In early 2002, I started to read some books by Kay Hooper. The books were a bit different, but good. Her newest book, Sense of Evil, was recently released. I really enjoyed the book.

Noah Bishop was an FBI profiler and a psychic. He was in charge of a special unit that was made up of agents who were psychics. The unit worked on cases that local law enforcement couldn’t solve. Noah’s wife Miranda was also psychic and part of the unit. They had a special connection, and shared their psychic abilities. They were stronger together than they were apart.

In the small town of Hastings South Carolina a killer was on the loose. Three blonde women had been brutally murdered in three weeks. The police chief, Rafe Sullivan, requested help from the FBI. Isabel Adams was an FBI profiler and member of Noah’s unit. She knew what was going on in Hastings and thought that she should be sent in. Bishop was hesitant about doing that because he was worried about her, but she convinced him.

Rafe was a little surprised that Isabel was sent because she was blonde. He was worried that the killer would go after her. He said it was a possibility, but not likely. She shared some information about the killer from a new profile. Then they went to the latest crime scene. Another agent, Hollis Templeton, was also in town. She had only been with the unit for a few months. Her psychic ability turned up after she was brutally attacked. Bishop’s unit was involved in the investigation.

Isabel believed there was a connection between the murders in Hastings and several that had taken place five and ten years before. She had connections to both sets of murders. She told Rafe that she was psychic fairly soon after she arrived in town. He was skeptical, but had an open mind. Isabel was clairvoyant. Mallory, one of Rafe’s detectives, was also told that Isabel was psychic. Mallory wasn’t sure what to think, but she seemed ok with it. They didn’t want the press to find out psychics were involved in the investigation.

Isabel and Rafe spent a lot of time working on the case. Some secrets were discovered about some of the victims. They became close and were falling in love. Isabel told Rafe about something horrible that had happened to her in the past. Rafe continued to worry about Isabel’s safety. He wanted to protect her. Something strange happened with Isabel’s abilities. At the same time, she began thinking that Rafe was psychic. Another woman, who wasn’t blonde, disappeared. The body of another woman who had been missing for several months was found.

Sense of Evil was published in August of 2003. The book is available as a hardback and as an audio book. A paperback version of the book will probably be released in the summer of 2004. I found the book on a shelf at the front of the bookstore with the new releases. Other Kay Hooper books are in the romance section of the bookstore.

I enjoyed Sense of Evil. It was an entertaining book that kept my interest. It was descriptive and well written. I wasn’t bored by the book at all. There were a few subplots in the book. Things jumped around between them, but I didn’t have trouble keeping track of them or what was going on.

Sense of Evil was a mystery with some paranormal elements. Someone was killing blonde women in Hastings. There was very little evidence for the police to go on. The three women who were killed didn’t seem to have anything in common other than having blonde hair. Two FBI agents arrived to work with the police on the investigation. The mystery was the main focus of the book. Some part of the investigation turned up in most of the scenes. There were some suspenseful scenes throughout the book. I didn’t expect how the book turned out, but it made sense.

Sense of Evil was the newest book in a series of psychic suspense books by Kay Hooper. It was the sixth book. I consider all six books to be part of the same series because they are all psychic suspense books and Noah Bishop has been in all the books. He was a main character in Out of the Shadows and has been a minor character in the other five books. The six books are listed as two trilogies in the front of Sense of Evil. Psychic abilities have been important in all six of the books, though it seemed like it wasn’t as pronounced in this book. The psychic stuff also wasn’t as out there as some of the things that have happened in earlier books. The psychic things that happened in Sense of Evil were more believable than some of the things from the previous books. People do need to have an open mind to fully enjoy this book, or any of the previous books in the series.

