BLOOD TIES by Kay Hooper

A Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Novel
Publisher: Bantam Books
Date published: January 2010
ISBN: 978-0-553-80486-7
Mystery/Suspense/Paranormal Thriller Romance
Hardcover
Reviewed by Dawn


In a sleepy little town called Serenade in Tennessee, a runner on a local trail trips over a bloody severed arm and this starts the race against a serial killer that is targeting this town. The FBI branch of Special Crimes is called in and as the body count rises, SCU is trying to stop the leaks and the evil that plagues not just Serenade but also the SCU.

I have to admit of never picking up any of Ms. Hooper’s books before and after reading this one, it is definitely on my reading list now. I do have to admit that there were parts that were mentioned throughout the book that referenced to past books and had me a tad bit confused. I plan to remedy that by reading the ones before this one and then re-reading BLOOD TIES again to get the full scope of this author’s interesting series.

In BLOOD TIES, the Special Crimes Unit is called to Serenade, Tennessee as bodies start piling up. For the SCU, there is more than just an evil serial killer at work but something more sinister. As they race against the clock, can the special agents of the SCU find a way to solve the case while keeping their sanity in the process? I love the characters that populate BLOOD TIES. It was chilling, tense, a little bit of paranormal thrown in and a mystery that will draw the reader in and weaves its spell around them. With clues toward the mystery serial killer, Ms. Hooper delivers a spine tingling story that will leave you breathless till the very end. Some wonderful complex characters keep the story flowing smoothly and I enjoyed the way they interacted with one another.

BLOOD TIES finishes the Blood trilogy that includes BLOOD DREAMS and BLOOD SINS. If you haven’t read one of this author’s books before, I highly recommend it though I do suggest starting from the beginning so you can get familiar with her writing. I look forward to exploring the Special Crimes Unit in more detail in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.