It was totally my fault for not doing research first.  Had I known what Kay Hooper’s Touching Evil was about, I wouldn’t have chosen to read it. 

You can’t tell from the back cover, but this book is part of Hooper’s “psychic” series.  Meaning that it’s a thriller, but aiding the investigation are people with various forms of psychic abilities. 

Now don’t get me wrong - I’m not saying that these abilities aren’t “real”, or that psychics have no place in police investigations.  However, I normally don’t choose to read this type of story.  I simply prefer thrillers and mysteries that are solved through clever reading of clues, rather than the “short-cut” methods that psychics can provide. 

Maggie Barnes has a unique ability.  Whether it’s a “gift” or a “curse” I’m not sure.  But she’s an “empath” - someone who can - literally - feel the pain of others.  In fact, she can sometimes draw pain away from someone else and take it on herself.  She also happens to be a gifted artist.  She combines these skills in order to aid police investigations.  She can spend time talking to a victim, and in getting “inside the victim’s head”, she can “see” the perpetrator. Then, using her artistic ability, she creates a drawing that goes beyond what a traditional sketch artist can provide.  She can also go to the scene of a past crime and “feel” the anguish that took place there.  At the same time, she gets a pretty good sense of what took place.

But the latest bad guy in town is causing real problems for the police - and for Maggie.  Sure, she can meet with the surviving victims.  But because this bad guy blinds his victims as his very first act, none of them have seen what he looks like.  Thus, no matter how well Maggie can “connect” and feel the crimes, she can’t get a look at this guy.  As the victim list climbs, the police, the FBI, Maggie, and a slew of other psychis are at the end of their ropes trying to stop an evil, that no one can see.

It was a pretty decent premise, and I admit that I wanted to see it through to the end, to find out who the bad guy is.

However, this book is not without its faults.

One problem is that it is overwhelmingly repetitive.  The same conversations take place over and over again.  First of all, there’s Maggie’s “issues”.  She knows that the tales she tells of actually feeling the pain of others, and actually being able to “see” crimes that took place in the past cause disbelief in others.  At least, at first, anyway.  But we have to hear over and over again her “woe is me” story about how difficult her life is.  Not only that, but she gets angry with anybody who doesn’t immediately believe her (and that’s pretty much everybody).  I got tired of hearing her complain all the time about how she’s treated by others.  I get that she’s frustrated, but I don’t know what she could really expect, either.

Then there was the repetitive conversations about jurisdiction, and whose case this is.  The FBI, the police, Maggie, and a separate band of other psychics all want this guy caught.  So do they work together nicely?  Nope, they argue - nonstop - about who’s allowed to do what.  Mostly, the FBI and the police were bickering because each wants the “credit” when/if the guy is eventually found.  And while neither of those groups particularly wants to admit that they need the help of the various psychics to solve the mystery, they sure utilize their findings.  Did this lead to camaraderie and “thank you’s” all around?  Hardly!  They’re too busy bickering.

And, finally, when all is revealed, I felt the story was a disappointment.  I simply didn’t buy the tale I was told.  So many things just didn’t make sense. 

Not that it was all bad; it wasn’t.  I thought the psychic stuff was fairly interesting, as some of the abilities described were ones I’d not heard of before.  And I enjoyed watching the police detectives find a few clues, themselves, without any psychic help… clues that really helped solve the mystery. 

So - if you enjoy paranormal-themed thrillers, you’ll probably enjoy Touching Evil.  But as for me, while it wasn’t the worst book in the world, I think I’ll skip the rest of the series.



Haunting Rachel  

Recommended: No