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Blood Trails #13
Lunacy
A witch has no business meddling in the affairs of werewolves.
Still…
Witch PI Shade Renard and werewolf Detective Sergeant Liam Osbourne have come a long way since their hostile first attempt to work together. But even in her wildest dreams, Shade never dared to imagine he would ask not only for her supernatural help on a case—but for her to take the lead in the investigation itself.
There’s been a murder on the doorstep of New Moon, the shifter rehabilitation center run by Liam as alpha of the local werewolf pack. The number one suspect has killed once before and gotten away with it. If she’s proven guilty this time—of a murder committed while she was in Liam’s charge—it could be the leverage a rival alpha needs to oust Liam from New Moon, or worse, seize control of the Rocky River pack itself.
A rival alpha like Liam’s vicious patriarch, who arrives eager to remake New Moon in his own violent image.
Solving this murder is about more than bringing a killer to justice. It’s about making sure that Osbourne Sr. doesn’t get the chance to destroy the sanctuary his son has worked so hard to build.
Fortunately, Shade isn’t just a private investigator. She’s a witch.
And she knows how to handle tyrants…
Still…
Witch PI Shade Renard and werewolf Detective Sergeant Liam Osbourne have come a long way since their hostile first attempt to work together. But even in her wildest dreams, Shade never dared to imagine he would ask not only for her supernatural help on a case—but for her to take the lead in the investigation itself.
There’s been a murder on the doorstep of New Moon, the shifter rehabilitation center run by Liam as alpha of the local werewolf pack. The number one suspect has killed once before and gotten away with it. If she’s proven guilty this time—of a murder committed while she was in Liam’s charge—it could be the leverage a rival alpha needs to oust Liam from New Moon, or worse, seize control of the Rocky River pack itself.
A rival alpha like Liam’s vicious patriarch, who arrives eager to remake New Moon in his own violent image.
Solving this murder is about more than bringing a killer to justice. It’s about making sure that Osbourne Sr. doesn’t get the chance to destroy the sanctuary his son has worked so hard to build.
Fortunately, Shade isn’t just a private investigator. She’s a witch.
And she knows how to handle tyrants…
- GenresUrban FantasyParanormal
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2022
About the author
Jennifer Blackstream
55 books517 followersJennifer Blackstream is a USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She is amazed and grateful to have made a writing career out of a Master’s degree in Psychology, hours of couch-detecting watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and endless research into mythology and fairy tales. She firmly believes that whether it’s a village witch deciding she wants to be a private investigator, or a single mother having a go at being a full time writer, it’s never too late for a new adventure.
A fervent devotee of cooperative board games, Jennifer sets aside at least two nights a week for team-based adventures such as Mice & Mystics, Sentinels of the Multiverse, or Harry Potter: Battle at Hogwarts. She uses games with dice-based mechanics to lure in her ridiculously lucky-rolling son and daughter in the hope that they too will develop a passion for cooperative escapism.
Jennifer currently has three series going:
BLOOD PRINCE SERIES (PARANORMAL ROMANCE, COMPLETE):
Book 1 – Before Midnight
Book 2 – One Bite
Book 3 – Golden Stair
Book 4 – Divine Scales
Book 5 – Beautiful Salvation
Bonus Adventures in the Blood Prince World:
Book 2.5 – What Big Teeth You Have (free when you sign up for mailing list mentioned below)
Book 4.5 – The Pirate’s Witch
Book 5.5 – Dead to Begin With (available only between Thanksgiving and whenever Jennifer takes her Christmas tree down)
BLOOD REALM SERIES (PARANORMAL ROMANCE, IN PROGRESS SPIN-OFF OF BLOOD PRINCE SERIES):
Book 1 – All for a Rose
Book 2 – Blue Voodoo
Book 3 – The Archer
Book 4 – Bear With Me
Book 5 – Stolen Wish
BLOOD TRAILS SERIES (URBAN FANTASY, ONGOING)
Book 1 – Deadline
Book 2 – Monster
Book 3 – Taken
Book 4 – Corruption
Book 5 – Mercenary
Book 6 – Caged
Book 7 – Betrayal
A fervent devotee of cooperative board games, Jennifer sets aside at least two nights a week for team-based adventures such as Mice & Mystics, Sentinels of the Multiverse, or Harry Potter: Battle at Hogwarts. She uses games with dice-based mechanics to lure in her ridiculously lucky-rolling son and daughter in the hope that they too will develop a passion for cooperative escapism.
