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Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller #2
Blood Stained
Agent Lucy Guardino is back, and she s facing the fight of her life...This unputdownable crime thriller from CJ Lyons will grip readers of Lynda la Plante, Angela Marsons and Tess Gerritsen Until recently Lucy Guardino was a rising star in the FBI. But after disobeying orders and killing a man, Lucy s been sidelined, chained to her desk. When a mysterious letter arrives hinting that, thanks to Lucy, the wrong man was blamed for a string of rapes, kidnappings, and killings four years earlier, Lucy jumps at the chance to re-open the case despite orders to leave it well alone. Her unofficial investigation takes her back to the small town that thrust her into the spotlight four years ago, when she saved the killer s last victims before the killer took his own life and that of one final a mother who left a ten year old son and loving husband behind. What Lucy doesn t know is that what happened four years ago was all a lie fueled by sacrifice and betrayal, designed to shield the real killer. With the lives of her family, a group of innocent children, and the future of one desperate boy at risk, Lucy races to stop an innocent from killing and a killer from butchering more innocents. Renowned crime thriller writer CJ Lyons and FBI Agent Lucy Guardino return in this utterly gripping novel which will enthrall fans of Mark Billingham and LJ Ross. Lucy Guardino will do whatever it takes to stop violent predators 1. Snake Skin
2. Blood Stained
3. Kill Zone
4. After Shock
5. Hard Fall
6. Bad Break 1. Last Light
2. Devil Smoke
3. Open Grave If you enjoy a fast riveting and intense story this is it. I absolutely love her work. I hope she keeps writing because she allows the reader to be sucked into her stories and you will not be able to stop reading until it s over. Witchywoman, Amazon CJ Lyons is an incredible writer! I loved Lucy Guardino in Snake Skin. I couldn't wait to read another story featuring her. Blood Stained was definitely worth the wait! Tanya Turley, Amazon CJ Lyons is at her evil best in this thriller. Diana Hockley, Amazon My measure of a good book is one that keeps me up way past my bedtime. I just finished this book in the wee hours of the morning. Annwhite, Amazon If only I wasn't married and Lucy was real... CJ Lyons has nailed it again. I would recommend this book to anyone 18+ years old. J. Templeton, Amazon A fast-paced, hard-hitting story that is guaranteed to grab your attention and keep it. Susan McClellan, Goodreads The second book in CJ's series is another winner. I don't read a lot of fiction, so when I do it must be amazing... which this book is! Honoree, Goodreads
2. Blood Stained
3. Kill Zone
4. After Shock
5. Hard Fall
6. Bad Break 1. Last Light
2. Devil Smoke
3. Open Grave If you enjoy a fast riveting and intense story this is it. I absolutely love her work. I hope she keeps writing because she allows the reader to be sucked into her stories and you will not be able to stop reading until it s over. Witchywoman, Amazon CJ Lyons is an incredible writer! I loved Lucy Guardino in Snake Skin. I couldn't wait to read another story featuring her. Blood Stained was definitely worth the wait! Tanya Turley, Amazon CJ Lyons is at her evil best in this thriller. Diana Hockley, Amazon My measure of a good book is one that keeps me up way past my bedtime. I just finished this book in the wee hours of the morning. Annwhite, Amazon If only I wasn't married and Lucy was real... CJ Lyons has nailed it again. I would recommend this book to anyone 18+ years old. J. Templeton, Amazon A fast-paced, hard-hitting story that is guaranteed to grab your attention and keep it. Susan McClellan, Goodreads The second book in CJ's series is another winner. I don't read a lot of fiction, so when I do it must be amazing... which this book is! Honoree, Goodreads
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2011
998 people are currently reading
775 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Lyons
80 books894 followersNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over forty novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.
Two times winner of the International Thriller Writers coveted Thriller Award, CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday).
Learn more about CJ's Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net
Two times winner of the International Thriller Writers coveted Thriller Award, CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday).
