Sense of Evil

Sense of Evil
4 Stars

Hastings, South Carolina seems like a quiet, safe and friendly place to live until the day undercurrents of evil rise up to destroy the idyllic little town. A vicious serial killer is targeting women with blond hair and Chief of Police, Rafe Sullivan, calls in reinforcements from the FBI. Special Agent Isabel Adams is smart, confident and blonde, something that pushes all of Rafe’s buttons. Can the fearless agent and the determined cop stay one step ahead of a deranged monster dead set on filling his quota?

The story is fast paced and the characterization an improvement on the last book. Nevertheless, there are still too few clues as to the villain's identity although it is possible to figure it all out because the show more explanation for why the victims would willingly go with their killer is all too obvious.

Even though there is definite potential for an intense romance between Rafe and Isabel, their relationship takes a back seat to the mystery, which is unfortunate. The paranormal elements, however, are an added bonus, particularly due to the interesting insight into the possible origin and function of extra-sensory abilities.

All in all, a well-written and suspenseful mystery with engaging characters and it looks like Hooper is back on track with this series. show less

In Hastings, South Carolina, Police chief Rafe Sullivan knows the third blond victim means a serial killer is on he loose. What he cannot fathom is how the culprit persuades these intelligent young women to enter the woods with him. There is no hint of a struggle in any of the three homicides which makes sense to the local cop. Though similar, especially the killer, to a recent tidal wave of serial killer novels, "Sense of Evil" is a well-written entertaining police procedural with touches of romance and the paranormal. The story line is loaded with suspense that is somewhat relieved by the glib and flippant Isabel.

Sense of Evil is a psychic Sense-ation!

Kay Hooper's Sense of Evil keeps you in suspense up to the very end. Hooper brings back her special team of psychic investigators, including the mysterious Bishop. In this novel, the main character Agent Isabel Adams leads a team to a small town to catch a serial killer whose victims have three things in common--they’re all beautiful, successful…and blond. And so is Isabel.

Knowing that she could be targeted by a crazed killer, Isabel ‘links up’ with the town Sheriff, Rafe Sullivan. And sparks fly! Literally. While women begin to disappear, Rafe and Isabel fight their obvious attraction while searching for a killer who eludes them, a killer who is much closer than they suspect.

Kay Hooper show more gives us a volatile mix of romance, danger, murder, fast-paced suspense, and a cast of intriguing yet somewhat complicated characters. As author of another psychic suspense series (the Divine series featuring Agent Jasi McLellan), I was curious to see how another author handles the aspects of psychic investigations. Hooper does this with visionary ease. Kudos to Kay!

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of the "psychic suspense" Divine Intervention show less

The small town of Hastings is disturbed by what looks like a possible serial killer. The chief, Raffe calls in the FBI who sends in two female special agents to assist the police force with the investigation. Unfortunately one of them, Isabel fits the killers profile to a tee.

What ensues is quite far fetched but I enjoyed it and found myself hoping for a long drive so that i could listen to the conclusion.

Well, this one has it all. It has a serial killer who is delusional, a band of psychics, a love interest including partners who are scarred by previous experiences, and murder after murder.

Special Agent Isabel Adams, an FBI profiler, is also part of an elite, secret team of psychics. The members have different psychic skills and are all trained to use them effectively. Adams is called in by Sheriff Rafe Sullivan when he realizes his small department is not equipped to handle a serial killer. The FBI team works with the Sheriff's office to profile the killer and follow leads.

Rafe is skeptical about the psychic part, but "open-minded". Isabel and others on the team explain how their powers work, when they first knew they had them, how the show more powers can help with the investigation. I have to give Hooper credit for developing quite a complicated story about these powers.

It doesn't take a psychic, though, to see that Rafe and Isabel are going to be the romantic interest here. We follow them as they circle around each other, and as they touch - when they touch actual sparks fly. All this is explained by psychic energy.

I am grateful that we only heard from the killer a few times. When a novel features a serial killer talking about being "chosen" and needing to accomplish certain things, I find it tiring. These delusional killers are so much the same, whoever writes the book. They are pure evil, have no redeeming qualities, and are self-obsessed, of course.

And if I were fair, I'd rate the book higher for the consistency of plot, the development of the story, the tightness of the writing. But I am no fan of romantic suspense or the supernatural or the same old serial killer. This is the kind of book I call airplane reading or escape reading. It works for that. show less

In this Special Crimes Unit series, I got to know more about Hollis (medium and victim of vicious crime) and Isabel (clairvoyant). I found out about Isabel's childhood and how her abilities evolved. I also was introduced to Rafe, a small town police chief who becomes involved with Isabel. There relationship is very interesting. The crime plot - another serial killer - who kills women in groups of 6. In the current case, the killer is targeting blondes. I was introduced to the killer's mind early in the book, but the identity was not revealed till the end. I had no idea! None of my ponderings about who the killer might be was correct.

I've enjoyed the Mary Higgins Clark books I've read and a few other scattered mystery/horror novels, but this one wasn't really like the others. It was a little more graphic and had an element of supernatural with the psychic twist. I didn't dislike the book and it kept me interested enough to read it all the way through, but I doubt I'll purposely pick up anything else by this author.