homes. Messier homes come with every upgrade imaginable and they are built on enormous lots that offer seclusion--or so the owners believe. They would be shocked to learn that they are unwilling stars for a secret internet porn site. Meanwhile, series characters--brothers Pat and Joe McKinney--are settled in Florida. Their plans for quiet times with their familes are interrupted when they are persuaded to help the local law enforcement bust internet child pornography criminals. Pat McKinney soon stumbles onto the Messier porn site and when a child is involved, he traces the location back to Virginia. The Florida team makes a trip north to work with the Virginia authorities. The action escalates quickly and buried bodies are uncovered. In the end justice is done, and the McKinney brothers return home to learn that there is a high price to pay for the job they are doing.

I quickly reached a point in the book where I didn't want to put it down. PJ Grondin has done a fine job of adding twists and turns to the plot of A Lifetime of Exposure. The main characters are sympathetic and I found myself feeling their outrage when they discovered their privacy had been violated by hidden cameras. The perpetrators, a particularly repulsive bunch, get what they deserve. The McKinney brothers continue to evolve both as family men and as crime solvers. A satisfying read.  L.C. Evans

This is a good read and recommended. The McKinney Brothers continue with this twisted story of porn, murder and theft. There are lots of moving parts to this book that PJ takes the time to develop.  – Jeremy

A Lifetime of Deception

PJ Grondin writes a really great book. The details in his books are wonderful. I'm from western Pennsylvania and I feel like I know where the characters are from. It'd be great if PJ could bring his books to the big screen!!! Kathy K - Pennsylvania

Unwanted and given up at birth, Becky Lippert moved from foster family to foster family suffering verbal, physical, and sexual abuse until she decided to take matters into her own hands. Blessed with a keen mind and killer looks, Becky finds she has a talent for quickly putting any man under her seductive spell. With these assets, she leaves "home" in her mid-teens and begins life as a grifter, conning young military servicemen out of their life savings. She had the perfect crime and what she thought was the perfect payoff and Becky was sure she could forever lead a life of deception.
Unfortunately, dead bodies begin to pile up in her wake and Becky begins to search for a way out. Meanwhile the government quickly finds a pattern of crime against it's own and calls up Joe McKinney to active service to help solve the crime. A battle tested marine, Joe works with his brother Pat to piece together the clues to the identity and whereabouts of the mystery woman conning these men and those responsible for their murders. But will they find Becky before the trail gets cold or will they fall victim to her and her accomplices' plans?  Todd F.

If ever we are in need of someone to track down the "bad guys", we would definitely want the McKinney brothers around! P.J. Grondin's first book "A Lifetime of Vengeance" was a winner all the way, and this one is even better, if possible!
Joe and Pat McKinney are ex-military men who are called upon to help solve the mystery of who is taking advantage of our boys in uniform, enticing and robbing them of all their worldly belongings. But when it involves murder, they must step up the pace and catch them before more dead bodies show up.
It's a fast-paced thriller and the characters are so well-drawn, we find ourselves becoming sympathetic with the main perpetrator because of her mean upbringing. You are in for one heck of a ride and a surprise ending that you never see coming! This is the book for readers who love edge-of-your-seat suspense thrillers. Highly recommended. Lila P. Washington State

Our service men put their very lives on the stake for the United States. All those who live here owe them a debt of gratitude. Unfortunately, there are predators preying on their vulnerability and they must be stopped.
Pat and Joe are brothers with a past. Due to poor choices, a dear sister-in-law dies and she takes the will to live from Pat and Joe's brother Mike. While Pat and Joe do everything they can to serve justice to those responsible for their sister-in-law's murder, Mike slips into depression … Pat and Joe's family is never the same.
Joe and Pat both have military training and Joe is still in the reserves. When the predators kill a serviceman, Joe is called to investigate the deaths. Unfortunately, it is a bad time for his family. Pat and Joe's father has a heart attack and is in critical condition. Joe leaves for duty and then is informed that his girlfriend's father died. Joe focuses on his investigation and risks alienating the woman he loves. Sabrina S.

P.J. Grondin, formerly a Navy serviceman aboard a nuclear submarine, has written a fast-paced thriller packed with real details about life in the military. Main characters Pat and Joe McKinney put their military training to the test tracking down a couple of sociopaths who have dreamed up an ingenious scheme to defraud American servicemen. The stakes get higher when fraud leads to murder. Then another pair of schemers with ties to the first two get involved. With no regard for human life, the criminals murder anyone who might get in their way. For a while Pat and Joe seem to be one step behind the killers at every turn ... A twist at the end suggests more to come.  L. C. Evans

Becky and Bobby are not what you could call normal. And their scam system is, to them anyway, foolproof and easy. Lure unsuspecting sailors into a relationship, which at the very least will cost them all their worldly goods. But turns into murder and mayhem with a mystery guest included!! An outstanding thriller novel. Pete Grondin's personal knowledge of the submariners life and the locations in the book make the story read that much better. The good guys in the story Pat and Joe McKinney have their hands full cracking this case. And that makes this a cracking good murder mystery. Good reading for a dark, moonless night. Jacomo P.