Learn more about CJ's Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
March 25, 2012
The second installment of the Lucy Guiardio Series. For my review on the first book of the series "Snake Skin" go here.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I'm not going to write a lot about this ... at least I hope not...
I am going to move this series up to a 4 star series. There is a warning here. Lucy Guiardio is an FBI agent who chases down people who perpetrate crimes against women and children. There is no way to write a novel like this without discussing some difficult to stomach subject matter.
Having said that, this is not a one dimensional story. Lucy is not Jack Daniels, in a lot of ways, though she's surely going to be compared to the tough Chicago detective from J.A. Konrath's books. Because of the dark segments where we look through the villains eyes and get a peak at his or her mind, it is likely going to be compared to Patrick Bowers from the Bowers Files written by Steven James. All comparisons are likely grounded in some fact of similarity, but all unfair. Lucy is a strong, female in her own right and, very different in than Jack Daniels. Nor is she anything like Patrick bowers, other than also an FBI agent.
Nor should the presence of violent acts towards women and children in this book be taken as sensationalizing such acts of violence in anyway. Lyons uses a gentle hand, and casts these crimes in an appropriate light. Yet we are still talking about some twisted criminal acts.
This is a darker read than the first book and, though I tend to penalize dark reads, I rate this one as better, though different in some significant ways than the first one, which was also good. There is also some kernels of good hope buried in the pages here that reward the diligent reader who, like me may squirm uncomfortably when reading details of violence and ugly people. There are some wonderfully unexpected moments of redemption for some characters, and moments where the most unlikely characters surprise and show something good underneath an ugly mean exterior.
Though it's buried under a mountain of police procedural crime story, this is also a story of Lucy overcoming the own fear and trauma left over from the last book, Snake Skin, and a career of hunting the worst people who do the worst thing to their fellow human beings. As in the last book, Lucy is a lot of things, but, in this series, she is first and foremost a dedicated, compassionate human being, to quote the last scene (yes, spoiler alert coming)
One thing that I really like about her is that Lucy handles victims and perpetrators with compassion, even at the same time she's as hard nosed as they come. She's not a twenty something, single with dating problems, nor a forty something with a divorce under her belt. She's a wife and a mother and does not sacrifice her humanity to bring down the bad guys.
Warnings
1) In this story more than the first one, bad things happen to people and Lyons gives more details. In the first book, the bad things were either passed to us as back story, therefore gentled and watered down before packaging, or mentioned as a threat of what might happen to the victim. In round too, Lyons presents these details in a much more observable way. The violence is not gratuitous, meaning that it does have a purpose or place in the story. It's not just added to shock for shock's sake, but the details are not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. Know yourself. If you don't like grizzly details, this read may not be for you.
2) More a continuation of the first warning. Much of the violence in this story is perpetrated against women and children, and it involves some long term cruelty and a very twisted agenda.
3) but don't take my word for it, read it yourself.
Bottom line - A four star read. Though it is dark and violent, it is well written, and, either intentionally, or unintentionally, allows human themes of strength and courage to slowly grow as the story moves on until they become more powerful than the darker things that get chased away. An avid reader who manages the more difficult parts will get rewarded with surprise moments where, even in the most unlikely of people, the good in their hearts shows itself. The surprise is, that everybody is not evil at heart, but good. Only villains are evil and there are fewer villains in truth than our pesimism over the darkness in the world allows.
Good book. 4 stars...recommended but... of course...Start with Snake Skin or you'll be lost in this one.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I'm not going to write a lot about this ... at least I hope not...
I am going to move this series up to a 4 star series. There is a warning here. Lucy Guiardio is an FBI agent who chases down people who perpetrate crimes against women and children. There is no way to write a novel like this without discussing some difficult to stomach subject matter.
Having said that, this is not a one dimensional story. Lucy is not Jack Daniels, in a lot of ways, though she's surely going to be compared to the tough Chicago detective from J.A. Konrath's books. Because of the dark segments where we look through the villains eyes and get a peak at his or her mind, it is likely going to be compared to Patrick Bowers from the Bowers Files written by Steven James. All comparisons are likely grounded in some fact of similarity, but all unfair. Lucy is a strong, female in her own right and, very different in than Jack Daniels. Nor is she anything like Patrick bowers, other than also an FBI agent.
