Review by Lorie Lewis Ham
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of this book and a link to purchase it.
A Message in Blood is the third book in Catherine Maiorisi’s Chiara Corelli series. Corelli is an NYPD Detective who has been through a lot. She suffers from PTSD and is currently recovering from an injury. Her partner, Detective P.J. Parker, is very protective of Corelli and tries to watch out for her and prevent her from overdoing it at work.
A middle-of-the night phone call summons the detectives to a
politically sensitive murder scene. The victims—a U.S. Senator, the pastor of a
mega church, and a self-made music industry billionaire—appear to have been
killed during a sex orgy. Even more horrible than the murders, is the message
scrawled in blood on a mirror, and what they find hidden upstairs in a closet.
The case is extremely sensitive so the pair are very careful as to who they
involve in the investigation, and swear them all to secrecy—not because of
those killed, but because of the real victims in the case, children. As they
continue to investigate, they uncover many horrible secrets, including that of
a child sex trafficking ring. As pressure mounts to cover things up, Corelli
and Parker are determined to find the killer and catch those involved in the
sex trafficking.
While this book was a little hard for me to take in the
beginning due to the circumstances of the crime, it was well worth hanging in
there to follow this pair as they uncover the truth and bring the guilty to
justice. Corelli has a lot to deal with in her personal life as well, but
things seem to be getting better as she works on getting help for her PTSD and
other emotional issues. Not having read the previous books I don’t know
everything she has gone through, but was able to grasp enough in this book that
I didn’t feel lost.
Image Source Bella Books
I enjoyed getting to know not only the main characters, but also all of those they work with in the NYPD, and Corelli’s family—who were a big part of the story and are a big part of her life. We don’t see much of Corelli’s love life in this book, but we do get to see some of the woman she is currently dating. As she begins to finally let go of the girlfriend she lost, there appears to be hope for her to be able to love again.
This is a dark and intense book that shows some of the worst
sides of humanity—but it also shows good winning over evil. The characters feel
real, and the mystery is filled with twists and turns—I never saw the end
coming. If you enjoy a well-written dark mystery, I would recommend checking
out A Message in Blood.
Trigger warnings for child sex abuse in this book—while we don’t see it happen on the page it is described and is a key part of the story.
To enter to win a copy of A Message in Blood, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "solace,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 13, 2021. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. BE AWARE THAT DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS THERE MAY BE A DELAY IN SHIPPING THE WINNING BOOK. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes up next week.
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Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and an enthusiastic contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie's mystery writing at Mysteryrat's Closet.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
Sounds interesting! Count me in!
ReplyDeleteThe two main characters sound like a really interesting pair. I'd love to have a copy of the book and know more about their story. Thanks! crs(at)codedivasites(dot)com
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ReplyDeleteNew author to me. Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the review. Sounds like a great mystery.
ReplyDeleteturtle6422 at gmail dot com
Sounds like a good book. Lots of PC
ReplyDeleteintrigue. thanks
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
This sounds like a book that would keep me reading past my bedtime!
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
We have a winner!
ReplyDelete