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Bishop/Special Crimes Unit #20
Curse of Salem
New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper is back with a brand new thrilling paranormal suspense novel in the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series.
The small town of Salem has been quiet for months—or so Bishop and his elite Special Crimes Unit believe. But then Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes receive a warning in Diana's eerie "gray time" between the world of the living and the realm of the dead that a twisted killer is stalking Salem, bent on destroying in the most bloody and horrifying way possible the five families that founded the town.
The stakes are high, especially for new friends Nellie Cavendish and Finn Deverell, both members of the Five, and this time Bishop and his wife Miranda will lead the team to hunt down a vicious killer and uncover a dark and ancient curse haunting Salem.
The small town of Salem has been quiet for months—or so Bishop and his elite Special Crimes Unit believe. But then Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes receive a warning in Diana's eerie "gray time" between the world of the living and the realm of the dead that a twisted killer is stalking Salem, bent on destroying in the most bloody and horrifying way possible the five families that founded the town.
The stakes are high, especially for new friends Nellie Cavendish and Finn Deverell, both members of the Five, and this time Bishop and his wife Miranda will lead the team to hunt down a vicious killer and uncover a dark and ancient curse haunting Salem.
291 pages, Hardcover
First published December 28, 2021
354 people are currently reading
1257 people want to read
About the author
Kay Hooper
108 books2,453 followersKay Hooper (aka Kay Robbins) was born in California, in an air force base hospital since her father was stationed there at the time. The family moved back to North Carolina shortly afterward, so she was raised and went to school there.
The oldest of three children, Kay has a brother two years younger and a sister seven years younger. Her father and brother are builders who own a highly respected construction company, and her mother worked for many years in personnel management before becoming Kay's personal assistant, a position she held until her untimely death in March 2002. Kay's sister Linda works as her Business Manager, Events Coordinator, and is playing a major role in the creation and operation of The Kay Hooper Foundation.
Kay graduated from East Rutherford High School and attended Isothermal Community College — where she quickly discovered that business classes did not in any way enthrall her. Switching to more involving courses such as history and literature, she also began to concentrate on writing, which had been a longtime interest. Very quickly hooked, she asked for a Christmas typewriter and began seriously working on her first novel. That book, a Regency romance titled Lady Thief, sold to Dell Publishing in 1980. She has since published more than 60 novels and four novellas.
Kay is single and lives in a very small town in North Carolina, not far from her father and siblings. Deigning to live with her are a flock of cats — Bonnie, Ginger, Oscar, Tuffy, Felix, Renny, and Isabel — of various personalities who all like sleeping on manuscripts and whatever research happens to be spread across Kay's desk. And living amongst the many felines are two cheerfully tolerant dogs, a shelter rescue, Bandit, who looks rather like a small sheepdog, and a Sheltie named Lizzie.
The oldest of three children, Kay has a brother two years younger and a sister seven years younger. Her father and brother are builders who own a highly respected construction company, and her mother worked for many years in personnel management before becoming Kay's personal assistant, a position she held until her untimely death in March 2002. Kay's sister Linda works as her Business Manager, Events Coordinator, and is playing a major role in the creation and operation of The Kay Hooper Foundation.
Kay graduated from East Rutherford High School and attended Isothermal Community College — where she quickly discovered that business classes did not in any way enthrall her. Switching to more involving courses such as history and literature, she also began to concentrate on writing, which had been a longtime interest. Very quickly hooked, she asked for a Christmas typewriter and began seriously working on her first novel. That book, a Regency romance titled Lady Thief, sold to Dell Publishing in 1980. She has since published more than 60 novels and four novellas.