Nor should the presence of violent acts towards women and children in this book be taken as sensationalizing such acts of violence in anyway. Lyons uses a gentle hand, and casts these crimes in an appropriate light. Yet we are still talking about some twisted criminal acts.
This is a darker read than the first book and, though I tend to penalize dark reads, I rate this one as better, though different in some significant ways than the first one, which was also good. There is also some kernels of good hope buried in the pages here that reward the diligent reader who, like me may squirm uncomfortably when reading details of violence and ugly people. There are some wonderfully unexpected moments of redemption for some characters, and moments where the most unlikely characters surprise and show something good underneath an ugly mean exterior.
Though it's buried under a mountain of police procedural crime story, this is also a story of Lucy overcoming the own fear and trauma left over from the last book, Snake Skin, and a career of hunting the worst people who do the worst thing to their fellow human beings. As in the last book, Lucy is a lot of things, but, in this series, she is first and foremost a dedicated, compassionate human being, to quote the last scene (yes, spoiler alert coming)
One thing that I really like about her is that Lucy handles victims and perpetrators with compassion, even at the same time she's as hard nosed as they come. She's not a twenty something, single with dating problems, nor a forty something with a divorce under her belt. She's a wife and a mother and does not sacrifice her humanity to bring down the bad guys.
Warnings
1) In this story more than the first one, bad things happen to people and Lyons gives more details. In the first book, the bad things were either passed to us as back story, therefore gentled and watered down before packaging, or mentioned as a threat of what might happen to the victim. In round too, Lyons presents these details in a much more observable way. The violence is not gratuitous, meaning that it does have a purpose or place in the story. It's not just added to shock for shock's sake, but the details are not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. Know yourself. If you don't like grizzly details, this read may not be for you.
2) More a continuation of the first warning. Much of the violence in this story is perpetrated against women and children, and it involves some long term cruelty and a very twisted agenda.
3) but don't take my word for it, read it yourself.
Bottom line - A four star read. Though it is dark and violent, it is well written, and, either intentionally, or unintentionally, allows human themes of strength and courage to slowly grow as the story moves on until they become more powerful than the darker things that get chased away. An avid reader who manages the more difficult parts will get rewarded with surprise moments where, even in the most unlikely of people, the good in their hearts shows itself. The surprise is, that everybody is not evil at heart, but good. Only villains are evil and there are fewer villains in truth than our pesimism over the darkness in the world allows.
Good book. 4 stars...recommended but... of course...Start with Snake Skin or you'll be lost in this one.
June 21, 2015
Really liking this author's writing, great story line and a really likeable main character.his
This time Lucy heads back to a small town where she chased a serial killer into a cave, got injured, watched the killer and a hostage go over a cliff and presumably die in a deep chasm within a cave. She is lured back there by a threatening note, which is a federal offence to send through the mail and why we meet a new character. The new character is young and ambitious and of course she questions and doubts Lucy at every turn.
Once the story gets going, it keeps up a good pace with twists and turns. The only thing I found questionable about this book was one of the children characters (13 year old girl) and her ability to both outsmart and physically get the upper hand on trained FBI agents.
So 4 stars and 2 thumbs up for this book.
This time Lucy heads back to a small town where she chased a serial killer into a cave, got injured, watched the killer and a hostage go over a cliff and presumably die in a deep chasm within a cave. She is lured back there by a threatening note, which is a federal offence to send through the mail and why we meet a new character. The new character is young and ambitious and of course she questions and doubts Lucy at every turn.
Once the story gets going, it keeps up a good pace with twists and turns. The only thing I found questionable about this book was one of the children characters (13 year old girl) and her ability to both outsmart and physically get the upper hand on trained FBI agents.
So 4 stars and 2 thumbs up for this book.
