Customer Reviews

Precious Blood

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Putting his considerable knowledge and experience as a forensic pathologist to work in his debut novel, Hayes has given us a very enjoyable read.

I found his central character, Jenner, well developed and likeable, human and multi-faceted, contrary to the publishing reviews.

The "whodunit" aspects were well written and nicely played, interesting, and engaging.

The story moves along smartly, without getting bogged down in trivia and minutiae, and my only quibble there is that I'd have liked to have seen a final chapter or epilogue tying up a couple of the loose ends, particularly as applies to Whittaker; that story thread was left dangling.

The bad guy is truly a monster, the kind of guy you love to hate. Not quite as scary as Hannibal Lechter and Buffalo Bill from "Silence", but not too far off, either.

A couple of the peripheral characters had a lot of unrealized potential, I think; one priest in particular comes to mind, and I can't be more specific without creating a spoiler. But I feel a real opportunity was missed in his case.

But overall, a very solid four stars.

Following the 9/11 tragedy, Manhattan forensic pathologist Dr. Edward Jenner retires from the medical examiner's office unable to cope after having witnessed for weeks afterward the results of the calamity. Edward conducts occasional consulting work.

The uncle of East Village resident Ana de Jong pleads with his close friend Edward to help her for she fears for her life. As she explains to him someone brutally murdered her roommate Andrea nailing the Hutchins College law student to a crucifix. Reluctantly Edward takes on the case even while he fears that a ritual serial killer is surfacing and that he mentally may not be able to deal with the horrific deaths that he expects to see. Still more for Ana's sake than his morbid curiosity, he digs deeper into the investigation and realizes the killings follow a pattern with each new ritual homicide crueler than the previous ones occur.

Fans of serial killer investigations that emphasize forensic science will appreciate Jonathan Hayes' fine entry as the whodunit inquiries dominate the tale. Jenner is a fabulous protagonist as he suffers from post traumatic fatigue syndrome caused by the 9/11 nightmare; however Mr. Hayes fails to dig deep into the demons eating at his soul. Still PRECIOUS BLOOD is a fine mystery that sub-genre readers will welcome.

Harriet Klausner

Jonathan Hayes, a forensic pathologist himself for the city of New York, writes his first thriller PRECIOUS BLOOD from a place of pure authenticity. Though Publisher's Weekly complained of the lack of "...insufficient focus on his protagonist's emotional state...", I found that the essence of that emotional state permeates every fiber of Dr. Jenner's being as he is dragged into the dark, sickness of the killer's escalation into mind-bending cruelty. The book may seem to some slow to build but I found as the serial killer mounted his campaign of carnage, the author used clinical detatchment brilliantly to imbue his characterizations: They are not so much gross-out moments of blood lust as they are a sensory, visceral, tactile explosion of a killer on a mission that parallels Jenner's coming to terms with his own demons in the aftermath of 9/11's senseless horror. Jenner is as human as Hayes himself while remaining a fictional character.

This may be Hayes first attempt at writing a serial killer thriller, but something tells me Jenner's story isn't finished and we can only hope for a series that continues to explore his journey with many more page-turning, realistic stories.

Edward Jenner, is a complicated and emotionally scared ex-Medical Examiner for the State of New York. Still reeling from the effects of identifying 9/11 victims, Jenner has been asked to investigate a bizarre death and help a friend. Although initially reluctant to rejoin the forensic world, Jenner embarks on a journey to discover the truth.

Then there is a crazed serial killer (aren't they always crazed?), who has superhuman strength, is tattooing the victim's bodies with religious symbols, and displays them in a way that mirrors/mimics various religious martyrs, all while staying several steps ahead of law enforcement. Pulled once again into a world of murder and mayhem, Jenner struggles to solve the mystery, maintain his sanity and save a troubled witness/victim (Ana de Jong) from herself and the killer.

As a first novel, in what I can see as a series, I thought this story was pretty good, extremely entertaining (I mean you have a troubled hero, who isn't invincible, and several decent sub-plots) and worth reading. I can definitely see Edward Jenner joining a long list of popular crime fighters in the fiction world. And he could perhaps even fill the void where Alex Cross (James Patterson), Eve Dallas (JD Robb) or Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell) are. I would love to see what happens in Jenner's life, love and career.

