Hunting Fear ( Bishop/Special Crimes Unit , #7 ) by Kay Hooper

There's a new psychic on the scene, and he's ready for action: introducing Lucas Jordan, the latest addition to Noah Bishop's crackerjack Special Crimes Unit. 

Lucas Jordan has an extraordinary psychic skill that police all over the country find invaluable: he locates missing people. And since being recruited by Noah Bishop for his FBI Special Crimes Unit, Lucas has learned to hone his remarkable ability so that what he does seems little short of miraculous.

He's called in on what appear to be a series of ordinary kidnappings-for-ransom, but almost immediately Lucas realizes the situation is far from ordinary—and more deadly than anything he's ever faced before. Because a brilliant, twisted madman is out to win a sick game, matching his wits against the best hunter he can find: Lucas.GOODREADS



Finally picked this up from the library.  I reviewed book #9 Sleeping with fear earlier on . I had picked it up randomly ( something new to read) hence the disorder. Although that's all it takes to grow fond of this series, one book. You don't even have to read them in order, they are as good standalone as a whole. Although if you're like me and hate not having some background information then I suppose it will be a bit annoying but not so much as to ruin the book.

This one was better than Sleeping with fear because they were in a bigger state (setting) and there were more characters ( list of suspects). It wasn't as predictable as the previous book I'd read and not so much centered around the romance. Lucas comes to investigate a series of murders and Sam ( former lover) shows up. Sam is a great female lead, she's intelligent, confident, strong , straightforward and a smart ass. Lucas is a tight ass, but he isn't an unpleasant character. He just has issues ,which Sam helps him overcome. So enough about asses

The thing about a mystery thriller is trying to figure out who the killer is . Give up now, you'll never figure it out as a reader ( I didn't). The mystery in Sleeping with Fear was easier and lacking compared Hunting Fear because  of the small setting and the small cast. Hunting Fear is way better and not so easy to figure  out. The killer turns out to be a victim from a last cast Luke had worked on. Who set up this well thought out game to lure and emotionally break Lucas. He did this by kidnapping and ingeniously killing them. Building machines ; like a guillotine, or a tank to drown his victims. Even getting Sam was a move on the killers part, only it backfired on him because he didn't expect Sam to help Lucas.

Then there's the mysterious Bishop. Who has Lucas and Sam tailed by other members of the BS/CU and who also shows up at the end to tie up the knots. Yeah, he's mysterious I'll give him that but I don't know if I should like the guy or not.

The book isn't very lighthearted . There's death, lots of nosebleeds, kidnapping , past issues. At some point in the story a Female cop gets taken by the killer and Lucas finds her but too late to save her. The suspense keeps  building up , because the povs switch from between  the characters. One moment you're with Lindsay (female cop) while she's in the tank about to drown but still alive and the next you're with Lucas looking at the tank with Lindsay's body floating in it. There' are also some povs from the killer ( only one if I remember right).

It's a relatively happy ending I guess. They kill the killer but his partner ( his son) gets away. Sam joins the BS/CU and marries Lucas.

All around great book. except for this one thing. It's probably really obvious or maybe an ambiguous thing . but the last line. Sam offers to tell Lucas his fortune ( BTW Sam is a psychic who use to work as a fortune teller).  To which he says ( the last line of the book)

"No need, I already know how the story ends"

How does the story end!?

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Sleepin with Fear ( A Bishop/ Special Crimes Unit Novel #9 ) by Kay Hooper

New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper returns with a relentless thriller that brings her readers face-to-face with fear itself. In this terrifying new novel, a psychic special agent finds herself caught up in a tangled web of secrets, lies . . . and evil.Riley Crane woke up fully dressed, a gun under her pillow, and covered in blood. Even more frightening, she didn’t remember what happened the night before. In fact, she barely remembered the previous three weeks.An ex—army officer, now a federal agent assigned to the Special Crimes Unit, Riley was a chameleon–a clairvoyant who could blend in with her surroundings, be anyone or anything she chose to be. The SCU’s expert on the occult, she’d been sent to the beachfront cottage on Opal Island by her enigmatic chief, Noah Bishop, to investigate reports of dangerous occult activity. But that was three weeks ago. Now she’s awoken to discover that she’s got a sexy new man in her life and an unreliable memory, and that the clairvoyant abilities she’s always depended on to protect her are MIA. Worse yet, with SCU resources stretched thinner than ever before, Riley is alone and without backup, feeling her way through a deadly game of blindman’s buff, where no one around her is quite who or what they seem. And a bizarre murder is only the first jarring reminder of how high the stakes really are.Bishop wants Riley off the case. So does powerful local D.A. Ash Prescott. Both her old retired army buddy Gordon Skinner and Sheriff Jake Ballard believe she can catch a vicious killer. But one of these four men knows exactly what’s going on in this coastal community, and that’s knowledge Riley desperately needs. For what Riley can’t remember is more than enough to cost her her life. This time evil isn’t just closer than she thinks–it’s already there.
From the Hardcover edition.GOODREADS

This is a book I picked up at the library and I have to say it was quite a ride. It's really well written and the characters are interesting and funny. Maybe a bit cliche and predictable. The premise of the story was worked out really well. I mean Riley wakes up covered in blood and has no memory of the past 3 weeks. One of her job strategies is she can pretend to be anybody so she pretends she's the same .

Riley has no memory of the 3 weeks and on the  same day she wakes up a body is discovered and she also finds out she's been sleeping with the local D.A. Again she has no memory about any of this. Riley is also a psychic, and her abilities have gone AWOL . Riley is a likable character ,she's independent and likes working alone. If there's a fight she'd go in alone, because she thinks it's her duty not to put the people she cares about in danger.

The murder is surrounded by an occult theme in the book. Riley specializes in the occult so that's why she was brought in. Ash is described as not quite handsome but attractive in a butch way. He's too good to be true for the romance part of this book, Ash is too good to be true. I mean he's  like the Beast and he can cook and is well read, too damn good to be true! Then there's Jake, the Sheriff (with a jock complex). He's character is good for some comic affect.

The mystery: like all mystery novels you try to figure out who the bad guy is. Riley is on this beach island and when the villain is revealed It wasn't really that shocking. The list of suspects was short and obvious. You could easily speculate who it would be and then one by one (at the end of the book) rule them out.

Unfortunately my library only has one other book from this series ,so I can't really get into it. Although it is a fun book to read.


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