Kay is single and lives in a very small town in North Carolina, not far from her father and siblings. Deigning to live with her are a flock of cats — Bonnie, Ginger, Oscar, Tuffy, Felix, Renny, and Isabel — of various personalities who all like sleeping on manuscripts and whatever research happens to be spread across Kay's desk. And living amongst the many felines are two cheerfully tolerant dogs, a shelter rescue, Bandit, who looks rather like a small sheepdog, and a Sheltie named Lizzie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
May 19, 2023
I have read and enjoyed the "Bishop Special Crime Unit" series for a very, very long time. The stories, most of the time, feature long known members of the team but there are enough completely new characters to keep the series fresh. The longtime members often make jokes or references like any group of people that work constantly together do...but a new reader, one that doesn't start at the first may not understand them all...so if you like this type of story you might want to read some of the earlier books first. This being said...this one, Curse of Salem follows on the heels of the previous one in the series, Hidden Salem. The setting and some of the characters are the same as in this previous book, so you may want to read that one before this one. Most of the earlier books I would call "romantic suspense", but these later books are diffidently "paranormal mystery". Bishop's team returns to Salem, where things have again gone wrong. Hollis is usually the key figure on the team, but she doesn't feel she's 'right " for the job this time. Noone is very comfortable being here and Hollis soon realizes that she needs to let some of them with other abilities take over, which added a refreshing element to the storyline. There is lots of suspense with this killer, and his work is nothing but horrific, and the team is missing vital clues as the killer seems to have the ability to jam their receptive talents. I have always loved this series which has a specific kind of magic and is absolutely perfect for the "ghost story junkie".
January 1, 2022
I keep hoping for the big wow and page turner moments but those were far and few between with this book. It might just be me but the series is getting a bit stale. We were introduced to a bunch of different psychics but for some reason Hollis seems to be a super psychic with constantly changing powers. At this stage I'm just wishing for some new fresh characters that aren't so super efficient and shaking off what would be normal responses instead of being "I'm a psychic with a lot of experience and know some of the rules to not need normal reactions". For me the refusing to acknowledge basic human responses are off-putting. I'm still curious to see how this series will continue as I'm 20 odd books in at this stage but I want to see differences and new things along the way.
January 1, 2022
Curse of Salem is a terrific addition to Kay Hooper’s continuing series of Noah Bishop and his Special Crimes Unit. Bishop along with his agents are back in Salem to stop a killer intent on killing the Elders of Salem .
A big fan of this paranormal series ,I thoroughly enjoyed this good suspenseful read
I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
A big fan of this paranormal series ,I thoroughly enjoyed this good suspenseful read
I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
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January 9, 2022Although the jacket blurb claims, "... and this time Bishop and his wife, Miranda, will lead the team..." Miranda doesn't appear until chapter four and after that her presence seems obligatory rather than substantive, which is a disappointment for readers who miss the dynamic interaction between Miranda and Bishop from the early installments of this series. It's also a continuing bummer that their personal tragic loss remains unaddressed in any major way. On the plus side, Bishop's presence is significant throughout Curse of Salem.
January 27, 2022
I wanted to like Curse of Salem more than I did.
Most of the book the agents were all wandering around the mountain wondering why they all had headaches while discussing their abilities.
I lost count of the frowns by Hollis and Diana.
Hollis has become a character I no longer like. She was interesting when introduced in Touch of Evil (2001) but now she's whiny AND snarky. She may be the agent with the most abilities, but that doesn't change the fact that she's become unlikable.
Miranda is not used effectively in Curse of Salem. All she seemed to offer is hidden smiles. Even Bishop's personality - Bishop! - is muted.
The whole story is a lot of talk and not much else until Chapter 19 . . . of 21.
I've always like the Bishop series when they introduced new characters who, just learning they have psychic abilities, are thrown into complicated cases.
I went back and read my review of Hidden Salem. It turns out I said the same things then. It might be best if the Salem trilogy simply stays the Salem duo.
Another 3 star review. Salem is indeed cursed.
Most of the book the agents were all wandering around the mountain wondering why they all had headaches while discussing their abilities.
I lost count of the frowns by Hollis and Diana.
Hollis has become a character I no longer like. She was interesting when introduced in Touch of Evil (2001) but now she's whiny AND snarky. She may be the agent with the most abilities, but that doesn't change the fact that she's become unlikable.
Miranda is not used effectively in Curse of Salem. All she seemed to offer is hidden smiles. Even Bishop's personality - Bishop! - is muted.
