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    Blood Ties
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    Blood Ties
    Unavailable
    Blood Ties
    Audiobook10 hours

    Blood Ties

    Written by Kay Hooper

    Narrated by Joyce Bean

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The elite Special Crimes Unit, the FBI's most controversial and effective team, is a group of mavericks and misfits trained to use their unique psychic abilities to hunt the worst monsters imaginable - human ones. Led by the enigmatic Noah Bishop, the SCU team has earned a reputation for pitting their skills and cunning against killers that other cops fear. But this time Bishop and his agents face an enemy who has them in his sights, a trained sniper with a deadly plan - and more than one ace up his sleeve.

    It starts with an unspeakable series of grisly murders across three states, a trail of blood leading, finally, to the small Tennessee town of Serenade. There, two more brutal murders lure the SCU into what may be the ultimate trap.

    One of the first investigators on the scene, Special Agent Hollis Templeton is willing to push herself as hard and as far as necessary. Risking more than her life to help and protect her fellow SCU members, Hollis is coping with psychic abilities that are evolving in unprecedented ways, an attraction to the most complex man she's ever known, and a serial murder investigation that has just turned very, very personal.

    In her time with the SCU, Hollis has shown an uncanny ability to survive even the most deadly attacks. But what she doesn't count on is that this killer intends to destroy the team from within.

    The clock is ticking. The body count is rising. And as Bishop and his agents race to uncover the identity of their true enemy, not even their special senses can warn them just how bloody, and how terrifyingly close, the truth will be.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 26, 2010
    ISBN9781423333173
    Unavailable
    Blood Ties
    Author

    Kay Hooper

    Kay Hooper, who has more than thirteen million copies of her books in print worldwide, has won numerous awards and high praise for her novels. She lives in North Carolina, where she is currently working on her next novel.

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    Reviews for Blood Ties

    4/5

    153 ratings14 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It's been too long since the last Kay Hooper I read, and in particular too long since the last one of this series, this is very much not a stand-alone title, this wraps up a few threads and leaves a few dangling threads into the future. Overall I enjoyed it but I felt like I was missing some portions but in the end the story was interesting.
    • 5/5
      Set in the small town of Serenade, Tennessee, a runner stumbles over the body of a man who has been tortured and murdered. The local sheriff, Des Duncan, who is not equipped to deal with such matters, calls in the FBI. The agents who show up are members of the highly trained Special Crimes Unit, all of whom have one or more psychic abilities. When more dead bodies turn up, the SCU suspects that a serial killer is on the loose.

