4. Blood Memory by Greg Iles

Since I received some gift cards for Christmas, I have done quite a bit of browsing for new books. At two different stores, I picked up books by Mr. Iles. I knew I had a couple unread at home, so I put them back and picked up Blood Memory off of my bookshelf. Though it was a long book, 736 pages to be exact, it was a great, fast read. I give it an A-.

Back cover:
Forensic expert "Cat" Ferry is suspended from a FBI task force when the world- class odontologist is inexplicably sticken with panic attacks and blackouts while investigating a chain of brutal New Orleans murders. Returning to her Mississippi hometown, Cat finds herself battling with alcohol, plagued by nightmares, and entangled with a married detective. Then, in her childhood bedroom, some spilled chemicals reveal two bloody footprints... and the trauma of her father's murder years comes flooding back. Facing the secrets of her past, Cat races to connect them to a killer's present-day violence. But what emerges is the frightening possibility that Cat herself has blood on her hands...

I really liked Cat and was rooting for her throughout the story. While she is far from being perfect and makes so many dumb mistakes, I really hoped she would pull through everything and come out a better and stronger person in the end. The two cases Cat is investigating seem to be connected and the common factor is a difficult subject to talk or read about... child sexual abuse. I thought Mr. Iles did a great job making the story realistic and writing about such a difficult and heartbreaking topic. The setting, southern Mississippi and New Orleans are drawn out beautifully and I could picture myself in the warm, muggy air, something I wish I was in. Some characters from previous books by Mr. Iles make an apperance which I enjoyed, but it isn't necessary to read the books in order. If you enjoy reading suspense books, I would highly suggest you pick up one of Mr. Iles books!

I still have a few more library books to read, but I think a few of them may be returned unread. I think I am going to pick up Harlan Coben's The Innocents next. It is another book that I saw while browsing and I saved my gift cards by picking it up from the library. I hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Reading!