The whole story is a lot of talk and not much else until Chapter 19 . . . of 21.
I've always like the Bishop series when they introduced new characters who, just learning they have psychic abilities, are thrown into complicated cases.
I went back and read my review of Hidden Salem. It turns out I said the same things then. It might be best if the Salem trilogy simply stays the Salem duo.
Another 3 star review. Salem is indeed cursed.
December 30, 2021
I think what interested me most in this one was how the whole team viewed Salem. None of them were excited to be going back and even while they were there figuring things out, they all were skittish. You would think being in a town where so many people have albitites like the team did, it would be a good place for them, they wouldn’t have to hid things as much, nor run into skepticism. By the time they figured out who the bad guy was, it was just sad in so many ways.
January 17, 2022
This is another series I'm ready to drop. I used to love her books and couldn't wait for the next one to be published. This one seemed shorter and gave too much description of the powers the agents have. This description was in addition to the character bios and the glossary included in the back. There was very little action and certainly no suspense. Ms. Hooper hasn't thrown in the towel yet, but I have.
September 29, 2021
I haven’t read this series in years but found this new one. Although it is the second in a trilogy, it really is a standalone story. There were references to the previous book, but I had no problem without having read it. Enjoyed and will continue on with the series.
March 3, 2023
A paranormal thriller featuring Diana Hayes as part of the FBI’s Special Crimes Unit. Hayes has the ability to open a door to the grey time, a corridor between the living and the spirit realms. A spirit guide called Daniel tells her that the town of Salam has a serial killer.
Can be gory but lacks some suspense, it follows on from many books in the series.
Can be gory but lacks some suspense, it follows on from many books in the series.
December 20, 2021
I have missed this world of psychics and am so glad to be back amongst the characters I loved so much.
Diana and Hollis are pulled into the "gray time" once again by a guide named Daniel. Here, they are told about a serial that is haunting Salem and they need to go there to figure out what is happening. They were shown many of the victims and how they lost their lives, in vivid color, which is odd for the "gray time".
The "gray time" is super creepy, every time they were transported there and witnessed these deaths, I felt a little ill. That is just a testiment to how well it is written. I had a hard time figuring out what was happening, which I also loved. I don't like figuring out the twist too early, and this one kept me guessing.
The only issue I had was the amount of characters in the book, I felt like I couldn't keep track of who was with who at all times. Each character felt like a main character instead of side characters.
Thank you to Berkley, Kay Hooper and Netgalley for an early copy.
Diana and Hollis are pulled into the "gray time" once again by a guide named Daniel. Here, they are told about a serial that is haunting Salem and they need to go there to figure out what is happening. They were shown many of the victims and how they lost their lives, in vivid color, which is odd for the "gray time".
The "gray time" is super creepy, every time they were transported there and witnessed these deaths, I felt a little ill. That is just a testiment to how well it is written. I had a hard time figuring out what was happening, which I also loved. I don't like figuring out the twist too early, and this one kept me guessing.
The only issue I had was the amount of characters in the book, I felt like I couldn't keep track of who was with who at all times. Each character felt like a main character instead of side characters.
Thank you to Berkley, Kay Hooper and Netgalley for an early copy.
December 7, 2021
3.5 stars
I enjoyed the last several chapters because they are very suspenseful, but this book is best for those who follow the series closer than I do.
I enjoyed the last several chapters because they are very suspenseful, but this book is best for those who follow the series closer than I do.
December 8, 2021
This is the twentieth book in a series that began in 2000. This time Bishop, his wife Miranda, Hollis Templeton and Reese Demarco, and Diana and Quentin Hayes find themselves returning to Salem at the request of Finn Deverell who is the Chief Deputy.
Mediums Hollis and Diana have had a vision in the gray time which indicates that a serial killer is going to be killing members of the five powerful, psychic families that control Salem. When Finn calls them in because of a farseeing by one of the Elders, they are ready to respond in numbers.