June 15, 2023
Book 2 in the Lucy Guardino series was just as thrilling as book one! When Lucy gets a threatening letter against her daughter, she will stop at nothing to hunt down the person responsible even if it means going against orders. This leads her down a path to an old case that she may have gotten wrong the first time around. Last time Adam was the victim but is he a suspect this time? Where's his missing father and who took three children from a tiny town? How does it all fit together and link to her old case? So many questions, so many twists and turns!
January 6, 2013
Another great read from CJ Lyons. FBI agent Lucy Guardino has been promoted to a desk job but hungers for the action in the field. A new agent, Jenna, is responsible for postal service crimes and gets involved when Lucy receives threats to her family, specifically her daughter,in a letter from someone believed to have been dead. Details of a supposedly closed case from 4 years ago come unraveled. Innocent victims are kidnapped, and more victims are claimed. Meanwhile, Jenna tries desperately to outshine Lucy and be the hero in this page-turner.
Well written with main characters we love and despise. More psychological intrigue as we see how the sins of the fathers impact young and impressionable children.
WARNING: sex, violence, and profanity, but only in minimal doses in order to support the characters and story line.
Well written with main characters we love and despise. More psychological intrigue as we see how the sins of the fathers impact young and impressionable children.
WARNING: sex, violence, and profanity, but only in minimal doses in order to support the characters and story line.
March 11, 2020
This one was good but it bothered me because there were children involved, ie. being taught to be killers by a wasted piece of flesh. Other than that it was a good story, good flow, good character build up. Lucy is Lucy....tenacious, gets the job done regardless of how. On to the next.
May 8, 2021
Another amazing read from C J Lyons. Loved this messed up, depraved and gruesome roller coaster ride, through the minds of some very unbalanced characters. This could be a nightmare inducing experience for people who are a little sensitive, so be warned.
March 11, 2022
FBI agent Lucy Guardino was in New Hope 4 years ago. Trying to save a kidnapped woman she comes face to face with a serial killer when she is stabbed/ The serial killer plunges to his death in a cave and takes a woman with him. Now Lucy is back in New Hope trying to find Adam Caine who she believes sent her a threatening letter. While she is there strange things are happening and now she isn't so sure the serial killer is dead after all. A fast paced suspense with characters you can connect with.
June 5, 2021
Primarily it was a very good read, but....I have my limits of tolerance for gratuitous and sickening horror being described, but there were just two spots that, when they started, I just skipped over. It's basically a police procedural mystery...I just don't appreciate dipping into horrible and torturous aspects. I do not like being in the mind of really bad people, nor in the mind of the people to whom really really bad things are being done!...just my personal limits! But, like I said, they were infrequent and easily skipped over so I kept the 4 stars rather than dropping it to 3.5
Other than that it's a great story, and I do enjoy her writing style. I've got the next one ready to go, so we'll see!
Other than that it's a great story, and I do enjoy her writing style. I've got the next one ready to go, so we'll see!
August 31, 2021
Ridiculous. And the narrator is terrible! Her voices and expressions weren’t bad, but it was all ruined by the frequent mispronunciation of words—made me laugh out loud SO many times—IT MATTERS, people. She sounded careless and dumb.
Minor spoiler:
The kids being involved, especially the girl, and her being so into it and so conniving and all-the character isn’t scary, or at all believable—she’s laughable and annoying. No one would notice this girl was missing for years and link anything?? No one noticed a boy buying tons of stuff in Walmart with cash, especially after 3 kids go missing? NO. That would not fly in reality. Even more annoying when you consider the boy was taught to look for and avoid cameras-? But we know they’re all over Walmart stores and lots..but poof -it’s never mentioned…
As for the girl-although they try to make her so smart and freakishly murderous-no one panics when she escapes, or even when she’s spotted, after threatening the family she’s spotted near-seriously???