Jennifer currently has three series going:
BLOOD PRINCE SERIES (PARANORMAL ROMANCE, COMPLETE):
Book 1 – Before Midnight
Book 2 – One Bite
Book 3 – Golden Stair
Book 4 – Divine Scales
Book 5 – Beautiful Salvation
Bonus Adventures in the Blood Prince World:
Book 2.5 – What Big Teeth You Have (free when you sign up for mailing list mentioned below)
Book 4.5 – The Pirate’s Witch
Book 5.5 – Dead to Begin With (available only between Thanksgiving and whenever Jennifer takes her Christmas tree down)
BLOOD REALM SERIES (PARANORMAL ROMANCE, IN PROGRESS SPIN-OFF OF BLOOD PRINCE SERIES):
Book 1 – All for a Rose
Book 2 – Blue Voodoo
Book 3 – The Archer
Book 4 – Bear With Me
Book 5 – Stolen Wish
BLOOD TRAILS SERIES (URBAN FANTASY, ONGOING)
Book 1 – Deadline
Book 2 – Monster
Book 3 – Taken
Book 4 – Corruption
Book 5 – Mercenary
Book 6 – Caged
Book 7 – Betrayal
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 1, 2022
Once again the story drew me in and never once let me go. Thankfully today is a national holiday in Germany so I could just stay in bed and devour it. And oh boy, what a rollercoaster! I am so invested in Shade's and Liam's love story, especially because it is such a deliciously slow burn, I am cheering them on every step of the way. And Flint! Oh, Flint. I don't want to like him. I don't want to be excited when he turns up. I really don't want to... he must have Fascinated me somehow!
And my heart warms every time something from the older series pops up, bleeds in, is told and I can reminiscence. I love that all of her books are intertwined somehow. So you never have to truly let go of a series you love just because it's over and there is a new one playing.
I can't wait to see what more there is to come and which mysterious, strange and very uncommon creatures we will get to see there!
And my heart warms every time something from the older series pops up, bleeds in, is told and I can reminiscence. I love that all of her books are intertwined somehow. So you never have to truly let go of a series you love just because it's over and there is a new one playing.
I can't wait to see what more there is to come and which mysterious, strange and very uncommon creatures we will get to see there!
November 2, 2022
Absolutely fantastic book 13 in the series. Lots of unexpected twists and turns. Jennifer Blackstream is an incredible author! She continues to bring depth to the characters while adding new ones with a storyline that that is so different from the previous books.
January 19, 2023
I can't get enough of psychology-savvy witch private eye Shade and her snarky pixie Peasblossom's adventures in Cleveland Ohio, keeping supernatural predators in check (and human ones too), and keeping humans unaware that 'monsters' are real.
Like other Blood Trails trails novels starring her witch P.I., in Lunacy Blackstream is strong on character development, banter, weaving suspenseful mysteries, creative magic and monsters, and thrilling combat scenes. She also doesn't shy away from gray moral areas or tough issues or raw emotions, and this entry packs a big wallop in more ways than one.
Lunacy hit me emotionally like very few books ever have. Proving once again that fiction doesn't have to be literary or outside a "popular genre" like Urban Fantasy to have deep resonance with readers' experience, or to put forth meaningful or thorny ideas to grapple with and mull over. More on that later.
On a lighter note, excellent news for Liam and Shade fans, their relationship (both professionally and personally) really levels up in this story!
As the alpha of the Rocky River pack of werewolves and Detective Sergeant in charge of the Cleveland Metropark Rangers, Liam invites Shade to LEAD the investigation of a murder right at the door of New Moon (his "hiding in plain sight" rehab center and sanctuary for newly turned werewolves/other shifters).
Even though one of Liam's pack is the prime suspect. And even though his bullying alpha father Cormac is breathing down his neck--and ready to take over New Moon if Liam makes the slightest move not approved by the Vanguard who oversee the Otherworld.
Trusting Shade this much on pack business is a huge deal--given how hard Liam tried to freeze out Shade on a similar case when they first met. (I had disliked him on their first few cases, but around book eight he'd proven he was NOT just another arrogant werewolf love interest--and more importantly, he'd become so supportive of Shade emotionally and professionally--that I rooted for their romance.)
Blackstreams' side characters, not just her main cast, emotionally level up too by the way--and fans of her sidhe panther-shifter Scath and Liam's packmates, including fellow ranger and new werewolf Emily, will rejoice.