But Salem isn't their usual scene. Psychic powers don't work as usual. There is a lot of interference that has just gotten worse since the events of HIDDEN SALEM (2020). They do have other allies in town besides Finn. Nellie Cavendish is a powerful multi-talent who is a recent arrival in town and just getting used to her considerable powers - when she isn't trying to deny them. Even the crows are useful allies.
When a man who's had a fight with his wife disappears, and then is found tortured to death, and another man is kidnapped almost immediately after the first disappearance, the team begins to think that someone is really trying to destroy member of the five families. But that doesn't make a lot of sense since about 40% of the town is related in some way to the families.
Then Hollis has another vision and a young woman named Megan Hales comes to her and tells her she was the first. This comes as a surprise because everyone thought that she had left Salem to make a new life for herself after being jilted by her fiancé shortly before their planned wedding day. Being led to her buried body by the crows turns their investigation onto a new path.
The story is filled with all kinds of paranormal abilities along with being a police procedural. It was interesting trying to figure out who the villain was and to watch the team go off in all sorts of directions until they could focus on the correct villain.
Fans of the Bishop/SCU stories won't want to miss this latest episode.
Mediums Hollis and Diana have had a vision in the gray time which indicates that a serial killer is going to be killing members of the five powerful, psychic families that control Salem. When Finn calls them in because of a farseeing by one of the Elders, they are ready to respond in numbers.
But Salem isn't their usual scene. Psychic powers don't work as usual. There is a lot of interference that has just gotten worse since the events of HIDDEN SALEM (2020). They do have other allies in town besides Finn. Nellie Cavendish is a powerful multi-talent who is a recent arrival in town and just getting used to her considerable powers - when she isn't trying to deny them. Even the crows are useful allies.
When a man who's had a fight with his wife disappears, and then is found tortured to death, and another man is kidnapped almost immediately after the first disappearance, the team begins to think that someone is really trying to destroy member of the five families. But that doesn't make a lot of sense since about 40% of the town is related in some way to the families.
Then Hollis has another vision and a young woman named Megan Hales comes to her and tells her she was the first. This comes as a surprise because everyone thought that she had left Salem to make a new life for herself after being jilted by her fiancé shortly before their planned wedding day. Being led to her buried body by the crows turns their investigation onto a new path.
The story is filled with all kinds of paranormal abilities along with being a police procedural. It was interesting trying to figure out who the villain was and to watch the team go off in all sorts of directions until they could focus on the correct villain.
Fans of the Bishop/SCU stories won't want to miss this latest episode.
October 13, 2023
Didn't float my boat.
February 8, 2022
Another book that is 98% talking about stuff and 2% actual stuff happening. What a weirdly abrupt ending. So many heavy hitters from previous books in the series were brought back, to… talk about how their powers didn’t work and maybe the victims are in the forest. It didn’t even matter who was there or what their powers were, the killer wasnt someone you’d ever have guessed anyway.
Definitely time to retire Kay Hooper from the rotation.
Definitely time to retire Kay Hooper from the rotation.
January 23, 2022
Way past time to let these characters end. Spent too much on repeating old book plots and character abilities. Plot didn’t really start until past page 140. I won’t read another in the series but I hope she will start something new.
August 28, 2022
I'm being generous with my rating here...it's probably a 3.5. And I'm VERY tempted to go back to Hidden Salem and lower that rating, mostly because when I think back on reading it, I don't have positive associations. And this book just felt so much better in comparison. It's probably because this felt like a return to formula. And that formula works. Let's just stick with it, eh?
So the team get lured back to Salem because some evil is brewing there. We've got Hollis and Reese, Diana and Quentin, and Bishop and Miranda. YES! They're invited to town after warnings that a serial killer is stalking members of "The Five" families (historically relevant families to the town). So they go to investigate and find that, yes, someone is in fact, in the mood for some murder. Their talents are hindered though because of a strange energy in town, which makes their jobs much harder.
