SLEEPING WITH FEAR by Kay Hooper
Kay Hooper continues her series titled "Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Novels" with her latest SLEEPING WITH FEAR. This time out she is focusing on a possible occult killing that takes place in the South. The agent involved in these murky events is Riley Crane, one of the best and brightest of the Special Crimes Unit. She has proven her worth in a variety of circumstances but this time she might just be in over her head.
The book starts intriguingly with Riley waking up in her bed covered in blood. She has no memory of any events of the past few weeks, but does recall she has been summoned by an old friend to a small coastal town called Opal Island. He suspects there is some occult activity going on in his area and he wants Riley to investigate. Rather than make it a formal investigation Riley has taken some vacation time and headed there.
Now she is up to her elbows in the mystery and doesn't have the memory or, strangely enough, any of her extra sensory powers to help her out. She just has her natural intelligence and wits to pull her through, and the hope her memory and powers will return.
Another shock occurs when Riley learns she has been living with the District Attorney of the area. His name is Ash Prescott and Riley has taken him as her lover. This completely baffles her as it is unlike anything she would normally do. But Ash is in her life and intends to stay there.
As Riley goes about trying to solve her "mystery" and two killings on the island, she is in a quandary as to who she should trust. Her boss, Noah Bishop, is overloaded with other crimes and can't send any one to back Riley up. So she is on her own until she decides to leave.
Riley is an interesting character and her situation is certainly unique. This makes for exciting reading material up till the very end of the book. But when Hooper begins to try to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together she comes up short, and the explanation has too many holes left unfilled.
Even with the weak ending this is one of Kay Hooper's most exciting and readable books yet. She has begun to know her characters totally and makes the reader feel he/she knows them too. The book has a little romance, a little mystery, a little sex and a little humor - all the ingredients anyone could need to have a good time as they visit Kay Hooper's world.
Just don't expect all the answers to fall into place at the end and you will enjoy this suspenseful story. It isn't a great book but it is an okay end of summer read.
SLEEPING WITH FEAR is published by Bantam Books. It contains 292 pages and sells for $25.00.