After the crimes-…”a little girl couldn’t have done that…” even with videos, and witnesses, not to mention the agent’s ever-present and infallible gift of insight, they have proof she did…
The rapport between the two female agents rang true at times, but then the author just made up aspects of their personalities that didn’t fit and it made me itch. The “get things done, by-the-book” postal agent has a casual sexual escapade with a co-worker, and we’re supposed to buy it’s because she’s an easy, breezy city girl? Ugh.
the fact that the main character was already under watch for previous mistakes, but she suddenly isn’t in any trouble because things worked out (but they didn’t…)? It’s just more of the same typical unoriginal, completely predictable, “clean up the loose ends by pretending the readers are too dumb to question it” mush that makes me wonder who is paying these authors?
Minor spoiler:
The kids being involved, especially the girl, and her being so into it and so conniving and all-the character isn’t scary, or at all believable—she’s laughable and annoying. No one would notice this girl was missing for years and link anything?? No one noticed a boy buying tons of stuff in Walmart with cash, especially after 3 kids go missing? NO. That would not fly in reality. Even more annoying when you consider the boy was taught to look for and avoid cameras-? But we know they’re all over Walmart stores and lots..but poof -it’s never mentioned…
As for the girl-although they try to make her so smart and freakishly murderous-no one panics when she escapes, or even when she’s spotted, after threatening the family she’s spotted near-seriously???
After the crimes-…”a little girl couldn’t have done that…” even with videos, and witnesses, not to mention the agent’s ever-present and infallible gift of insight, they have proof she did…
The rapport between the two female agents rang true at times, but then the author just made up aspects of their personalities that didn’t fit and it made me itch. The “get things done, by-the-book” postal agent has a casual sexual escapade with a co-worker, and we’re supposed to buy it’s because she’s an easy, breezy city girl? Ugh.
the fact that the main character was already under watch for previous mistakes, but she suddenly isn’t in any trouble because things worked out (but they didn’t…)? It’s just more of the same typical unoriginal, completely predictable, “clean up the loose ends by pretending the readers are too dumb to question it” mush that makes me wonder who is paying these authors?
March 2, 2017
Ambivalent
First of all, I don't know how long before I'll be able to look or eat a FISH again! It was mildly entertaining but parts of it a little too disjointed for me. The Lucy character storyline was fine but Jenna (postal inspector) served no real purpose. She seemed just thrown into the story to try to create the age old "two partners who don't get along but work together to solve the crime" but fell flat. I'm willing to suspend my belief it makes for an exciting story but really hunting down and arresting a kid for a letter?
First of all, I don't know how long before I'll be able to look or eat a FISH again! It was mildly entertaining but parts of it a little too disjointed for me. The Lucy character storyline was fine but Jenna (postal inspector) served no real purpose. She seemed just thrown into the story to try to create the age old "two partners who don't get along but work together to solve the crime" but fell flat. I'm willing to suspend my belief it makes for an exciting story but really hunting down and arresting a kid for a letter?
February 17, 2012
The evil that Lucy Guardino tackled previously is back in a chilling tale that is almost claustrophobic in its small town setting. The body count is high and the tension mounts as the danger gets closer to Lucy's family. I found the use of the word 'fish' for the victims evocative at giving a different voice to the bad guys whose sense of family runs in opposition to Lucy's. I found this a fast read with a sympathetic protagonist.
February 17, 2015
Lucy feels a threat to her family and goes looking for it but she finds so much more. A case that never felt quite right comes back to haunt her.
This book kept me on edge, one character I could have gladly slapped and another that I felt so much sorrow for and running through it all a tale of a twisted mind who kills for fun.
Great job C.J. This book is a true thrill ride!
This book kept me on edge, one character I could have gladly slapped and another that I felt so much sorrow for and running through it all a tale of a twisted mind who kills for fun.
Great job C.J. This book is a true thrill ride!
July 21, 2012
I can't wait for the next installment of Lucy Guardino! Lucky for me, I don't have to wait too long :)
December 7, 2023
Blood Stained AUDIO by CJ Lyons is the second in the Lucy Guardino, FBI thriller series. In this story she revisits a gruesome serial murder case she had “solved” several years earlier. Now, the son of one of the victims, a kid who had saved her life, has reached out to her. In this 14-year-old mind, it will be the same as the last time with plenty of press, thereby encouraging his dad to return to get him. She takes with her a postal inspector, a member of an elite law enforcement agency, but without serial killer experience. It blossoms into much more than they any of them bargained for.