Very smart to bring Hollis back into this. Hollis was one of my favorites back in the day...always felt like her character arc was far from complete and that we'd only scratched the surface regarding her talents. So Hollis was a big reason that I liked this story. I also really enjoy Diana and Quentin, so there's that. As I mentioned before, this follows the formula and it sticks to it well (minus the romance blossoming...unless you count the very subtle romance trying to happen between Finn and Nellie). The team arrives in Salem, they begin investigating, following clues, finding bodies, discussing their theories, testing out their talents and rescuing people (but not everyone). It was really nice to have the ensemble together and really using their talents...especially seeing what Hollis can do). Then, some sort of twist is discovered which blows the case wide open and they're on to tracking down the killer and the inevitable showdown occurs. That's pretty much what happens here, except I expected the twist to be much bigger. This twist was more in regards to the motivation of the killer, which pointed them in the right direction, rather than the identity. The villain, I'd say, wasn't truly evil either. Definitely unstable, but he didn't seem as evil as other villains we've had in this entire series. But the mystery and suspense was good and flowed well and this didn't really feel like a hard read (except for a few sections where the expository conversation just started to feel overwhelming). If the next book is like this one, I'll definitely be reading.
So the team get lured back to Salem because some evil is brewing there. We've got Hollis and Reese, Diana and Quentin, and Bishop and Miranda. YES! They're invited to town after warnings that a serial killer is stalking members of "The Five" families (historically relevant families to the town). So they go to investigate and find that, yes, someone is in fact, in the mood for some murder. Their talents are hindered though because of a strange energy in town, which makes their jobs much harder.
Very smart to bring Hollis back into this. Hollis was one of my favorites back in the day...always felt like her character arc was far from complete and that we'd only scratched the surface regarding her talents. So Hollis was a big reason that I liked this story. I also really enjoy Diana and Quentin, so there's that. As I mentioned before, this follows the formula and it sticks to it well (minus the romance blossoming...unless you count the very subtle romance trying to happen between Finn and Nellie). The team arrives in Salem, they begin investigating, following clues, finding bodies, discussing their theories, testing out their talents and rescuing people (but not everyone). It was really nice to have the ensemble together and really using their talents...especially seeing what Hollis can do). Then, some sort of twist is discovered which blows the case wide open and they're on to tracking down the killer and the inevitable showdown occurs. That's pretty much what happens here, except I expected the twist to be much bigger. This twist was more in regards to the motivation of the killer, which pointed them in the right direction, rather than the identity. The villain, I'd say, wasn't truly evil either. Definitely unstable, but he didn't seem as evil as other villains we've had in this entire series. But the mystery and suspense was good and flowed well and this didn't really feel like a hard read (except for a few sections where the expository conversation just started to feel overwhelming). If the next book is like this one, I'll definitely be reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2022
I wanted to like this latest SCU book more than I actually did. In fact, I originally gave it to stars, then bumped to 2.5 because I do love the crows and the dog. The story is typical Hooper fare, with lots of the usual characters, but much less action than is in her better books. The motivations and eventual backstory of the bad guy was, IMO, weak. And I worry that the author is setting us up with Hollis to eventually have her brain explode or something, with her character always picking up new powers. Was hoping for more Miranda and Bishop, since they actually went WITH their team to Salem from the beginning in this story, but they really didn't do a ton. Second books in these trilogy-or-more parts of this series tend to be clunky, so I'm trying to be hopeful that whatever comes next (which I'll order from the library whenever it's published) will be a bigger, BETTER story that fills in all the holes about this mountain town setting and it's weird ass residents. Way too much dialogue throughout-which seems unnecessary since we know most of these characters really well already, and most of it not great. 2.5 stars- wasn't the weakest, but not one of the best. Recommended for only those who've read since the beginning.
March 19, 2024
Curse of Salem is book twenty in Kay Hooper's Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series. Two of Bishop's team, Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes, receive a warning through the "grey time" about the new danger for Salem's residents, particularly the five families of Salem. Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes asked Bishop if we could go to Salem. At first, he says no until the sheriff, Fin Deverell, calls Bishop for help. The readers of Curse of Salem will continue to follow Bishop and his team to discover what happens.
