Book Review: “Blood Work,” by Michael Connelly

Copyright 1998, this is one of many books by Michael Connelly, an excellent mystery writer.  This review comes quickly on the heels of my last review, because it is hard to put a Michael Connelly book down, so his books get read pretty fast.  His books are riveting without having a shootout every other page.  In fact, I only remember a couple action scenes in the whole book.  It’s how the case keeps developing, with a few plot twists, that keeps one reading.

Terry McCaleb is retired from the FBI, as his old heart gave out on him (due to stress on the job) and he has recently received a donor heart.  Graciela Rivers comes to him, asking him to help her find the man who killed her sister, Gloria Torres.  McCaleb tells her he is retired, and doesn’t want to do any more detective work.  Besides, he is still recovering from the surgery to replace his heart, and doesn’t feel that his health will hold up for the job, anyway.  Having a rare blood type, he had waited two years to get a new heart, and had almost died waiting.  But, Geaciela knows something about the heart McCaleb currently has that puts him on the case: that Gloria was the donor.

McCaleb, being retired, has to skirt around the edges of the law in order to get info on the case.  It looks like Gloria was killed in a random store robbery.  This is part of why McCaleb didn’t want the case, he is a specialist in serial killings.  But, being a specialist, he soon finds that this was, indeed, part of a serial killing case, and can connect two other victims to the killer.  Then, most of the cops McCaleb has been dealing with turn on him and make him a prime suspect when it is found out that all three victims have the same blood type.

Eventually McCaleb finds the killer, and finds out the incredible motive the killer has. 

I like how in Connelly’s books, characters from his other books show up or at least get mentioned, as well as cases from his other books, kind of putting things in one universe.  The foreshadowing as to who the killer was is there, but easily passed over until the end.  I have read a few of Michael Connelly’s books, and I need to read them all.