Lucy is a good character: an FBI Special Agent who goes rogue when she goes with her gut instead of the rules. She is currently in a desk job, as a consequence of he last case. She is married to a doctor and had a 13-year-old daughter. She worries about them all the time. Lucy is clever, empathetic, and very good at her job. She is a terrific character, well-written and engaging. There are rules for a reason and she breaks them for good reason. Not sure if it’s a good look for law enforcement, but then, that’s basically what we read: law enforcement gone rogue.
The narrator is Lauren Roth and I have to say that while she is adequate, she reads too slowly and sounds far too young for this very important role.
Lucy is a good character: an FBI Special Agent who goes rogue when she goes with her gut instead of the rules. She is currently in a desk job, as a consequence of he last case. She is married to a doctor and had a 13-year-old daughter. She worries about them all the time. Lucy is clever, empathetic, and very good at her job. She is a terrific character, well-written and engaging. There are rules for a reason and she breaks them for good reason. Not sure if it’s a good look for law enforcement, but then, that’s basically what we read: law enforcement gone rogue.
The narrator is Lauren Roth and I have to say that while she is adequate, she reads too slowly and sounds far too young for this very important role.
August 26, 2017
Spezialagentin Lucy Guardino wurde nach einem Fall an den Schreibtisch verbannt. Lucy bekommt einen geheimnisvollen Brief, der sich zurück an diesem Fall bringt. Der ihrer Karriere mehr geschadet hat als geholfen. Sie ahnt nicht das der Mörder ein ganz andere ist und alles aus einer Farce von Aufopferung und Verrat bestand....
Es fängt schon spannend an und man wird auch gleich mit in den Köpfen der Mensch genommen. Lucy ist eine sehr interessante Frau, die nach außen stark scheint, doch Innen braucht es nur einen Lufthauch und sie wird zusammenbrechen. Kommt es auf jeden Fall rüber. Ehrlich gesagt hatte ich mit Band 3 angefangen. Jetzt lese ich die Bänder gerade rückwärts. Man kann die Bänder auch außerhalb der Reihenfolge lesen. Doch es hat mehr Sinn, es nacheinander zu lesen. Dann ist man nicht so sehr verwirrt. Die Spannung und Action löst sich immer wieder ab. Bis zu 5 Sichtweise bekommt man die Geschichte erzählt somit hat man einen schönen Überblick um einfach alles. Trotzdem geht die Spannung nicht verloren. Das ist nicht gerade einfach. Einfühlsam, leidenschaftlich, gefühlvoll wird ein Thriller erzählt, der bis zum Schluss, die Spannung hält.
Es fängt schon spannend an und man wird auch gleich mit in den Köpfen der Mensch genommen. Lucy ist eine sehr interessante Frau, die nach außen stark scheint, doch Innen braucht es nur einen Lufthauch und sie wird zusammenbrechen. Kommt es auf jeden Fall rüber. Ehrlich gesagt hatte ich mit Band 3 angefangen. Jetzt lese ich die Bänder gerade rückwärts. Man kann die Bänder auch außerhalb der Reihenfolge lesen. Doch es hat mehr Sinn, es nacheinander zu lesen. Dann ist man nicht so sehr verwirrt. Die Spannung und Action löst sich immer wieder ab. Bis zu 5 Sichtweise bekommt man die Geschichte erzählt somit hat man einen schönen Überblick um einfach alles. Trotzdem geht die Spannung nicht verloren. Das ist nicht gerade einfach. Einfühlsam, leidenschaftlich, gefühlvoll wird ein Thriller erzählt, der bis zum Schluss, die Spannung hält.
