Happy Friday!  Is there any better way to end a long week than to talk books?  For me, nope!  I love me some good reads.  If you’re just stopping by and this is the first you have heard of the 52 Reads in 52 Weeks series, please pop on over to the introduction post here.  In case you don’t want to hop on over there, here’s the nutshell description:  Each Friday I will post my thoughts on the book I read that week, and share what I’ll be reading the following week, and I’m doing this for 52 Weeks.

Since this the end of Week One, I’ll take a moment to explain the review post set up.  Every book will get their own review post, and each will contain my thoughts on certain areas, like characters, settings, plot, my general thoughts, and my recommendation.  No spoilers! No synopsis! (to read a synopsis of the book, click the image of the cover to be taken to the author’s site.  If the author has no site I will link to Indigo or Kobo)  In addition each book will also get it’s own book card like the one below.  All the pertinent information for the book is contained there: Title, Author, Year Published, Publisher, ISBNs, if it’s part of a series or trilogy and where it is in that timeline, Genre/s, as well as a brief blurb of what I thought.

 

 

Characters:

Kay Hooper has done a wonderful job creating believable characters.  Some are recurring throughout the series and other may only make an appearance for one book, but each one is crafted with the same care and attention to detail.  One of the things I really liked is how she treats the paranormal (psychic abilities) aspects of some her characters.  Their special abilities don’t always makes things easier for the characters, in fact, in many cases they seem to bring new challenges.  I love that Ms. Hooper chose not to use the psychic abilities like super powers, choosing instead to keep her characters real and vulnerable to all the same things as non psychic people.  She certainly doesn’t choose the easy road for her people.

Settings:

The setting for this story takes place in a small town.  I think Ms. Hooper did a great job capturing small town life and using some of its quirks as obstacles the characters have to overcome.  The isolated country sides surrounding the town add a level of mystery to an already slightly chilling story.

Plot:

It’s hard not to give anything away in this one.  The plot moved really well for me.  There was just enough mystery to keep the reader guessing, without being too much like a “who dunnit” book.  Lots of genres come to play in the book, but they all blend seamlessly together to create a wonderful, rich story.  There’s some romance, and that adds tension.  Like I said above, some mystery.  There’s a little bit of a thriller style to the story too.  I had to turn my bedroom light on at one point, the lamp was casting too many shadows for the mood the book took on for parts of it.  I can sum it up quite easily, this one was a page turner, I didn’t want to put it down.  On the other hand, when I did put it down, it wasn’t that hard to pick up where I left off.

Other Thoughts:

This book is part of the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series, I can’t write this review without talking about the brilliant way Kay Hooper has written this series.  First you have the series as a whole, which is then broken up into trilogies, but on top of that, each book can be read as a stand alone.  I think that is a brilliant approach to series writing, because you’re not stuck waiting to read the next one in order of when they were published.  Also, I like that you can read them all out of order, and then go back and read them in order and see a whole new bigger picture develop.

Final Thoughts:

This book was great to read.  Easy enough to make it a great weekend read, with enough story to hold my interest.  I found it easy to tell myself, “just one more chapter”.  Though it is a paranormal mystery, it’s not too far out there, which I kind of like.  It leaves you wondering what if….  All in all a great book.

 

This week I’m reading a cozy mystery by Leslie Meier, called English Tea Murder.  I can’t wait to see what this one is like.

(source: LeslieMeierBooks.com)

Did anyone else read the same book I did this week?  What are your thoughts on it?  Have you read any other Kay Hooper books?  Any other paranormal fiction authors you would care to recommend?