Thicker than Blood (Zoe Bentley Mystery #3)

This is the third book in the series featuring Zoe Bentley, forensic psychologist. After twenty years, she is still on the hunt for a serial rapist/murderer, and along with FBI agent Tatum Gray, she has trailed him to a Chicago neighborhood. Rod Glover has escaped capture for all these years, and Zoe is obsessed with finally closing this case. Rod, now using another name, has ingratiated himself into a McKinley Park church and has enlisted someone to help him end his \”career\” now that he is dying of brain cancer. The story is, once again, compelling, and the tension builds throughout. However, Rod is now a part of a cadre of modern day vampires. I never knew, and wish I didn\’t know, that such people exist! The gore is often graphic, the violence severe, and some scenes are actually gag-making. I had to put the book down a number of times to clear my vision of events. That\’s not to say that this wasn\’t a good read, just that it was difficult for me. I like these characters and the writing style, so I expect to continue reading this series if it continues. I do hope the subject matter will be less disturbing to me.

This book is the final chapter in the Zoe Bentley vs childhood enemy series. Its a classic example of a series that was stretched from a one or two book series into a trilogy. The first book was full of energy and passion. The second less so but it still contained a good deal of tension. This, the wrap-up, lacked tension substituting instead unrealistic insanity and cruelty for action and interest. There were areas in this book that, unlike the previous two, dragged significantly. Likewise, the nastiness was cranked up a few notches. Were introduced to a character who is both completely detached from reality to the point of being continually delusional but who can pass for perfectly sane to the world something I found laughably inconsistent. Add that to this characters utter lack of affect, bent toward brutality toward women thats shared with the previously introduced bad guy. The result is a rather repulsive duo whose sadistic-sexual acts are given all too much screen time. Somewhat surprisingly to this reader, the author has created one of the most endearing characters this reader has ever encountered in the comic relief player named Marvin, a supporting characters grandfather. Sadly, this player is given much less to do and say here than in the previous volume. The seeds of the next Zoe Bentley mystery-thriller are sown throughout the book and telegraphed in the wrap-up. Im reasonably sure well see another Zoe Bentley book or maybe series. Ill likely be along for the ride but would prefer a Grandfather Marvin series or maybe having him stepped up to be a major player within the Zoe universe. Clearly a notch or two behind the other two books in this series but still readable with a better than usual wrap up.

Profiler Zoe and Agent Tatum from the FBI are still in Chicago trying to track down Rod Glover. He is a serial killer that they have come very close to catching recently. There is a new case of a murdered woman that fits Glover\’s MO but it appears that he now has help. Whoever this help is he is out for blood. A vampire? Now they have another profile to build to help them track Glover down before he continues to kill. This is the 3rd book in the Zoe Bentley series and I loved it just as much as I loved the first two. The author does a great job building his characters. The humor he includes among the gruesome killings is a nice touch to lighten the story. If you have ever wanted to try to understand the mind of a killer then this series is for you.

This is the best yet of the Zoe Bentley mystery series, and this book completes a trio of books about the serial killer Rod Glover. The character development really shines, as we are fully invested in Zoe and Tatum now, and the author has the freedom to expand on their quirks, their relationship, and their backgrounds. I was happy to see Tatum\’s grandfather, Marvin, is back in this book, and I hope he will continue to be a supporting character in the series. Marvin is hilarious, and, like all the characters, so realistic you can easily picture him in your mind. The villain, too, has had three books now in which to mature into a fully-realized character, and here we get to see Glover interacting with a less-experienced accomplice, who is also skillfully drawn. There is an interesting sub-plot with yet another character, a church member named Patrick. As in the first two books, the character of Dr. Zoe Bentley is truly unique in a heroine because of her antisocial, introverted personality and her love of food, not to mention her ability to get into the minds of both the killer and his victims. Really an excellent, excellent mystery series, and such a refreshing change from the Scarpetta/Brennan heroine molds.

A delusional killer who likesor needsto drink blood, along with the return of Zoes sadistic nemesis from the first two books in this series, make for a dark and twisted read. This book is not for the squeamish. Mike Omer spares no details. We see what these psychopathic killers are like, up close and personal, and we feel it from both the killers and the victims perspectives. I liked that the storylines converge here, so the new case intertwines with the ongoing case from the first two books, and we finally see resolution. I had minor issues with the portrayal of the delusional killer, who is completely out of touch with reality at some points, but also able to hold down a job and appear normal when necessary. I got that he was spiraling out of control, but sometimes the timing felt too convenient. Even so, I found him interesting, and I enjoyed the dynamics between him and Rod Glover, our original psychopath. Thicker Than Blood is a twisted tale of two killers; one who gets off on control and one who will do anything to get the blood he believes he needs. While you could probably read it as a stand-alone, I recommend starting with A Killer\’s Mind, book one, to better understand all the intricacies of the story.

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