Usually I remove a rating star when a book explores a particularly disturbing topic or twist that keeps pulling me out of the story to contemplate real-world tragedies, and thus dilutes my sheer enjoyment. I almost did so for Lunacy for its wrenching portrayal of spousal abuse. (Recalling my experience in a courtroom hearing a beaten stranger defend her abuser, I found Blackstream's characters' behavior painfully genuine.)
But I leave all five stars partly because, to the author's credit, the victim is not a one-note or one-dimensional character...and mostly because I feel too much gratitude to Blackstream for the unexpected insight and clarity she brought me when I read about Liam's troubled family dynamics. Mild spoiler territory ahead in brackets.
[MILD SPOILER: Overbearing alpha werewolf Cormac can turn on the charm when he wants, but his daughter Brenna is stretched thin striving to reconcile him and her brother Liam, struggling to recapture a close family dynamic that no longer exists--if it ever did.
Putting herself in the middle of conflicts she didn't cause and can't control only strains herself and her kinship with Liam. But her eyes, reluctantly, are opening to Cormac's flaws, his sins and manipulations, how he's not the dad she remembers fondly.]
I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a solid mystery and well-developed heroes and villains and snarky humor and unnerving, bizarre mythical creatures.
IF A SERIES MAKES YOUR HEART SOAR, AND ACHE, AND POUND IN ALMOST EQUAL MEASURE, SPEAK UP--BOOST THE SIGNAL!
Like other Blood Trails trails novels starring her witch P.I., in Lunacy Blackstream is strong on character development, banter, weaving suspenseful mysteries, creative magic and monsters, and thrilling combat scenes. She also doesn't shy away from gray moral areas or tough issues or raw emotions, and this entry packs a big wallop in more ways than one.
Lunacy hit me emotionally like very few books ever have. Proving once again that fiction doesn't have to be literary or outside a "popular genre" like Urban Fantasy to have deep resonance with readers' experience, or to put forth meaningful or thorny ideas to grapple with and mull over. More on that later.
On a lighter note, excellent news for Liam and Shade fans, their relationship (both professionally and personally) really levels up in this story!
As the alpha of the Rocky River pack of werewolves and Detective Sergeant in charge of the Cleveland Metropark Rangers, Liam invites Shade to LEAD the investigation of a murder right at the door of New Moon (his "hiding in plain sight" rehab center and sanctuary for newly turned werewolves/other shifters).
Even though one of Liam's pack is the prime suspect. And even though his bullying alpha father Cormac is breathing down his neck--and ready to take over New Moon if Liam makes the slightest move not approved by the Vanguard who oversee the Otherworld.
Trusting Shade this much on pack business is a huge deal--given how hard Liam tried to freeze out Shade on a similar case when they first met. (I had disliked him on their first few cases, but around book eight he'd proven he was NOT just another arrogant werewolf love interest--and more importantly, he'd become so supportive of Shade emotionally and professionally--that I rooted for their romance.)
Blackstreams' side characters, not just her main cast, emotionally level up too by the way--and fans of her sidhe panther-shifter Scath and Liam's packmates, including fellow ranger and new werewolf Emily, will rejoice.
Usually I remove a rating star when a book explores a particularly disturbing topic or twist that keeps pulling me out of the story to contemplate real-world tragedies, and thus dilutes my sheer enjoyment. I almost did so for Lunacy for its wrenching portrayal of spousal abuse. (Recalling my experience in a courtroom hearing a beaten stranger defend her abuser, I found Blackstream's characters' behavior painfully genuine.)
But I leave all five stars partly because, to the author's credit, the victim is not a one-note or one-dimensional character...and mostly because I feel too much gratitude to Blackstream for the unexpected insight and clarity she brought me when I read about Liam's troubled family dynamics. Mild spoiler territory ahead in brackets.
[MILD SPOILER: Overbearing alpha werewolf Cormac can turn on the charm when he wants, but his daughter Brenna is stretched thin striving to reconcile him and her brother Liam, struggling to recapture a close family dynamic that no longer exists--if it ever did.
Putting herself in the middle of conflicts she didn't cause and can't control only strains herself and her kinship with Liam. But her eyes, reluctantly, are opening to Cormac's flaws, his sins and manipulations, how he's not the dad she remembers fondly.]
I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a solid mystery and well-developed heroes and villains and snarky humor and unnerving, bizarre mythical creatures.
IF A SERIES MAKES YOUR HEART SOAR, AND ACHE, AND POUND IN ALMOST EQUAL MEASURE, SPEAK UP--BOOST THE SIGNAL!
