I've been looking forward to posting this review of "BLOOD LINES", Kathryn Casey's second fiction novel, and the sequel to her blockbuster fiction debut entitled "SINGULARITY". In fact, I enjoyed this book so much that I read it twice before I even started to write the review, and I can tell you that I don't normally do that. So here goes:
The Synopsis:
"Readers loved Sarah Armstrong, the feisty and vulnerable profiler in Kathryn Casey's mystery, "Singularity". She's back in this second book in the series with her hands full with two cases at once: A persistent and potentially lethal stalker pursues pop mega-star Cassidy Collins, and a high-energy Houston businesswoman is found dead in her house.
Though the businesswoman's death is being called a suicide, when Sarah is shown photographs of the scene, something seems off. It looks too perfect, almost staged, and Billie Cox apparently had every reason to live. The victim's sister is convinced Billie was murdered and urges Sarah to take a closer look. During her investigation, Sarah uncovers a multimillion-dollar scam and traces a trail of greed to Billie's murderer.
Meanwhile, teenage idol Cassidy receives threatening e-mails and text messages and hears creepy whispers over her headset at performances. Cassie's next performance is at a Houston rodeo, for which her handlers request extra security. Sarah once again teams up with FBI agent David Garrity, and together they plot to outwit and capture the stalker, but at the concert the unthinkable happens. . ."
My Review:
It's always harder to begin a sequel than it is to begin a fresh series, in my opinion, because you have to be careful not to give away what happened in the prior novel, in case the reader hasn't read it, yet you also need to give enough background with the new novel to recap so that the two will flow together smoothly...and I believe that Kathryn has done that beautifully with "BLOOD LINES".
As you may recall, Sarah, her daughter, Maggie, and her mother, had a horrendous time in "SINGULARITY". They were all in danger and it was a hair-raising adventure for all of them. Sarah was also dating and embarking on what could be the beginning of a serious relationship with FBI profiler David Garrity and we had no idea where that would be going.
So when we start out with the opening of this story, Sarah has been on extended leave, and has been working from home, mostly half days. For some unknown reason, her relationship with David Garrity has totally cooled, but we don't know why, nor does she.
Her boss wants her to come back full-time, but she needs to make sure that Maggie and her mom are ready for that. And as usual, she will be working more than one case at a time, both of which are very high profile and will be time-consuming and difficult to solve (which makes it fun for us!) It looks as if everyone (well, almost everyone) is doing well, and they want to move on, because Sarah's mom is dating, (how cool is that!) and Maggie thinks her mom should go back to work full-time. The only thing we don't know is: what happened with David?
Now on to the cases that Sarah has to solve:
First there is Cassidy Collins, the pop super-star teenaged singer, who started out poor, living in a trailer and tried to run away from those meager beginnings. Now she has a stalker who feels that she must feel too good for him, and he wants to teach her a lesson, but what's the lesson?
Next, there is the rich businesswoman whose sister insists that she did not committ suicide, and she claims that her sister is trying to provide clues to her murder from beyond the grave by contacting her! Will the clues really lead to the killer and is she really contacting her sister from the afterlife?
And don't you want to know why David Garritty just up and stopped calling on Sarah when things were going so well?
My Rating:
I thought that this book was excellent! I enjoyed the action, the story line, the seamless way in which she incorporated the previous novel's information into the beginning, and it sure was a fun and exciting ride!
Kathryn Casey is without a doubt a master of fiction as well as non-fiction. She is just an excellent story-teller...period. So, go out and buy this book, fast. If you don't, you'll be missing out on a great story. I can't wait until the next one, entitled "THE KILLING STORM" comes out in the fall of this year.
If you want to learn more about Kathryn Casey, visit her website here.
Also...please be sure to watch for:
Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may the Lord bless you all.
Cynde
Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!
