Blind Spot - Terri Persons
Blind Spot
Terri Persons
Berkley Prime Crime
Mystery/Thriller
FBI Agent Bernadette Saint Clare has more that just intuition working for her. She has the ability to see through the eyes of killers. It’s triggered by touching a physical object linked to the crime. This is not an ability she advertises, but word gets around fairly quickly, and most supervising agents don’t really know what to do with her. They like catching killers, but there’s the problem of obtaining evidence that can be used in court.
Just arrived at the St. Paul, Minnesota Field Office, Bernadette finds that her new boss is a bit more accepting of her strange talent. She’s almost immediately called into a new case. There’s a severed hand without a corresponding body, and a body without its hand. Handling a ring from the severed hand, Bernadette finds that she’s seeing through the killer’s eyes in real time. Since he’s not looking in a mirror, this is not helpful in identifying him, but she makes a note of the surroundings, and every detail she can see.
Bernadette’s method of ‘seeing’ is a great hook for a series. The problem is that Bernadette makes illogical assumptions based on what she sees and often ends up running in the wrong direction. Obviously this kind of remote viewing is not standard investigating technique, but add this to the gaps in basic knowledge that seem odd for a college-educated, FBI-trained investigator, and this kind of thing becomes frustrating very quickly, especially since the reader is aware of the actions and identity of the killer from very early on in the story.
Regardless of Bernadette’s fault, this novel had me compulsively turning pages. The pacing is very fast, the writing shows great flair, and the story captivated me from the first page. The secondary characters, including her very mysterious upstairs neighbor, are all written very well. The few relationships in her life evolve very naturally. This is the first in a series, and with a few judicious tweaks, it will be a real winner.
Terri Persons
Berkley Prime Crime
Mystery/Thriller
FBI Agent Bernadette Saint Clare has more that just intuition working for her. She has the ability to see through the eyes of killers. It’s triggered by touching a physical object linked to the crime. This is not an ability she advertises, but word gets around fairly quickly, and most supervising agents don’t really know what to do with her. They like catching killers, but there’s the problem of obtaining evidence that can be used in court.
Just arrived at the St. Paul, Minnesota Field Office, Bernadette finds that her new boss is a bit more accepting of her strange talent. She’s almost immediately called into a new case. There’s a severed hand without a corresponding body, and a body without its hand. Handling a ring from the severed hand, Bernadette finds that she’s seeing through the killer’s eyes in real time. Since he’s not looking in a mirror, this is not helpful in identifying him, but she makes a note of the surroundings, and every detail she can see.
Bernadette’s method of ‘seeing’ is a great hook for a series. The problem is that Bernadette makes illogical assumptions based on what she sees and often ends up running in the wrong direction. Obviously this kind of remote viewing is not standard investigating technique, but add this to the gaps in basic knowledge that seem odd for a college-educated, FBI-trained investigator, and this kind of thing becomes frustrating very quickly, especially since the reader is aware of the actions and identity of the killer from very early on in the story.
Regardless of Bernadette’s fault, this novel had me compulsively turning pages. The pacing is very fast, the writing shows great flair, and the story captivated me from the first page. The secondary characters, including her very mysterious upstairs neighbor, are all written very well. The few relationships in her life evolve very naturally. This is the first in a series, and with a few judicious tweaks, it will be a real winner.
Rating: 6 ½
April 2008
ISBN# 978-0-425-22046-7 (paperback)
posted by Deborah Hern @ 11:30 PM
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