      Even though all the books are technically stand alone books, I strongly advise reading them in order .... you can see relationships develop and the characters interact with each other and understand their powers better and how they change. Kay Hooper is an excellent author. Anything she publishes is a good read but her Noah Bishop series is one of the best.
    • 3/5
      At about half way through the book and I am enjoying it. But it seems like every chapter introduces more characters to the story, and it is getting hard to keep track of them all. I know most of them have appeared in previous books, but I read so many books it is hard to keep them all straight.
      I have finished the book now. It was a good story with a satisfying ending. Some of the plot twists are a little hard to believe. I am all ready to believe in psychic powers, but that seems to become a convenient excuse for everything that happens. So you want to bring a character back but you killed him in a previous book, no problem. Just bring him back and say it was his "powers." Stuff like that starts to get annoying after awhile. Also, I didn't like the resolution to Ruby's story.
    • 2/5
      I've been a fan of Kay Hooper's writing for more than a decade, since I first read Stealing Shadows. The Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series is written in a series of trilogies, with minor characters of one trilogy spinning off to be main characters in another. The books in the three prior trilogies easily stood on their own. This one, however, does not. If you have not read the entire series, you'll be lost here. The plot relies heavily on information and cases from past books. This is so prevalent that the passing references are marked with asterisks, giving the other book titles in a footnote. Unless you plan to stop at each point and read the books mentioned, this isn't particularly helpful. With this book, Hooper also brings in all the characters from the special crimes unit (and there are many), plus a whole lot of new characters. Consequently, none of them are well developed. At best, they felt shallow and one-dimensional. Again, if you haven't read the other books, you'll know next to nothing about these characters. I've read the other books, but still often felt lost here. It's been many years since I've read some of them, and I've read a whole lot of books in between. This book would only work if you read the series from first title to last within a short period of time.I felt the plot was overly complicated, relying on too many POV characters and far too much content from past stories. Despite the intricate plot, the story moved slowly. I think this was due to the amount of POV characters. There was a lot of rehashing of information. In all, Blood Ties was a huge disappointment. I just hope Hooper goes back to her earlier, simplified writing style.
    • 3/5
      This is the 12th book about the elite SCU, a division in the FBI, which has agents with psychic abilities. This book dealt with a vicious serial killer that had several ties to a previous case. In putting together the clues, the investigators began to believe that their unit was being targeted and the goal was to destroy the unit in whatever way possible. As the killing escalates, more agents are sent to the small town of Serenade and the more dangerous it becomes for the Special Crimes Unit.
      I have not read all 11 books which lead to this story. I found that I was often left trying to figure out the significance of previous cases and the importance of how various characters' psychic abilities developed. In order to really appreciate this novel, I will have to go back and read the background books. This is not a series to read out of order.
    • 4/5
      This book is right up my alley and I'm glad I picked it up. An interesting team--Special Crimes Unit, part of the FBI. They have paranormal abilities that aid in their investigations. But those same abilities put them in danger when they chase an evil serial killer. Or are there more than one? In "Blood Ties," there are twists and mysteries one would expect in a suspenseful story, but the downright terrifying parts are also prominent. Great story. I most definitely will continue reading Kay Hooper.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Very rich, relatively non-gory. Most of the horror here is more on the spirit than the physical level. A lot of loose ends get tied off - not all of them, though. And a few characters introduced just to be killed - bah. The footnotes indicating when an agent first showed up, and when (in what book) important events happened, helped - not enough, I was still rather lost, but they helped. And one major development came out of absolutely nowhere - who BJ, Bubba, and Rex were was completely random. Beyond that - levels of deception, all over the place. It's a very interesting story, but not a pleasant one. I don't know if I'll reread it or not - definitely in one fell swoop with the rest of the series, though. Sheesh, 12 books and it's still going on - I thought this would be the wrap-up but those loose ends are still out there. And Hooper mentions in her afterword that she'll do the footnote thing again in later books...
    • 3/5
