Casee‘s review of Drawn in Blood by Andrea Kane.
Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank has seen her share of danger. She’s faced down a serial killer and survived life-threatening injuries . . . but she never expected that danger to invade the lives of her family. . . .
Then her mother is viciously attacked in the posh Manhattan apartment her parents share and it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary robbery. The thieves were too clever, too knowledgeable, and so obviously after something of her father’s. But what could a respected art dealer have done to merit such violence? When a mysterious message is left for him, Sloane knows her father’s in over his head. Determined to find out the truth, Sloane discovers a deadly secret buried in his past that has made him the target of a power-hungry mobster with a lethal agenda and nothing to lose.
Sloane is desperate to save her father, but to do so she must hold on to secrets of her own—especially from FBI Special Agent Derek Parker, the man she has grown to love deeply. She knows she must tell him everything, but how can she betray her father’s confidence? Can a couple who’s faced so much survive this ultimate test of trust? Will they survive at all?
As the decades-old secret claims the lives of her father’s oldest friends and the killer closes in on him, Sloane finds herself in foreign territory: alone, facing escalating personal danger, and hunting a moving target in a world where memories are long and loyalties are drawn in blood.
While I certainly wouldn’t call this book part of a series, it does feature the characters from Twisted. It was interesting to see Sloane and Derek go from Point A to Point B. At one time, their jobs tore them apart. In Twisted, they made their way back to each other. Now, they are navigating a road they have never been on: staying together.
Life is good for Sloane and Derek. Or as good as it can be for now. Moving in together was a huge step for both of them, but they are happy with their decision. Now they have to learn to live with each other. That could be difficult by itself, but when you throw their jobs and Sloane’s family in, it’s damn near impossible. When Sloane’s mother is attacked, Sloane’s father begs her not to tell Derek about what’s going on. She reluctantly (or stupidly as I like to think) agrees.
While Sloane tries to start piecing together what is happening, she starts walking the TSTL line. Someone almost kills her mother (not once, but twice) and she still keeps her promise to her father not to tell Derek. She waltzes around like she’s not in danger. When her mom got attacked for the second time, I really thought that was it for me. Her reaction to it was completely moronic. But she ended up turning it around.
What is happening to her father and his partners turns out to be directly connected to an Asian gang that Derek and his team are trying to stop. Derek knows that Sloane’s father is somehow connected to some stolen art, but he can’t figure out how. The situation drives a serious wedge in their relationship. Sloane wants to protect her father and his friends and Derek wants to protect Sloane. They eventually have to agree to disagree.
I am amazed by the fact that Andrea Kane can write a character that seems so vile at the beginning, but that you actually end up feeling bad for. She pulled it off with a secondary character. I didn’t feel bad for most of them, but I did feel for this one specific character.
There were some loose ends that I didn’t feel were tied up, but other than that I really enjoyed the book.
4 out of 5.
This book is available from William Morrow. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I love Andrea Kane. Thanks, I didn’t know this was out!
after reading this review i want to read it. thanks for a great review!
I hope you both like it! Like I said in the review, you don’t have to read Twisted.