Blood Matters (Roxanne Prescott, Tour Guide Mysteries #2) [Paperback]

Taffy Cannon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2007

Everybody loved adoption guru Sam Brennan, the founder and head of Adoption Central, whose life’s work was the creating loving adoptive families and reuniting birth relatives—until somebody beat him to death with a statuette of Michael Jackson. Who could have wanted to hurt the man who did such wonderful things for so many grateful people? Roxanne Prescott, now a detective in the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, is part of the team investigating the mysterious murder. Roxanne must wrestle her own haunting nightmare, along with rookie nerves and a hiden killer from the past. Cannon's lively, sassy writing zones in on contemporary Southern California lifestyles and characters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Cannon's suspenseful second Roxanne Prescott mystery (after 2001's Guns and Roses), the down-to-earth detective and her colleagues at the San Diego Sheriff's Department search for clues to the murder of adoption agency CEO Sam Brennan, found in his home bludgeoned to death with a statuette of Michael Jackson. The host of suspects includes Brennan's two ex-wives and a spurned lover. The complex web of mystery intensifies when Prescott unearths information about the extent of Brennan's wealth, his eclectic collections, tell-all book deal and his agency's niche business of reuniting adopted children with their birth families. Prescott sets a trap to entice the killer as this expertly paced police procedural advances to a startling conclusion. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Perseverance Pr (April 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880284863
• ISBN-13: 978-1880284865
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,105,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful read with a great plot; wonderful pacing; and a well hidden villain., May 7, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Matters (Roxanne Prescott, Tour Guide Mysteries #2) (Paperback)

Taffy Cannon lives every English Literature major's dream. She lives in California, where she runs the Friends of the Library bookstore. She has written fourteen novels, and has been nominated for Best Novel in the Agatha and Macavity Awards areas. She has written series, an Academy Award-nominated short film, and stand-alone mysteries.

Roxanne Prescott is a transplanted Texan working as a detective for the San Diego police department. She took time off after a partner was killed in Austin, Texas. Sam Brennan, a man who built up a multi-millionaire business involving adoptions, has been brutally murdered. His home is a carefully inventoried collection of toys that he has indicated should be transformed into a museum in the event of his death. He seems to be loved by one and all, as his elaborate funeral indicates. But there is someone who hates him enough to kill him. The trouble is, the police can't figure out the motive. He has several ex-wives and a history as a police officer:

"'Wish I could,' Sergeant George Fowler said with an engaging smile. No matter how bad the news, he was always able to cushion the delivery. 'But we'll have to settle for a long time ago in a far-away galaxy. Samuel Brennan was a sworn officer in Lincoln, Nebraska, before he moved back to California. I talked briefly with his ex-wife, who lives in Nebraska. They met at Berkeley and after graduation she wanted to go back to the Midwest because of some family illness. He got on the department back there because she had an uncle who suggested it and he didn't have any other idea what to do. She says Brennan never liked Nebraska, so they came out here and he went on the department in Escondido. He stayed for three or four years and then there was a shakeup in the department and he left.'"

Taffy Cannon's writing style is so smooth that she just pulls the reader into Roxanne Prescott's world without any apparent effort. It's like sitting down in front of the television to watch your favorite program. Cannon knows her police procedural, and the reader gets a bird's eye view of how the police department works, down to the boredom of surveillance. BLOOD MATTERS is a delightful read with a great plot; wonderful pacing; and a well hidden villain.

Shelley Glodowski

Senior Reviewer

4.0 out of 5 stars Death of an Adoption Guru, June 26, 2008

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Matters (Roxanne Prescott, Tour Guide Mysteries #2) (Paperback)

Sam Brennan is a local celebrity in the San Diego community because of Adoption Central, a non-profit dedicated to everything having to do with adoptions. San himself had been adopted as a child, and his experiences made him want to help others find their birth parents and help parents adopt now.

So it really is a surprise that San Diego Sheriff Department homicide detective Roxanne Prescott finds herself part of the team devoted to solving his brutal murder in his house filled with collectibles. With two ex-wives and a slew of potential angry clients, the suspect list is rather long. Heck, focusing on those closest to him gives Roxanne plenty of suspects. The media quickly picks up on the case. Can Roxanne survive the spotlight and find the real killer?

It's interesting and fun to see Roxanne again. She originally appeared in GUNS AND ROSES, more of a cozy then this pure police procedural. There are references to that book (and the author's books written as Emily Toll), but nothing you need to know to enjoy this one. I also found it interesting that the book was written first person since all the authors' previous books were multiple view point third person.

The book is filled with characters from the detectives working the case to the suspects. For some reason, I couldn't keep them all straight, probably because I took forever reading the first few chapters. But within a few paragraphs of seeing the name again, there was always something to remind me who they were, which I really appreciated.

The plot itself moved forward unevenly, especially in the second half. Several things were introduced that didn't seem to serve any purpose except to slow things down. Still, there were some interesting twists in the beginning and the climax was exciting and logical.

This isn't the strongest of Taffy Cannon's books, but it is still entertaining.