Curse of Salem is another fantastic paranormal suspense novel by Kay Hooper. I was engaged with this book from the first page and continued to the end. I enjoy the way Kay Hooper incorporates all her characters from previous books so that I can continue to enjoy my favourite characters. I love Kay Hooper's portrayal of the characters of Curse of Salem and how they interact throughout this book. Curse of Salem is well-written and researched by Kay Hooper. I like Kay Hooper's description of the settings of Curse of Salem, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.
The readers of Curse of Salem will learn about the historical town of Salem, Massachusetts.
I recommend this book.
Curse of Salem is another fantastic paranormal suspense novel by Kay Hooper. I was engaged with this book from the first page and continued to the end. I enjoy the way Kay Hooper incorporates all her characters from previous books so that I can continue to enjoy my favourite characters. I love Kay Hooper's portrayal of the characters of Curse of Salem and how they interact throughout this book. Curse of Salem is well-written and researched by Kay Hooper. I like Kay Hooper's description of the settings of Curse of Salem, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.
The readers of Curse of Salem will learn about the historical town of Salem, Massachusetts.
I recommend this book.
December 21, 2021
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Mystery / Suspense
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Curse of Salem is the 20th installment in author Kay Hooper's Bishop/Special Crimes Unit. The thing about this long series is that there are several interconnected trilogies all connected to the FBI's Special Crimes Unit. For the sake of this story, the first part of this trilogy was Hidden Salem where readers were introduced to Nellie Cavendish and the Five, also know as the Five families who founded Salem. This also includes Finn Deverell who created Salem's first police force after the events of the previous installment.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* Mystery / Suspense
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Curse of Salem is the 20th installment in author Kay Hooper's Bishop/Special Crimes Unit. The thing about this long series is that there are several interconnected trilogies all connected to the FBI's Special Crimes Unit. For the sake of this story, the first part of this trilogy was Hidden Salem where readers were introduced to Nellie Cavendish and the Five, also know as the Five families who founded Salem. This also includes Finn Deverell who created Salem's first police force after the events of the previous installment.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
December 14, 2021
I love this series!
In this book we get so see alot of my favorite couples from previous books, including Bishop and Miranda.. you know the case will be a good one when those two get involved, also Diana and Quinten, and Reese and Hollis are favorites as well so it was nice to see what they have been up to since we last saw them.
I love how our psychics don't have it all figured out just because they have special talents. Each case has them learning new things about their abilities, and causes them to grow and change.
We are back in Salem once again.. something evil has woken up, and is attacking members of the community. Diana and Hollis have gotten a vision telling them that they need to travel back to Salem, thankfully they have a good relationship with the locals from their last visit.
People are going missing, and since alot of the residents in Salem have some sort of psychic talents it will make it that much harder to figure out who is behind whats going on.
We get to see from the killers perspective and how he is planning on playing his game with my favorite Feds. It will keep you guessing about whats going to happen next and how everything is connected.
After reading this one I decided to restart the series from the beginning, I can't wait to read them all over again. and I hope we get many more books in this series!!
In this book we get so see alot of my favorite couples from previous books, including Bishop and Miranda.. you know the case will be a good one when those two get involved, also Diana and Quinten, and Reese and Hollis are favorites as well so it was nice to see what they have been up to since we last saw them.
I love how our psychics don't have it all figured out just because they have special talents. Each case has them learning new things about their abilities, and causes them to grow and change.
We are back in Salem once again.. something evil has woken up, and is attacking members of the community. Diana and Hollis have gotten a vision telling them that they need to travel back to Salem, thankfully they have a good relationship with the locals from their last visit.
People are going missing, and since alot of the residents in Salem have some sort of psychic talents it will make it that much harder to figure out who is behind whats going on.
We get to see from the killers perspective and how he is planning on playing his game with my favorite Feds. It will keep you guessing about whats going to happen next and how everything is connected.
After reading this one I decided to restart the series from the beginning, I can't wait to read them all over again. and I hope we get many more books in this series!!
August 24, 2023
“Curse of Salem” is the 20th book in the Bishop series and I am still loving it! I love the supernatural elements in the story and the different talents that the CSU members have. Can’t wait to see how it proceeds.