      To those of you that really, really don't like change, I apologise. (something expert bloggers say I should never do - but it feels right) For this month only, as we focus on 'chick lit', the reviews will follow the 'chick lit check list'. 1. fiction that, often humourously, explores issues of modern womanhood There is some, rather dark, humour from time to time in the novel. It is a tricky thing to insert humour into a story about a serial killer torturing and ... well ... killing people to taunt the SCU (a special, psychic unit of the FBI ). Not a laugh out loud kind of humour - more of a 'I can't believe he said that but I still have to chuckle' humour. Does Kay Hooper explore issues of modern womanhood in Blood Ties? It's a reach but, if we consider one issue of modern womanhood to be how to use your psychic powers to capture the bad guy without being killed in the process, then yes. (Not buying that one, eh? Ya - me neither) 2. features young adult women who are primarily career driven YES!! The women in this novel are all in their 20's or maybe 30's but no older. They are also all gorgeous and fit and psychic. The females in the SCU focus all of their energy on using their various psychic powers to be the best FBI agents they can be. 3. protagonist is addicted to shopping and how she looks NO. Although Hollis is gorgeous without trying, not once during the entire investigation does she go shopping or stop to do her hair. She does look in the mirror once or twice and cringe at how tired she looks. Does that count? 4. may or may not involve a romantic plot line Blood Ties has sub-plots that are the most romantic of plot lines. (Back me up on this, girls.) Greek god like men, amazing looking and totally ripped, who can read the minds of the women they are 'connected' to. So they always know what their women are thinking and feeling and what they need from their men. And the men are there to support the women, in every instance, without criticism, and jump in if they need to play the rescuer. When Hollis over uses her powers to the point of collapse, Reese DeMarco is right there to carry her to bed and protect her with his shield until she is rested. (and no, that is not a euphemism) 5. written by women for women Despite the violence and action involved, this is not a 'man's book'. 6. post-feminist The women in Kay Hooper's novels are not bra-burners but they are strong, likable and can take care of themselves and those around them.Although this book is not the first in the series, it can easily stand alone. I like that Ms Hooper has started adding footnotes and an afterword that help the reader to keep up with who's who, what they can do and which book in the series features them in a 'starring' role.So is it chick-lit. I say yes. And it's a fun read besides.
    • 3/5
      So I just finished Kay Hooper’s latest release in the Noah Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series and if I had to give it a number ranking it would be 3 out of 5 stars. I was really glad that I had picked up my old copy of Blood Sins and read it last week prior to reading Blood Ties. In Blood Sins several of the Special Crimes Unit characters played a key role so I was re-introduced to Galen, Hollis, Bishop, etc. Blood Ties is the 12th book in Ms. Hooper’s series and the one where she pulls almost the whole unit into the book. I think what bothered me about this book is that there was not a “main” character, rather the Unit was the main character. I had to try to remember all of her other books to recall the personality of each Unit member. Luckily, she did footnote each book as the Unit Member was brought into this story with the title of the book they were from originally. Once I read the whole book I found in the very back a list of the characters and their special abilities. I wish I had found it before I read the book! It would have been quite helpful!What I did like about the book is that the paranormal activity I’ve come to expect from her characters is evolving. And, the good versus evil is only getting more and more serious as each crime takes place. There is a twist at the end I did not expect which Ms. Hooper is famous for with her books. Trying to figure out the suspect before the Unit Members did was entertaining and kept me reading even though I was frustrated with the lack of a main character. The ending happened way too quickly and seemed rushed, but all in all it was a good read. I only wish I had waited for the paperback version rather than paying full price for the hardback!
    • 3/5
      Kay Hooper's Special Crimes Unit books have always been reliable escapist fiction in the romantic thriller category with paranormal elements thrown in for good measure. They pretty much all work on the same premise - our vulnerable heroine is just trying to grow into her psychic abilities, our hero is closed off and dangerous, and there's a serial killer they're both trying to put away. This isn't Literature, but that's okay - sometimes you want a hamburger and sometimes you want prime rib.I haven't read one of these in awhile and I could tell - there is enough stuff referring to events in previous novels that I haven't read that actual footnotes are included - I guess so readers can go back and get the ones they haven't read.Overall these have always been great junk fiction reads, but with this one I suspect that Ms. Hooper is preparing to jump the shark (if she hasn't done so already). She's just got far too many balls in the air right now and she isn't juggling them all that well. It's clear that she's trying to bring all her characters together, but the stage is pretty crowded right now. I hope she thins the herd and narrows her focus back down to the basics - romance novel formulaic though the basics may be, that is what she excels at.
    • 3/5
      Blood Ties is part of the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Series. I usually enjoy this series, but I didn't find this to be a particularly memorable book. I felt that the book spent too much time on too many characters and their "abilities" leaving the plot somewhat lacking.Better luck next time!
    • 2/5
      Not much story. Too much talk about the abilities of the characters.
    • 4/5
      Wrapping up another trio in this long-running series, and tying up several through-lines, although there is still a loose thread. Not the best in the series, and *not* a place for beginners to start, but certainly not a waste of time for fans.
    • 3/5
      A trail of ugly murders leads Bishop and the Special Crimes unit across several states, the latest dump site by far to close for comfort to the eerie "Lodge" (the site of earlier crimes). Someone, or something is still pulling strings, and evil is lurking where the team least expects to find it. Tragedy and secrets are still the name of the game.Better than the preceding book in the series, but Hooper's earlier books were stronger.