Blood Rites

First of all, I didn't read the previous books in the series. I received this one and I didn't check to see if it was part of a series or not. Good news is that the 6th instalment can be read as a standalone. There are mentions to past cases, one in particular, but enough detail is given so that it's not too confusing. Bad news is that reading this book was such a chore.

What's good about it is that I got to know all of the characters. There is plenty about every one of them, some more than others, of course, but still. I liked the shifting perspectives and although at first I was confused about what's a coven doing in there, it ended up being quite an interesting touch to the plot overall.

I thought I have more good things to list, but that's about it. For the things I didn't enjoy as much, and the main reason why reading this felt like a chore to me, is the writing style. I couldn't get into it and I would lose focus so often. Every few pages or so I was not there. I don't know what is it about it, but it didn't grip my attention. I liked how the author took time to explain everything and familiarize us with the characters and situations, but at the same time that took the novel all over the place and slowed it down. Odd is that I actually enjoyed it more when the point of view settled on someone else rather than Kelly, the change was welcome and probably what helped me turn yet another page. I particularly liked it when it focused on Josie, although I didn't like Josie all that much. She was just okay.

To that I add that for the first 100 pages or so nothing is really happening. The focus is mostly on Kelly's former case. After 100 pages there's a murder and things look like going in an interesting direction. Only they aren't, quite.

I liked the plot overall and I think everything was well researched and well written, but I still have some questions. I wanted to know more about the murders, about how they happened, what triggered the criminal. And speaking of the criminal, I don't know how it took Kelly so long to figure out who it was. Wait, she didn't figure it out. It was obvious for the reader, not for the characters, I agree, but Kelly and her team, out of witch no one thought hey, something's off here, had plenty of information and hints to lead them to the criminal. And yet, even when it was revealed to her, Kelly didn't believe it at first. The last 20 pages alone made me want to drop the book, it was so annoying.

There's no thrill to this novel, it was not captivating as the back cover claims it to be, it was mediocre at best. Maybe readers who are familiar with the series are able to enjoy it more, but where I'm looking from, it's surprising I even finished reading it.