2 Bloggers 1 Series - The Blackbird Trilogy

 

So today Stormi and I are continuing with our series review of Heather Graham's Blackbird Trilogy, one of the spin-offs from her Krewe of Hunters books.  When we started the series, there were only three books but just earlier this year, she added a second arc of three books so we will see.  Maybe we will catch up eventually.  So read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's to see hers!

 

TITLE: Secrets in the Dark (Blackbird Trilogy #2)

AUTHOR: Heather Graham

PUBLISHER: MIRA

PUBLISHING DATE: July 25, 2023

PAGES: 400   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Over a century after Jack, a new Ripper is on the loose. 

Following in the footsteps of notorious serial murderer Jack the Ripper, a killer is stalking the streets of London. The self-dubbed Ripper King strikes at night, leaving a trail of eviscerated bodies in his wake. Fresh off a case with potential ties to the recent rash of killings, FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter are all too familiar with a slayer set to rule with a lethal fist. And they’ll stop at nothing to end his reign. 

The killer’s MO may be nothing new, but his desire to be infamous makes him dangerous. Della and Mason know it’s only a matter of time before their investigation emboldens this new Ripper, forcing the agents to work quickly before another woman winds up dead. But now that the heat is on, their game of cat and mouse takes an unexpected turn, leading Della and Mason into a deadly trap they never saw coming…

MY THOUGHTS: This was a planned buddy read from last month that I didn't manage to get to. For some reason, I was doing some serious mood reading (I still am if I'm being honest) and it wasn't calling to me that strongly. However, once I made myself sit down and focus on it, the book wrapped up pretty quickly and I'm glad that I finally knocked it out of the way. 

In the first book, the reader sees the development of a new international Krewe of Hunters group deemed Blackbird. This book finds them fresh off of realizing the main killer in book one had help and some of them have taken over where he left off. Della, Mason and several other inspectors from London are in the Whitechapel area looking for a new Ripper killer. This individual has taken on the role of recreating the old Ripper murders but with a new spin. This time around, Della and Mason get some help from the ghost of Abigail Scott, someone from the Ripper era who worked to save women who were struggling to survive and make it on their own. Will the team be able to stop this new Ripper before too many people die, including people from their own group? 

As I mentioned, I did enjoy this book. I really love Ripper related tales as the unsolved mystery of his true identity has always fascinated me. Della and Mason are still enjoying the newness of their partnership, both professional and romantically and they make a good team. I did have a few issues thought. I feel like there was a lot of repetitiveness in this book but when I think about it, it does make sense. Every night the team would go out and basically pub crawl, but they were looking for men who fit the description of their Ripper suspect and all his disguises. Also, the ending seemed a big anticlimactic. There was a huge buildup for Ripper's next killing and when it finally came around, he was thwarted pretty easily. Abigail the ghost was a great addition to this novel though and she was actually one of my favorite characters. 

If you like mysteries, action and don't mind a supernatural element, then I think you would enjoy this book as well as any other in the companion series. Graham has definitely found her niche in writing and for the most part, I find it an enjoyable one. 

MY RATING: 4 PAWS