Drawn
in Blood
A
Sloane Burbank Mystery
Andrea
Kane
William
Morrow (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-123680-2 (0061236802)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-123680-8 (9780061236808)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $24.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): 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.
Review:
Drawn
in Blood by Andrea Kane marks
the return of attorney and former Federal agent Sloane Burbank and her
lover, FBI Special Agent Derek Parker. And her current case is
personal: her parent's apartment has been broken into and a valuable
painting stolen.
Sloane's father, Matthew, and four good friends from college are highly
respected art dealers, buying and selling notable paintings and
becoming wealthy in the process. After a Monet hanging in her parent's
apartment is taken, Matthew's convinced the incident isn't about
stealing art, but leaving a message. He reveals an incident to Sloane
(as both a father and a client) that happened over a decade ago in Hong
Kong, where he and his friends witnessed a murder during the theft of a
painting. And they could identify the killer. At the time they,
unwisely, agreed to keep silent and forget about it. Now it looks like
the past is turning into the present. The FBI is involved in the theft
of the Monet and will certainly want to know the details of what
happened 10 years ago. But Sloane, in her capacity as her father's
lawyer, cannot tell them. She also wants to prevent Derek from being
assigned to the case, believing it will damage their relationship. But
then Matthew's friends and associates are killed, one by one, and
Matthew knows he's next on the list. What personal and professional
compromises must Sloane make to save her father?
Kane packs a lot of action and adventure into Drawn in Blood.
The highly profitable transaction in forged artwork is only one of the
subplots here that also include the organization of Albanian and
Chinese gangs dealing in other illicit trades. Retaliation and revenge,
and truth and justice, are key elements too. But the heart of the
story, as it were, is the relationships between Sloane and her father,
and between Sloane and Derek. It's sensitively and thoughtfully
handled, especially within the midst of an exciting suspense thriller.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Drawn in Blood and to Book Trends for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Drawn in Blood? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Twisted
William Morrow (Hardcover), April 2008
ISBN-10: 0-06-123678-0 (0061236780)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-123678-5 (9780061236785)
Drawn in Blood
William Morrow (Hardcover), September 2009
ISBN-10: 0-06-123680-2 (0061236802)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-123680-8 (9780061236808)
Omnimystery
keywords for Drawn in Blood
...
Location(s) referenced: New York City.
