Title: Hold Back the Dark

Series: Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Series

By:   Kay Hooper

ISBN: 0425280950 (ISBN13: 9780425280959)

Author’s Website: http://www.kayhooper.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:  

An SCU team investigates an inexplicable string of murders committed by men and women with no memory of their crimes in the latest in this New York Times bestselling series.

Madness has taken a hold of Prosperity, North Carolina. Residents are killing one another, as if in a dream, and waking up with no memory of the monstrous acts they’ve committed–or why. As the death toll climbs, the local sheriff’s department is further rocked by a murder carried out by one of their own. Deputy Katie Cole knows that whatever monster is afoot is beyond her scope…

The Special Crimes Unit is called in for their specific brand of investigation. It will take all their training, all their experience, and every extra sense they can call on to get to the bottom of things in Prosperity. And as a dark pattern begins to emerge, even the most experienced and hardened SCU agents have to wonder if this is beyond their understanding. (Goodreads)

Review:

The latest installment of the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Series, Hold Back the Dark, is an engaging read.  My attention was held throughout and in fact, as the story went on, I could not seem to put the book down – it was that captivating!

If you have followed the series, you will find a number of characters come together in Prosperity, North Carolina to find out (and stop) the residents of this small town from killing each other. It seems that the “something” has captured the town and torturing them by having the residents partake in unspeakable atrocities amongst themselves. The local constabulary (specifically Chief Deputy Katie Cole – she seems to have some abilities of her own) request the help of the feds (the Special Crime Unit-SCU) as the situation is escalating quickly and beyond their means to solve what is really happening in their small town.  

Even before the request for help, Bishop was assembling a team to go to Prosperity. And this team would consist of six new characters with psychic abilities that they have not fully developed or understood (or maybe even denying or ignoring.

“Those summoned are untrained people, lacking experience as well as unwilling, or unable, for one reason or another, to be feds, cops, or other kinds of investigators.” “All are exceptionally powerful, or have the potential to be, even though most lack even nominal control.” “They’ve all met each other, spent some time together. For a while, they lived in a sort of group home. Some have known each other for years. And some of them were, at least at one time, close.”:

 

• Olivia Castle heard the whispered demand that made no sense to her – Prosperity. Go to Prosperity.  
• Logan Alexander is a man of hard-headed practicality…and a medium and he was told by a ghost -> You have to go to Propensity, Logan.  You have to help them….We’ll all be in danger if you can’t help then stop it. The living and the dead. 
• Reno Bellman – while on a date began “hearing” -> Come…come to…come to Prosperity. They…need you. We all need you. You have to come to Prosperity.” Her vision of what was to come was just frightening!
• Sully Maitland
• Victoria Stark
• Dalton Davenport – a telepath

 

And of course, some of the “regular” cast of characters came back to fight….Hollis (arguably, the most powerful individual psychic in the unit) and her partner, Reese DeMarco.  I really enjoyed reconnecting with those two. Especially interesting to see how far their personal relationship had progressed, how their connection augmented each other and their psychic abilities.

It must be said, I was certainly disturbed by the mayhem that ensued…so many deaths…and not all of them easy to read about. At the same time, I was in awe at how well the team worked together to figure out “what” was going on in Prosperity and react in such a way as to neutralize any threat to the town.

One point to make, I did find that this book was a bit flat in the middle compared to the others in the series that I have read. Additionally, the ending came abruptly. Luckily, what made the story was the coming together of many characters that have been interspersed throughout the previous books, as well as some newbies – which I can’t wait to see where their story lines take them. Nice to see so many of the characters together.

If you are a fan of mysteries with paranormal / supernatural thrown in as well as some romance, then I would suggest reading this latest installment of the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series – Hold Back the Dark.  In fact – read the whole series!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*