October 12, 2018
This was quite the ride. I have had this book in my electronic library for a while, and started reading basically because another Lyons book featuring some of these characters was among the last Samsung Kindle freebies, and seemed the only one worth considering. Anyway, I was impressed, even though the serial killer theme has been done to death. Sure, this is the equivalent of a flashy action movie, but I was never bored. Although I am not sure what to think about putting Morgan as a protagonist in her own spinoff series. Amoral characters have their attraction, but still...
May 29, 2021
Wonderment!
Ever wonder how cops and the FBI work together or if they don't? It seems our heroin just slides by the seat of her pants when it comes to working with others and keeping and playing by the rules. I really like this character Lucy Guardino. She is the one in charge but sometimes she charges in to save the day instead of waiting for backup. She does seem to save the children but often at a great cost to herself either physically or psychologically. Can't wait to see how well she can screw up in her next book.
Ever wonder how cops and the FBI work together or if they don't? It seems our heroin just slides by the seat of her pants when it comes to working with others and keeping and playing by the rules. I really like this character Lucy Guardino. She is the one in charge but sometimes she charges in to save the day instead of waiting for backup. She does seem to save the children but often at a great cost to herself either physically or psychologically. Can't wait to see how well she can screw up in her next book.
June 22, 2019
This story kept me interested, though it was pretty easy to figure out what happened. It continually referred back a past case. I could not figure out if that case was the subject of the first in the series or not, since it has been years since I read it. While it was not necessary to know the details of the prior case, it was still distracting. I like the character of Lucy Guardino, though, so will continue reading the series.
December 13, 2019
Although I enjoyed this book I couldn’t help noticing many similarities in the characterisations and plot lines with the previous book in the series (Snake Skin). I did feel this book didn’t have the lulls in action which often occurred in the earlier book and the story did bowl along at a good pace.
I’m going to give the next book in the series a try but if the same plot lines appear again I’ll probably stop at that.
I’m going to give the next book in the series a try but if the same plot lines appear again I’ll probably stop at that.
April 27, 2020
The past is back again.
After receiving a threatening letter Lucy and her team are going back to the burial site of a serial killer. Finding the writer opens up a new can of worms left over from the serial killings. Meeting new agents and old friends will keep you engrossed in this book.
After receiving a threatening letter Lucy and her team are going back to the burial site of a serial killer. Finding the writer opens up a new can of worms left over from the serial killings. Meeting new agents and old friends will keep you engrossed in this book.
August 20, 2022
Tbh I did not really engage with the first one, I can barely remember what happened and I read it only 2 months ago!
I only read it as I had both books. The writing is poor and the characters just don’t connect with you. I could not stand Jenna, unsympathetic and really arrogant. There seemed to be more to her, but it was not explored. I will not be reading anymore.
I only read it as I had both books. The writing is poor and the characters just don’t connect with you. I could not stand Jenna, unsympathetic and really arrogant. There seemed to be more to her, but it was not explored. I will not be reading anymore.
May 17, 2019
I was late to the party with this one but so glad I found it amongst the piles of books in The Works. Blood Stained has a great hook, well-rounded characters and a pacy plot that kept me reading the pages so fast I finished the book in a day. Highly recommended.
June 14, 2024
First book I have read of this author and I was not disappointed - it had so many twists and turns which were totally believable. Another thriller to rob you of your sleep so beware when you pick it up you may just not want to put it down.
May 30, 2017
Blood Stained is the second book in the Lucy Guardino F. B. I. thriller series written by author C. J. Lyons.
May 30, 2017
Really like this series. Lots of action and suspense. The characters are intense. The storyline intriguing.
August 19, 2017
Another story where the plot relies too much on the protagonist doing one foolish thing after another.
February 9, 2018
It was ok. I’d read more of hers if I had nothing better.
September 6, 2019
Enjoyed it.
Read
November 10, 2019Could be a movie or series ;!!;
November 11, 2019
Gritty. Raw. Dark.
Lucy is an FBI agent whose life is full of action and adventure with realistic dilemmas balancing being a wife, mother and career supervisor.
Lucy is an FBI agent whose life is full of action and adventure with realistic dilemmas balancing being a wife, mother and career supervisor.
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