The Resonance of Blood

Rating:
Summary: Effective entertainment
Review: The second in Vardeman's highly entertaining and, in this case, thrilling and creepy, mystery series. I found this entry in the series to be more of a thriller than a traditional mystery and it doesn't succeed quite so well on the latter count. (The third book "Death Channels" succeeds on all counts). Peter Thorne is one of the most enjoyable characters I've come across in quite a while, since he's a Houdini-type of character involved in magic acts but at the same time debunking mediums and the other psychic shenanigans in the San Francisco area. Oh yes, he also helps local police to solve murders, since he does possess a single psychic ability despite his skepticism on other matters. This is an entertaining scenario in which the New Age culture of the 60s through 80s can meet the skeptical and scientific scrutiny and responses of the 90s and 00s! (Readers of the Skeptical Inquirer, Skeptic, and similar mags, take note!!!) Especially fun is when there's an interlude in which Peter addresses a local skeptic's society. Yet his own psychic power is genuine, in this fictional scenario. How he uses it along with his knowledge of magic and escape makes the book a truly entertaining reading experience. (Also noteworthy is the first book in the series - The Screaming Knife.) Main drawback is that, following in the tradition of the mystery genre, the books sometimes include many lurid details of crime and horror.
This is particularly true in the climax of this book, and in retrospect, caused me to drop my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars, now that I've realized how such portrayals of violence are not helpful for decent-hearted readers.

Rating:
Summary: Effective entertainment
Review: The second in Vardeman's highly entertaining and, in this case, thrilling and creepy, mystery series. I found this entry in the series to be more of a thriller than a traditional mystery and it doesn't succeed quite so well on the latter count. (The third book "Death Channels" succeeds on all counts). Peter Thorne is one of the most enjoyable characters I've come across in quite a while, since he's a Houdini-type of character involved in magic acts but at the same time debunking mediums and the other psychic shenanigans in the San Francisco area. Oh yes, he also helps local police to solve murders, since he does possess a single psychic ability despite his skepticism on other matters. This is an entertaining scenario in which the New Age culture of the 60s through 80s can meet the skeptical and scientific scrutiny and responses of the 90s and 00s! (Readers of the Skeptical Inquirer, Skeptic, and similar mags, take note!!!) Especially fun is when there's an interlude in which Peter addresses a local skeptic's society. Yet his own psychic power is genuine, in this fictional scenario. How he uses it along with his knowledge of magic and escape makes the book a truly entertaining reading experience. (Also noteworthy is the first book in the series - The Screaming Knife.) Main drawback is that, following in the tradition of the mystery genre, the books sometimes include many lurid details of crime and horror.
This is particularly true in the climax of this book, and in retrospect, caused me to drop my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars, now that I've realized how such portrayals of violence are not helpful for decent-hearted readers.