The only grouse I have is Hollis. I understand how lost she feels because she have so many talents appearing at once but sometimes her thought process is a little too much for me.
The only grouse I have is Hollis. I understand how lost she feels because she have so many talents appearing at once but sometimes her thought process is a little too much for me.
January 8, 2022
Nice diversion.
Need to go back a few in series to see where all characters came from.
Need to go back a few in series to see where all characters came from.
May 2, 2023
I generally love this series & Kay Hooper but this one didn’t have the thrill factor I normally get from her Special Crimes books
January 6, 2022
Good but not my favorite
I love these special crime books but this one lacked a little excitement. Still recommend reading this book like all Kay Hooper books.
I love these special crime books but this one lacked a little excitement. Still recommend reading this book like all Kay Hooper books.
June 30, 2022
Curse of Salem by Kay Hooper
A special thanks to Berkeley Publishing Group & NetGalley for the arc of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this title all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Curse of Salem is book twenty in the Bishop Special Crimes Unit series.
Noah Bishop and his agents are back in Salem to stop a killer who is going after the towns Elders. Hollis and Diana have had powerful visions and in the grey time ahead of the first person going missing. They thought they were ahead of the serial killer this time. Only to arrive in Salem and the first person to be missing already.
These books are filled with the paranormal world where anything is possible. It kept me guessing as the team worked out who the killer was.
Fans of Bishop won’t want to miss out on this one.
A special thanks to Berkeley Publishing Group & NetGalley for the arc of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this title all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Curse of Salem is book twenty in the Bishop Special Crimes Unit series.
Noah Bishop and his agents are back in Salem to stop a killer who is going after the towns Elders. Hollis and Diana have had powerful visions and in the grey time ahead of the first person going missing. They thought they were ahead of the serial killer this time. Only to arrive in Salem and the first person to be missing already.
These books are filled with the paranormal world where anything is possible. It kept me guessing as the team worked out who the killer was.
Fans of Bishop won’t want to miss out on this one.
June 19, 2022
I picked this book up from a North Carolina authors table since I generally like mysteries and FBI crime books. I was surprised by the supernatural element to it, but thought that gave the typical FBI mystery a good twist.
HOWEVER, I was disappointed in the writing style and the way the author hopped around in different people's heads, telling first someone's thoughts, then someone else's. I know third person omniscient is a thing, but it's not my thing. Also, the ending was very abrupt. I would sum up the climax of the story, but it doesn't need summing up. The take down of the bad guy was literally two sentences long. "[FBI agent] managed to disarm him. He was strong, but [FBI agent] was stronger." I was hoping for a little more than that.
I don't plan on reading more books by this author, but I think her writing style might be a great fit for other readers.
HOWEVER, I was disappointed in the writing style and the way the author hopped around in different people's heads, telling first someone's thoughts, then someone else's. I know third person omniscient is a thing, but it's not my thing. Also, the ending was very abrupt. I would sum up the climax of the story, but it doesn't need summing up. The take down of the bad guy was literally two sentences long. "[FBI agent] managed to disarm him. He was strong, but [FBI agent] was stronger." I was hoping for a little more than that.
I don't plan on reading more books by this author, but I think her writing style might be a great fit for other readers.
February 20, 2022
This is the 20th book from Hooper's Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series.
Quite frankly they are all appearing to be the same. Psycho starts killing people in small-town and the Special Crimes Unit arrives to save the day. They use their special powers to bring a killer to justice.
This one takes place in the same small town as the last one-Salem, North Carolina. The first half of the book is a complete waste of time. I almost quit reading it but plowed through hoping there would be an interesting story. If you like talk amongst the characters about their talents and using shields so that others can't see the talents then you might enjoy the first half of the book. Me? Not so much.
In the second half of the book, the agents start to tie the murders and kidnappings together leading to the capture of the psycho at the very end. Same plot, different title. I enjoyed the use of crows by both Nellie and Hollis in this one. The only thing that stood out as different from many of the other books in the series.
I keep telling myself that I am done with the series yet I keep going back thinking it can't be the same again...yet it is.