Some of the characters in Sense of Evil had psychic abilities. Those abilities were used to try to solve the mystery. Hollis could talk to dead people, but her ability wasn’t that developed yet. She was still learning how to control it. She only recently developed her ability after she survived a very traumatic event. Isabel was clairvoyant. She heard voices and seemed to pick up on things. Her abilities also developed after she lived through a traumatic event. She was different from other psychics because she didn’t have what they called a shield. She couldn’t block out the voices. She started to have trouble with her abilities. Right around the same time, Isabel was thinking that Rafe might be psychic. It turned out that he was. He seemed to be clairvoyant like Isabel. His abilities were developing and growing throughout the book, but there really wasn’t much focus on his developing abilities. I think it would have been interesting for there to have been more about Rafe’s new abilities and how he adjusted to them. Rafe and Isabel had some kind of psychic connection that was rare. I think it may have been similar to the connection that Noah and Miranda shared, but it wasn’t explored enough for me to be able to tell for sure.

There was some violence in some scenes of Sense of Evil. The women who were murdered were brutally killed. The murders weren’t described as they happened, but the bodies were described once they were found. There weren’t in good conditions. Isabel did have a vision while one murder was being committed. She saw things from the victim’s perspective. Another body was discovered and that body was in bad shape. It wasn’t pleasant to read about the condition of the bodies. I didn’t think that the book was that violent, but some people may think differently.

Rafe and Isabel fell in love in Sense of Evil, but there wasn’t much development to their relationship. That disappointed me some. I would have enjoyed reading more about their developing relationship, especially the psychic connection that they shared. Two supporting characters, Mallory and Alan, were involved, but there was very little about their relationship in the book. There were some sexual references, but no real sex scenes in the book. People who don’t like to read those types of scenes in mysteries may like this one since it didn’t have any. I’ve seen this book called a romantic suspense book, but there was very little romance in it. I don’t think it is a romance in any way. It is a mystery with paranormal elements.

Rafe and Isabel were the main characters in Sense of Evil. They were developed more than any other character, but that wasn’t saying much since there wasn’t much character development. The book focused in on the murder investigation, and almost every scene had something to do with the investigation. The supporting characters were flat, except for Noah and Miranda who have turned up in earlier books.

CHARACTERS

Isabel Adams - Profiler for the FBI. She is clairvoyant and works in Bishop’s unit. She was determined to go to Hastings to work on that case. She felt she had to be the one to go, even though she did fit the profile of the victims. She was good at her job and determined to find the killer. She has dealt well with her abilities. She was a kind person.

Rafe Sullivan - The chief of police in Hastings. He wanted to find out who was killing women. He didn’t have a problem with requesting help from the FBI. He kept an open mind when Isabel told her about her abilities. He was a strong, kind man. He was worried about something and afraid to share it with Isabel at first. He seemed to accept that he was psychic easily, though he didn’t understand how he was able to do something.

Mallory - One of the detectives on the police force. She was investigating the murders with Rafe. She grew up in Hastings. She was good at her job and very focused on it. She was guarded about sharing her feelings, even with the man she was involved with. She had trouble trusting.

Alan Moore - A reporter for a local paper. He and Rafe had been friends for years. Alan was working on stories about the murders. He was involved with Mallory. He was frustrated with the way she acted at times. He didn’t like that she was so distant at times.

Noah Bishop - Psychic FBI profiler who started a special unit made up of other psychic agents. He worried about his agents a lot. He worried about doing the right thing.

Miranda - Noah’s wife. She was also psychic and worked in the unit. She shared a very special bond with her husband. They both saw visions.

I really enjoyed Sense of Evil. It was an entertaining book. I hope Kay Hooper continues to write books featuring Noah’s unit with the FBI. These books are fascinating to me. I would like to see more of Noah and Miranda in future books, as well as Isabel and Rafe.

Stealing Shadows ~ Hiding in the Shadows ~ Out of the Shadows ~
Touching Evil ~ Whisper of Evil ~ Sense of Evil ~
Hunting Fear ~ Chill of Fear ~ Sleeping With Fear ~
Blood Dreams ~ Blood Sins ~ Blood Ties ~

Recommended: Yes