In the 2nd installment of the PI Blake Hollow series, Malcolm Richards once again expertly crafts a story that hooks you from the beginning and won’t let you go until the very final page. PI Blake Hollow stumbles upon a case of a secluded family with deep and longstanding secrets. As she endeavors to solve the mystery of a young woman’s apparent suicide, she quickly uncovers a much larger mystery with many twists, turns and surprises. Malcolm’s expert story telling, vivid use of prose and three dimensional characters make reading this book a true pleasure. The storyline will keep you thinking and guessing to the very end. This is a must read, but be sure you read PI Blake Hollow #1 “Circle of Bones” first. I very much look forward to the next book in the series.

This is the second book in the series and just like the first it is very well written and thought through. The description of the scenery and weather is so vivid I could actually feel it getting chilly. Aside from learning about the new case that PI Blake Hollow is working on we get to know her and her family a bit better. This is certainly a page-turner and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Malcolm Richards has the ability to pull the reader in as if he were in the midst of the circumstances. Down in the Blood is no different. Blake must get her PI career back on track. When a grieving man comes to her to learn the truth about his bride’s apparent suicide, it seems like a perfect way for Blake to accomplish her goal. The bride’s family, though, is having no part of it. The investigation moves through a labyrinth of deceit. Don’t expect to pick this book up and put it down whenever you feel like it. Not going to happen.