Thursday, November 17, 2016

#Thursday Review - Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes #Mystery #YALit @DisneyHyperion

Series: The Naturals, # 4
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery


When Cassie Hobbes joined the FBI's Naturals program, she had one goal: uncover the truth about her mother's murder. But now, everything Cassie thought she knew about what happened that night has been called into question. Her mother is alive, and the people holding her captive are more powerful—and dangerous—than anything the Naturals have faced so far.

As Cassie and the team work to uncover the secrets of a group that has been killing in secret for generations, they find themselves racing a ticking clock.

New victims. New betrayals. New secrets.

When the bodies begin piling up, it soon becomes apparent that this time, the Naturals aren't just hunting serial killers.





"All must be tested. All must be found worthy."

Bad Blood is the fourth and apparent final installment in author Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Naturals series. Bad Blood picks up two weeks after the ending of All In. In the beginning, The Naturals were supposed to work cold cases, and cases where they didn't have to leave the safety of their base in Quantico since they were all underage. But, that quickly turned into something their handlers couldn't guarantee. Not when you have a team of brilliant minds and natural abilities chomping at the bit to get close to the action where they can be more useful.

Protagonist Cassie Hobbes (who has been targeted twice by serial killers), is a natural born profiler at reading people, and piercing together the smallest details. Her boyfriend Dean Redding has the same skill set. Her other partners are Lia Zhang (human lie detector), Michael Townsend (able to pick up people's emotions), and Sloane who, as others have said before, is like the computer geek Garcia on Criminal Minds. Barnes has since explored the lives of all 4 of Cassie's teammates. Dean in book #2, Sloane in book #3, and Michael and Lia in this book. 

Since the very beginning, Cassie has had one main goal: find out who killed her mother Lorelai Hobbes, and bring them to justice. After the breath taking revelations of All InCassie and her team now know that there is a CABAL of serial killers who all use the Fibonacci sequence. They know that they kill 9 innocent people ever 3 years for 27 years total. What they haven't discovered yet are who the masters are, and whether or not Cassie's mother has anything to do with the group, and in what capacity. What is known, is that Cassie's mother had another child, Laurel, and the masters have a long game plan for her to join their ranks. 

After a brief stop to solve a faked self kidnapping by Celine Delacroix, (who you will see more later in the story) the team travels to Gaither, Oklahoma to hunt down more leads. Leads that may end up deadly for one of their members now that they have uncovered the Masters Cabal diabolic plans. Cassie is really a bloodhound who refuses to back down in finding her mother. The rest of the team knows she won't give up until she finds answers, therefore, they ride into trouble right alongside Cassie. 

I am glad that Barnes doesn't make any of her characters the perfect troupe. Like Cassie, the rest of the team has had a share of difficult and hard times which have molded them into a team that can trust each other, and have fun at each others expenses. You can't have a series without Cassie's teammates. They bring clarity, humor, seriousness, and a attitude which keeps them mostly ground, and from doing something that they may regret. Kind of said to see this series ending, especially with Celine's arrival. She really is an impressive tertiary character who might have become a valid Natural team member.






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