November 3, 2022
Blood Trails is one of my favourite paranormal series and I do read a lot of them. It's right up there with the works of Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs. I love the world building and the characterizations of both the main and minor characters. The different paranormal peoples of the "Otherworld" are extremely well-written, described and very effectively revealed through their actions. I enjoy the different peoples—werewolves, fae (sidhe), vampires, kelpies, witches, sorcerers, etc. I especially love that the werewolves are not subject to the common tropes of no or rare females, no children, or destined mates. (Personal preference for sure, but I hate all of those.) In Lunacy, the 13th book, main character Shade Renard is helping her boyfriend Alpha Liam, try to solve a murder in his territory and handle a huge conflict with his brutal and violent father. There are other problems as well between Shade and the wolves who don’t want her to be with their alpha, humans who have learned to exploit werewolf weaknesses with both innovative and conventional weapons, and the treachery of various other member of Liam’s family and his father’s pack. Oddly enough, Shade’s contract with the sidhe Flint is actually helpful and Flint’s actions continue to make me wonder if the “good” in him that we have seen before, does, in fact, outweigh the bad. But that’s another thing that Jennifer Blackstream does very well—complexity of character. They are never just one-dimensional. Peasblossom provides the usual comic relief and holds her own with her needle sword and more of Scath's character is revealed (I love Scath!). For readers who have enjoyed or been totally frustrated by Shade’s slow-burning romance with Liam, it's an interesting ending. I love Lunacy—it is right up there with my favourite books in this series for sure.
June 1, 2023
whole heart love
I absolutely adore this whole series!! Shade is amazing and she has a group that may not be huge in number but huge is heart that surrounds her. Each mystery she solves adds a little more to the bigger mystery that has surrounded shade forever. I’m not ready for this series to be over. But good thing I purchased every book because I’ve reread each and I have a feeling soon I’ll be binge reading the whole series. I can’t explain why this series has such a huge piece of my heart but it does. And this ending- absolutely breathtaking!!! <3 so many hearts for this one!!!
I absolutely adore this whole series!! Shade is amazing and she has a group that may not be huge in number but huge is heart that surrounds her. Each mystery she solves adds a little more to the bigger mystery that has surrounded shade forever. I’m not ready for this series to be over. But good thing I purchased every book because I’ve reread each and I have a feeling soon I’ll be binge reading the whole series. I can’t explain why this series has such a huge piece of my heart but it does. And this ending- absolutely breathtaking!!! <3 so many hearts for this one!!!
February 10, 2025
I do like these best when we spend a lot of time with the werewolf pack. But this one really tested that, because the visiting werewolves were awful, and the mystery solve/reveal was a little hard to swallow. Flint is once again mysteriously MIA, but then shows up just to be helpful, which was weird.
November 19, 2022
Always Amazing Stories!
I started reading this series a year ago and I was immediately captivated by the authors ability to help me see the characters. They are a family and I'm so excited each time I get to visit Shade`s world!
I started reading this series a year ago and I was immediately captivated by the authors ability to help me see the characters. They are a family and I'm so excited each time I get to visit Shade`s world!
December 31, 2022
An excellent read
This is one of my favourite series. Each book is as good as the previous one and hasn't let me down yet. An imaginative and entertaining read that I couldn't put down. Highly recommend.
This is one of my favourite series. Each book is as good as the previous one and hasn't let me down yet. An imaginative and entertaining read that I couldn't put down. Highly recommend.
August 17, 2023
Amazing
A witch and a werewolf walk into the woods and get shot. Sounds like a bad joke but it makes a great book. Find adventure action and even romance in any Jennifer Blackstream book. Try one book and you will read them all. Keep writing!
A witch and a werewolf walk into the woods and get shot. Sounds like a bad joke but it makes a great book. Find adventure action and even romance in any Jennifer Blackstream book. Try one book and you will read them all. Keep writing!
November 8, 2022
go shade!
I love this series! And I’m so happy that shade is finally sticking up for herself and showing her power. Excited for the next book as always!
I love this series! And I’m so happy that shade is finally sticking up for herself and showing her power. Excited for the next book as always!
November 23, 2022
Another awesome installment with my favorite witch her pixie and Scath and yummy werewolf boyfriend.
December 26, 2022
Intricate and engaging
I love this series and complexity of the storylines the author has woven throughout the series such depth and growth bringing me back book after book.
I love this series and complexity of the storylines the author has woven throughout the series such depth and growth bringing me back book after book.
January 31, 2023
4.5 Stars:)
February 14, 2023
Finaly they liam and her get together
October 15, 2024
If you wanted to see the love story plotline move forward you'll enjoy the last half of this book. 5/10.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews