Review: Blood Legacy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 27, 2013
I have read every book written by Alexandra Sokoloff to date, including her writing craft books. I have enjoyed all of them. She started with horror and dark fantasy, but she showed a talent for writing in the thriller genre with Huntress Moon.Huntress Moon is a new series featuring an FBI agent, Roarke, who has a profiling background, as the protagonist. In romance writing, we often find that the lovers are protagonist and antagonist, and it is so here with Roarke and the mysterious Cara. They are not quite lovers; there is a sexual tension between the two, yet they never quite cross that boundary. Cara is a vigilante who hunts down abusers, molesters, and killers and protects their victims. Together they are hunter and hunted, yet in Huntress Moon they found a way to work together towards a greater goal.Blood Moon successfully continues the story and the tension between these two characters, yet the novel can stand alone. In Blood Moon, we learn more about The Reaper, the killer who terrorized and violently murdered Cara's family, leaving her with a blood legacy that has set her course in life. Ironically, as a child Roarke was deeply affected by newspaper accounts of the Reaper killings, setting him on the path to law enforcement. A new series of murders are eerily similar, and while Roarke hunts Cara, he also needs her help. Roarke's complicated connection with Cara is compounded by events. As the need to find the killer grows, Roarke's angst grows.There are layers of tension in this novel, layers of psychological background and intrigue, and layers of suspense. Both novels, Huntress Moon and Blood Moon, combine elements of horror and a sense of the supernatural, yet in a subtle way that never interferes with the story, instead adding depth and texture to a modern myth in the making.To me, a sign of a great novel is when I can't put it down at night. This one had me up until 2:00 a.m. on a weeknight, anxiously holding my breath, looking over my shoulder, and turning pages to get to the end. It is fast paced, suspenseful, and wildly entertaining. The characters stayed in my head for days after reading this, generating lots of thoughts and guesses about potential plots, issues, and subjects the author may delve into as the series continues. I can't wait for the next novel in this series!