Blood Memory : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: antastic thriller
Review: Forensic odontologist Dr. Catherine Perry specializes in bite marks on victim's bodies. She is on the task force with her lover, married New Orleans Police Detective Sean Regan working the case of a serial killer who leaves older men naked with deep bite marks all over their body accompanied by a nearby message "My work is never done". When Cat has a panic attack at the fourth crime scene, she is removed from the case and returns home to Malmaison, a mansion located in Natchez, Mississippi

When a child spills some luminal in her room, she sees a child's bare footprint and an adult's booted footprint. She wants to call in a forensic team to obtain DNA evidence, but her grandfather tells her that her father was killed in her room, protecting her from an intruder. Strange dreams and returned memories make her doubt his story; he confesses that her father was molesting her so he killed him. While the police think the serial killer is psychiatrist Dr. Malik who specializes in sexual child abuse cases and repressed memories and is treating her aunt, Cat needs to know the whole truth that destroyed her peace of mind all those years ago though she has to live long enough to accomplish her quest.

This fantastic thriller contains a dark and foreboding atmosphere that makes Malmaison feel like a mansion straight out of a gothic novel. Readers will empathize with Cat who suffers terrible emotional trauma without knowing why. Yet despite depression and a bi-polar condition, she refuses to give into to her suicidal urges and is determined to have her baby regardless of whether Sean leaves his wife or not. She also links the her abuse to the serial killer and helps Sean in his quest to find the killer. This is a riveting tale that addresses one of society's most evil ills: sexual abuse of children.

Harriet Klausner