A very compelling book. Hard to put down. I recommend this book because it kept me interested thru the entire book.  A Satisfied Customer on Amazon

A Lifetime of Vengeance

Pete Grondin's "Lifetime of Vengeance" is the first in the series of the adventures of the McKinney brothers.
Pat, Joe, and Mike McKinney were happily running their small-town businesses of an orange grove, nursery, and a marijuana distributorship. They got a bit greedy and ticked off the down channels, and Mike's new wife ended up paying the price in a brutal rape and slaying.
Fast forward seven years, and Pat and Joe, fresh from service in the armed forces, are all set to get their revenge on the six guys who helped kill Mike's wife. They stake out the targets, build their alibis, get in position, and guess what: somebody else seems to be beating them to the punch and following their meticulous plans. The bullets are flying, the bodies are stacking up, and the reader honestly doesn't know who's gonna make it all the way to the end of the book.
Grondin's story shows us central Florida in all its backwoods glory, complete with aligators, orange groves, up-and-coming rock stars, bales and bales of pot, corrupt sherrifs, and small-town gangsters.
I liked how Grondin fleshed out his characters, both the good guys and the bad. He paid attention to their backstories, and made the read that much more interesting and exciting for me. Nice job, Pete!  Dennis B. Washington State

A compelling look at the toll seeking vengeance can have on someone, and the effects of violence on a family. DSJ1947

Worth the read, there are no sinless people. The players have depth and detail, while the story is being told. This is the 2nd book I've read. The series is entertaining. Jeremy

P. J. Grondin sets the stage with this page-turning action, and hopefully more will be coming in the future. Get to know these characters, because I think they'll be back... unless of course they don't survive the "vengeance". Enough grease & grit to keep it interesting, and twists to keep you guessing... you won't be disappointed. Gabe B. Oregon, OH

I would have liked to see more suspense in this novel since a horrific crime is committed in this book. Also, this book was a little too detailed in certain areas, but overall, it is a good read.
Three brothers - Pat, Joe, and Mike run a drug business. Dear, close friends of the brothers decide to get payback on them after they kick them out of the business. They take matters too far. They rape and kill Mike's wife. Mike, cannot deal with this tragedy and practically loses his mind. Pat and Joe seek revenge, but Mike wants no part of it.
Then, the book takes on a different route. Years pass, but the 2 brothers made a promise to one another to get the revenge they so desire to inflict upon their long-lost friends. This is where the suspense loses its power because we learn about both brothers joining the military and how their lives have changed. Both worry over their younger brother Mike who seems to have withered away to almost nothing.
The brothers join back up in their hometown for their final revenge and the suspense comes back into play. However, as they start to enact on their first plan for revenge - something happens to throw them off. Someone else is actually taking out their revenge. Who is this other person? Is it Mike? They are unsure. As the story unfolds, the twist is quite compelling.  Angela H.

Brothers Pat, Joe, and Mike McKinney are making big bucks through their marijuana grow-op business. Greed gets the better of them, though, and because of this the brothers are eventually betrayed by friends. When Mike's young wife is brutally raped and murdered by these same friends, Mike is all but destroyed. Obsessed with the need for vengeance, Pat and Joe concoct a long-range plan. When payback time finally arrives, a twist in events triggers an increasingly dangerous cat and mouse game.
A Lifetime of Vengeance is an intense story that kicks the concept of revenge up to a disturbing level. When it comes to mystery and suspense, I love to know why people do the things they do and author P.J. Grondin does an excellent job of answering this question. In fact, motives are brought out in painstaking detail that vividly shows the brothers' anguish.
At times, the back story is a little long and hindered by unnecessary details. Also, introductions to new characters always start with physical descriptions that are tough to remember. Still, kudos to Grondin for telling an interesting tale of brothers who are neither good or bad, but submerged in murky, ethically questionable shades of gray. In this book, making the right decision doesn't come easily and the suspense ramps up to a satisfying ending. Debra P. K.

The McKinney brothers were bright, handsome, and they didn't have good sense.
They got involved in illicit drugs and start making a fortune...intoxicated by the money coming in, they think they can get away with putting filler in the drugs they sell - to their 'friends' - but it backfires eventually -
The 'friends' get even with the brothers by raping and killing brother Mike's wife of 2 weeks.
The McKinney brothers straighten up their acts and join the military and become good citizens...although the brother Mike has never gotten over that tragic event.
The brothers have planned their vengeance on the men that committed the murder...but something starts happening - after the 1st killing, the others who committed the crimes are systematically being killed off and it looks like it is done by a professional -
Who is doing this? How did they get the McKinney brothers' plans?
A Lifetime of Vengeance lays the foundation for a series, establishing the journey of the McKinneys from drug distributors to upstanding citizens. We come to like the brothers and root them on as they fight to maintain their lives in the face of great tragedy.
Plenty of action, mystery and romance to satisfy every thriller fan, Pete Grondin deftly fulfills every facet to create an excellent thriller. Ellen G.

If you like crime, mystery, and suspense - then, you will love: A Lifetime of Vengeance.
This story is based on three brothers who truly love one another. Close friends betray the brothers and vengeance is sought out when these friends enact a heinous crime on the younger brother's wife - killing her. Mike is devastated at the loss of his wife. Pat and Joe, swear to each other to take revenge out on their friends, but Mike wants no part of it.
Pat and Joe join the military, and years later, they put their plan into action. They want to seek vengeance against their so-called friends. Pat is obsessed with seeking revenge. Things do not go as planned. Odd things keep happening. Pat and Joe are confused as they try to figure out who is in their way. Pat just wants to carry out his own justice.
As the brothers try to figure out who is behind altering their plan for justice, the two brothers are creating new enemies. As this new twist comes into play, it keeps you in suspense - wanting to learn more.
As the story unfolds, you will learn more about these brothers and things that happened to them in their life. This story is a great read. Tracy E.