Quite frankly they are all appearing to be the same. Psycho starts killing people in small-town and the Special Crimes Unit arrives to save the day. They use their special powers to bring a killer to justice.
This one takes place in the same small town as the last one-Salem, North Carolina. The first half of the book is a complete waste of time. I almost quit reading it but plowed through hoping there would be an interesting story. If you like talk amongst the characters about their talents and using shields so that others can't see the talents then you might enjoy the first half of the book. Me? Not so much.
In the second half of the book, the agents start to tie the murders and kidnappings together leading to the capture of the psycho at the very end. Same plot, different title. I enjoyed the use of crows by both Nellie and Hollis in this one. The only thing that stood out as different from many of the other books in the series.
I keep telling myself that I am done with the series yet I keep going back thinking it can't be the same again...yet it is.
December 10, 2021
Evil has once again reared its ugly head in Salem. SCU agents Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes, who are both mediums, are both pulled into a world of the realm of the dead one night that gives warning that another killer is at work in Salem. Problem is like the first killer that was defeated in the previous book from Salem, this one also has psychic powers.
First, I loved that all the “main” characters in this book were all previous couples from other books in the series. This time Noah Bishop, FBI SPU Unit Chief (along with being a very powerful telepath) and his equally as powerful wife Miranda are accompanied by Hollis and her partner/lover Reece DeMarco and Diana and her husband/partner Quentin Hayes. These 3 couples have become staples of the series and are all very powerful with each of their gifts.
Also returning is Salem's Chief Deputy Finn Deverell and Nellie Cavendish who were a big part of the previous book. These are great go-to books for paranormal fans.
First, I loved that all the “main” characters in this book were all previous couples from other books in the series. This time Noah Bishop, FBI SPU Unit Chief (along with being a very powerful telepath) and his equally as powerful wife Miranda are accompanied by Hollis and her partner/lover Reece DeMarco and Diana and her husband/partner Quentin Hayes. These 3 couples have become staples of the series and are all very powerful with each of their gifts.
Also returning is Salem's Chief Deputy Finn Deverell and Nellie Cavendish who were a big part of the previous book. These are great go-to books for paranormal fans.
January 27, 2022
An okay book with some flawed editing
A good SCU book from Kay Hooper, although not the best. I believe I’ve given all of the other SCU books 5 stars, but I just couldn’t do it with this one. I only found the plot okay, but it was some of the writing and editing that kept distracting me while trying to read. There are multiple sections in the book where someone apparently forgot that commas exist, which made for some really odd sentences, and others that just didn’t make sense grammatically.
Other than than, there was a lot of repetition, both from within this book and plot devices taken from other books in the series. World building and setting the scene is great, but we don’t need multiple chapters to describe the grey world from two people’s perspective, especially when they’re basically describing it the same way.
Basically, the only reason I’d read this book again is if I ever wanted to reread the whole series in order.
A good SCU book from Kay Hooper, although not the best. I believe I’ve given all of the other SCU books 5 stars, but I just couldn’t do it with this one. I only found the plot okay, but it was some of the writing and editing that kept distracting me while trying to read. There are multiple sections in the book where someone apparently forgot that commas exist, which made for some really odd sentences, and others that just didn’t make sense grammatically.
Other than than, there was a lot of repetition, both from within this book and plot devices taken from other books in the series. World building and setting the scene is great, but we don’t need multiple chapters to describe the grey world from two people’s perspective, especially when they’re basically describing it the same way.
Basically, the only reason I’d read this book again is if I ever wanted to reread the whole series in order.
January 31, 2022
DNF. I really tried to get into this book and I gave it 32 pages but it was so unoriginal and , unfortunately, boring, that I had to stop. I enjoy paranormal reads but the whole “grey time” where this group of people can share experiences psychically while dreaming, but then be saved by their lovers who read their body language distress when things get too scary…..please, that’s just hokey. It felt contrived and the novel read like a been there before and we’re going to do this again read, and I’ve never even read the series. Maybe it’s time for Ms Hooper to take a break from this one and expand out to something different. For me this only received one forgettable star.
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