The third in the Zoe Bentley Series

Thicker than Blood by Mike Omer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the final book in the Zoe Bentley/Rod Glover story arc (though I’m not sure if it’s the final book in the series). Dr. Zoe Bentley and her partner, Special Agent Tatum Grey, return to Chicago on the the tail of Rod Glover. The action heats up as multiple confounding factors interfere with the investigation, and Zoe must deal with her residual trauma from her sister’s encounter with Glover. While I didn’t find this book as strong as the first book, it provided a satisfying conclusion to the story. I’m interested to see if Omer continues the series with Zoe and Tatum on the hunt for other baddies!

I received access to a digital ARC via NetGalley.

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See my review for the previous book in the series, In the Darkness.

A New One from Allison Brennan

The Third to Die by Allison Brennan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love Allison Brennan’s Max Revere series, and find her Lucy Kincaid thrillers okay, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to get with this new series. I enjoyed the introduction of the FBI’s Mobile Response Team led by Special Agent Mathias Costa, and think I’ve found a new series to read!

Costa and his MRT are sent to Oregon on the trail of the Triple Killer, whose latest victim was just discovered by a vacationing LAPD detective, Kara Quinn. The hunt kept me hooked and I liked the interactions between Costa and his team, as well as the sexual tension created between Costa and Quinn.

Recommended for all fans of thrillers.

Thanks to Edelweiss+ for a digital ARC.



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In the Darkness

In the Darkness by Mike Omer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the Darkness is the second book in the Zoe Bentley thriller series. Dr. Zoe Bentley is a civilian consultant with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. Her forte is serial killers, kindled by an encounter with one when she was 14. Zoe is extremely focused and tends to say what she thinks, a trait that doesn’t win her many friends. Her biggest asset–and weakness–is her imagination. It’s an asset when it allows her insight into the killer’s mind but is detrimental when her ability to empathize with victims threatens to overwhelm her.

This book has two plots. The first is the hunt for the Schrodinger Killer which comprises the self-contained story within the book. The second is part of a story arc that began in the first book–Zoe’s hunt for the serial killer from her childhood. That cat-and-mouse game continues here.

The book alternates between present-day from multiple points of view, and flashbacks from the unknown killer’s point of view. In the first half of the book, I thought the flashbacks broke the continuity of the story. Even with that caveat, this is book worth reading.

I received a digital ARC via NetGalley.

#InTheDarkness #NetGalley

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