More Paranormal Suspense Than RomanceTOUCHING EVIL marks the point where the Bishop series becomes more Paranormal Suspense than Paranormal Romantic Suspense. There is a romance involved, but there is no real relationship development between the characters. Because this is a change from prior books, I think it is important to note this change. I miss the more intense relationships of Hooper's earlier books, but I can accept her new direction.THE STORY: Maggie Barnes is a remarkable police sketch artist. She is in the middle of a horrendous case. Someone is kidnapping, blinding and raping women. Maggie has been working with the victims to create a sketch of the suspect. People who work with Maggie know that she has something beyond talent. Some suspect that she is has the ability to enter the victim's mind and see what happened to them. Maggie meets John Garrett whose sister was a victim of the madman. John doesn't believe in paranormal talents and yet he is surrounded by people who possess them. John is working alongside and in a parallel investigation to discover what happened to his sister. When he meets Maggie, he may have to admit that there is something beyond what he believed.OPINION: This book has a very creepy feel. The crime is horrendous and Maggie's connection with the victim's is very personal that the descriptions are unsettling. I also did like the relationship between Maggie and John even though it is secondary to the suspense portion of the book. I liked seeing John have to reassess his skepticism and Hooper does a great job of slowly revealing the extent of Maggie's talent. I have two problems with this book. First, the first 150 pages of this book are very confusing with the introduction of numerous characters without much context. The switching between the viewpoints of these characters makes it difficult to feel any connection to any of the characters for a long time. While some of these characters make appearances in later books, this book is pretty confusing because of it. Second, I didn't like the ultimate twist of who the killer was. The paranormal aspect of who the killer was and his connection with Maggie was not satisfying to me because there was little context to the twist. After the big build up over Maggie having to redeem her prior mistake, I didn't feel that there was enough exposition regarding that past in order to have the entire plot revolve around it.WORTH MENTIONING: This book introduces many of the characters that will be important in the subsequent Bishop/Special Crimes Unit novels. There is also a small cameo appearance by Bishop himself.FINAL DECISION: This book is worth reading for fans of the series. I find that these books work better as a whole than individual books. Often, I cannot distinguish between the individual stories once I put the book down, but I tend to enjoy the story as I read it. CONNECTED BOOKS: This is the fourth book in the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series.STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it while I was reading it (once I sorted out the characters, but there is nothing demanding a re-read.
#1. I DID NOT figure out who the killer was!#2. Following is a list of characters (you know like the old pulp novels ;D )Hollis . . . . . . Artist who is the latest victim. [?]Maggie . . . . . . Police sketch artist, who has empathic abilities.John . . . . . . Business Tycoon, who has been touched by the killer, as well as . . .Andy . . . . . . Seattle Detective working the case.Scott . . . . . . Seattle Detective working the case.Jennifer . . . . . . Seattle Detective working the case.Quentin . . . . . . FBI Agent assigned to Noah Bishop's SCU, as well as good friend of John. [?]Kendra . . . . . . FBI Agent assigned to Noah Bishop's SCU, as well as Quentin's partner. [?]Beau . . . . . . Artist, Maggie's brother, & who has precognitive abilities. [?]Tony . . . . . . FBI Agent assigned to Noah Bishop's SCU [?]Noah Bishop . . . . . . FBI Agent in charge of SCU. Out of the ShadowsMiranda . . . . . . FBI Agent?, married to Noah Bishop & assigned to the SCU. Out of the ShadowsGalen . . . . . . Friend of Beau's? [?]
What do You think about Touching Evil (2001)?
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 was relieved with that. 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. Have an open mind when you read this story. May not be 5 stars but it is still worth reading.
—Judith
The best Hooper book I have read this far. Although the murders are by far the most gruesome and brutal. I admit I skimmed some of those parts. I can't always get images out of my head, which is very appropriate for the nature of this book. Hooper appears to like exploring different types of paranormal abilities in each of her books, and I was personally drawn (no pun intended) to the idea of a police sketch artist with "a gift" that enables her to draw so accurately the faces of evil. And in each book, it is fun to watch the author explore the varying reactions to paranormal ability by those who don't possess the gift. Or don't yet know that they do. And the investigation tactics alone in this story are absorbing. Hooper pushes the reader further than she has yet to do and yet I did not find the nudging annoying or outside the realm of the reality created in her books. Kudos, again, Kay Hooper.
—Gigi
A few years ago I read Kay Hooper's Blood trilogy, and I really enjoyed those books. However, I never went back to her until Touching Evil (Book 1, Evil Trilogy). And I really enjoyed it. Kay Hooper has a way of making her characters really really likable, and you just root for them the entire time.I love the supernatural aspect of this story, and I like that the book added in ghosts and supernatural abilities, but that our main characters were human. I'm happy with that, and I hate that I don't read enough stories that go more towards this direction of the supernatural vs. mythological creatures or demon/angel type stories.Very happy with this book, and I cannot wait to begin the second book of the trilogy, Whisper of Evil.
—Leah
