Rating: 
Summary: Spellbinding But Could Have Been Better
Review: 'Touching Evil' was a bit of an odd read for me. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down once I started it, yet when I was finished I felt a let-down. On the one hand, the plot was interesting and I enjoyed the characters. On the other hand, there seemed to be no real meat to the plot, no real action, no enthralling descriptions; and the characterizations were very shallow, not fleshed out. It was as if the author just skimmed the top of both. What could have been a very good book turned out to be just mediocre. The ending was a bit abrupt; for a mystery, which should have you thinking and guessing along with the storyline, the finale left something to be desired. I enjoy Kay Hooper's books and will continue reading them, but this was not one of her best.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Great book by Kay
Review: I loved the Shadow books just as I love the Evil books. Kay Hooper has a great way of drawing readers into the mystery. What I like most about Kay Hooper's book is the touch of the mystical as well as the romance that are key elements in her mysteries. Add these into a compelling whodunit and you have a great mixture. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Suspense and Paranormal Thriller
Review: You must have an open mind when reading Ms. Hooper and I find that if you are not open to different ideas you won't care for this author.Maggie is an artist that works independently with the police as a sketch artist. She has the amazing ability to talk to a victim, walk a crime scene and produce a drawing that is a perfect likeness of the criminal. Seattle women are currently being hunted by a serial rapist. He is abducting the women, blinding them, and raping them leaving them for dead in abandon buildings. Maggie has been unable to get a feel for this animal and is unable to assist the police since all of the victims have been unable to give any details except that he smells like Ivory soap and that he has a spearmint scented breath. John is the brother of one of the victims of the blindfold rapist. His sister Christine is dead by her own hand or so the police think. John thinks otherwise and comes to Seattle to follow the investigation and bring in a few friends (Shadow Series) to help tract down the rapist before he starts killing as well. The police have no clues as to who the rapist is and who he will strike next. Their investigation takes them in all kinds of directions including the fact that these crimes are real similar to crimes that were unsolved from 1934. The victims of the 1934 rapist look almost like twins to the present day victims. What is the link? First off I must admit to feeling that the ending was a bad one and did not seem to be well thought out almost as if Ms. Hooper forgot that she must wrap up the book soon. Perhaps if there was at least a chapter to explain how the bad guy became the bad guy would have helped. Trust me you will never guess who the killer is unless you read the end first. The second thing that bothered me was the fact that there were a few parts of the story that I did not feel have closure and did not seem to have much to do with the story ending so why bother. There was also the fact that there were a couple of characters that did not seem to really belong to the story. They were introduced but they were never explained as to who they were, and what they were all about, and how they came to be involved in the investigation. Otherwise this was still a good book with great suspense. As for the killing, and the raping I don't feel that she went into incredible detail and I must admit to having read more graphic detail in other authors. Be warned that this is more of a suspense thriller with a paranormal slant and less a romance. There is romance between John and Maggie but it is a backseat storyline. The sweet with the sour really. Have an open mind when you read this story. May not be 5 stars but it is still worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, refreshing read
Review: I don't often give reviews on books I've read. However, I was shocked by some of the reviews I had been seeing about the "Shadows" and "Evil" trilogies. These books were Wonderful! I couldn't put them down and can't wait for more from Ms. Hooper. They are suspensful (keep you guessing at every turn), they are romantic, and if you like paranormal reads they are unique and refreshing in content. If your looking for a plain old mystery then this is not the book for you. But if you like the unbelievable, romantic, suspense that many authors are trying to move toward, this is the best you will find.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting twist on the suspense/thriller...
Review: *Touching Evil* is my first experience with Kay Hooper, and I do plan on trying out *Whisper of Evil*, the second book in this series. Hooper carefully expands a typical serial killer mystery to include detectives with paranormal abilities. Set in modern-day Seattle, a murderer is on the loose, recreating unspeakable acts in decades past. In *Touching Evil*, Maggie Barnes is a police sketch artist with an unusal flair. .... I thought the novel was well-written, though somewhat drawn out and not as suspenseful as it could have been. I read the teaser for *Whisper of Evil*, and it sounds like a good set up for the next in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Mistake
Review: This book is about a crime series that can only be solved by Maggie, a detective with paranormal abilities. Most of the information about the case is obtained by Maggie walking over crime scenes and by talking to witnesses and absorbing the remaining "energy" of the crime itself.
Unless you are psychic yourself, the book gives no clues on development of the story. It's even pointless to think about this since the author does not hesitate to explain that only a medium can solve the case.
To a large extent it seems that the author focuses more on convincing the reader in the existence of the paranomal than on the plot itself.
Rating:
Summary: Big Mistake
Review: This book is about a crime series that can only be solved by Maggie, a detective with paranormal abilities, and a couple of FBI agents focusing on the paranormal. Almost all of the information about the case is obtained by Maggie walking over crime scenes and by talking to witnesses and absorbing the remaining "energy" created the crime itself.
Unless you are psychic yourself, the book gives no clues on the development of the story. It's even pointless to think about this since the author does not hesitate to explain that this case can only be solved by a medium.
To a large extent it seems that the author focuses more on convincing the reader in the existence of the paranomal than on the plot itself. I read the whole book only because I was curious whether I missed something. What a mistake.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Suspenseful
Review: This book was wonderful! It was incredibly suspenseful and written well. I couldn't put this book down, and please, don't read it in a storm like I did. It made me a bit jumpy. A few things were unanswered though, such as who is Galen? I thought I might have missed something. And a reason for the killings would have been nice. She touched on it a bit, but not enough to get a definite picture. Otherwise though this book was great! I liked the little bit of romance but it was obvious this book was more about scaring people than soothing them with romance. And I hope to hear more about Quentin and Kendra in her next books. This is definitely going to be one of my favorites of hers.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't finish this book
Review: This is the first Kay Hooper book I have read. I thought I had discovered a new author but it is not at all what I expected. I read to page 130 before I put it in the thrift shop bag. There was waayy too much talk between all the detectives - dragging on and on - and too much time speculating what Maggie was going to say, discover or reveal, and not enough time spent getting into the character and mind of the killer.This is no James Patterson and Ms. Hooper should take some lessons from David Baldacci (The Winner) on how to take something seemingly far fetched and making it seem incredibly real! This book is more of the high school level. I don't think I'll be reading more of this author.
Rating:
Summary: Inside the mind of Evil
Review: I really enjoyed the latest of the "Evil" books. I don't have a lot of time to sit down and write an outline of characters and events when I read a book. Ms Hooper writes books that are easy to read yet have graphic sceenes to help you visualize the events as they occur. Thanks and I can't wait for her next book!
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