Stealing Shadows - Kay Hooper

Psychic Cassie Neill helps the L.A. police catch killers — until she makes a terrible mistake and an innocent child dies. Cassie flees to a small North Carolina town hoping that a quiet life will silence the voices that invade her unwilling mind. But Cassie's abilities know few boundaries. And she's become certain — as no one else can be — that a murderer is stalking Ryan's Bluff.
It's his fury that Cassie senses first, then his foul thoughts and perverse excitement. Yet she doesn't know who he is or where he will strike. The sheriff won't even listen to her — until the first body is found exactly where and how she predicted. Now a suspect herself, she races desperately to unmask the killer in the only way she knows: by entering his twisted mind. Her every step is loaded with fear and uncertainty ... because if he senses her within him, he'll trap her there, so deep she'll never find her way out.

This was my first book by Kay Hooper and I must say I enjoyed it a lot. I like the psychic elements in this sort of story and I think here she made it work beautifully.

I was a bit worried in the beginning that Cassie would be a very fragile heroine, always jumping at shadows and afraid to make more mistakes, but soon we realise that she is not afraid. How she deals with other people is a matter of self preservation. And she finds the perfect protector in Judge Ben Ryan who not only believes her story that a killer may be on the loose but also feels unexpectedly attracted to her.

Entering in a relationship is not something Cassie does lightly. Her priority is to avoid murders and besides she usually can read people by touching them and it’s such an overwhelming wave of emotions that she tries to avoid it at all costs. It’s intriguing then when she finds that she can’t read Ben and it makes her curious about what’s behind his shields.

His friend, the sheriff, clearly distrusts her and it will take Cassie a while to convince of him of her gift as in the beginning he treats her like a suspect who knows too much about the killings not to be involved. But soon she proves to him that she does know a lot of things that she shouldn’t and that she really has gift.

Hooper keeps us going at a fast pace with something always happening. She likes to show several possible victims going through the same situation and the killer’s perspective. I liked that in the beginning, just thought she overdid it a bit, by the end it wasn’t that suspenseful anymore. She did however surprise me with her final twist. I wasn’t expecting it and it brings a new perspective to what happened.

I became very curious about the enigmatic Bishop and I’m glad to know I have a whole series of books to look for with him.

Grade: B