This first novel is far more accomplished than anyone had a right to expect. It is well-plotted, sharply written and exciting. Authored by a New York City forensic pathologist about a New York City forensic pathologist, it smacks of realism and self-knowledge. It is a striking debut.

The protagonist, Edward Jenner, is caught up in a web of grisly murders; the police are baffled, the clues non-existent. He's called in as a consultant on one, which starts him on a loose trail, as he uncovers a little forensic evidence, some history which should have been gathered by law enforcement officials. He then uncovers another murder in Pennsylvania, and it becomes a race to the finish to put an end to the serial killer who ritualistically "prepares" and exhibits his victims.

This debut portends much more to come, perhaps a series built around Jenner. The descriptions of New York City, the emotions displayed by Jenner who was a medical examiner post-9/11 (as was the author) are real, the characters complex and unusual. Run, don't walk, to get a copy and read.

If you like serial killer stories, PRECIOUS BLOOD might be worth a try. It's not a great novel, but it's a decent thriller about a hunt for a deranged serial killer in New York City. It moves pretty slowly at the beginning, but gets much better as it progresses along.

The hero of this book is forty-something Edward Jenner, a brilliant forensic pathologist who was emotionally damaged by his work at Ground Zero, post-9/11. He decides to quit his job at the Medical Examiner's office, but is drawn out of retirement to track down a serial killer who kills his victims in a shockingly brutal fashion.

The first half of this book is not very exciting, in my opinion. Jenner's investigation moves slowly, and he also begins a sexual relationship with an emotionally unstable woman who is a near-victim of the killer. This woman is almost half Jenner's age, and her immature behavior makes their "romance" seem rather odd and creepy.

The action in this book does pick up markedly in the second half, when Jenner has to race against time to track down the killer before he kills again. The last fifty pages of this novel are terrifically paced -- they put me on the edge of my seat.

In the end, however, I found PRECIOUS BLOOD to be kind of unsatisfying. The plot of the book is ultimately forumlaic and predictable. If you've read a lot of serial killer fiction, many of the scenes and situations will look familiar. I also found much of the characterization to be rather flat and underdeveloped. Jenner is supposed to be a complex, emotionally tortured character, but I ultimately found him rather bland.

In short, PRECIOUS BLOOD is a decent read, but veteran readers looking for something fresh and fast-paced may be disappointed.

You are hooked from the first chapter and as the story and characters develop, the pace increases until you reach that point of no return - where you absolutely can't stop reading until you've reached the end. I'm looking forward to a sequel!

An excellent first novel by a man who really knows his stuff. Every bit as good as Silence of the Lambs in my opinion and it could be made into a great film. The author's medical history and background really shine through in thei book, you can tell that it is written by someone who has hands-on experience in the phorensic science field. The last few chapters will keep make it near impossible to put the book down. If you like a good read then you won't go far wrong with this..

***Possible Spoilers***

I enjoyed this book very much. Great forensic details and a good plot that kept moving along. The only reason I didn't give it 5 starts was that once they told you who the killer was, the suspense was kind of taken out of the story and it just became a "can I save the girl in time. Good read though and would read others from Mr. Hayes.

It's been 3 years since "Precious Blood" was released, & I find it hard to understand how I could have missed reading it until now. Perhaps it's because there is a plethora of serial killer novels available today, most of which are low quality works that simply fail to provide the reader with anything close to a good read. The fact is, there are only a handful of authors who are capable of creating & sustaining the type of nightmarish scenarios that cause us to dread the dark, startle at any unfamiliar sound, and make sure that we have locked our doors and windows at night. Richard Montanari & John Connolly come immediately to mind. Now you can add Jonathan Hayes to these, for if "Precious Blood" is anything to go by, he is an author who is going to introduce us to a maelstrom of indescribable horror & fear, in the years ahead. The storyline of "Precious Blood" is simple - Dr Edward Jenner, forensic pathologist in post 9/11 New York, is drawn into a case involving the ritual slaughter of several young women, each of whom have been marked with an ancient indecipherable script. Unable to participate officially in the investigation, Dr. Jenner, with the aid of allies within the NYPD, and Ana de Jong, flatmate of the first victim, who narrowly escaped being killed herself, combine to track down the killer, labelled The Inquisitor. And with each new victim comes a more bizarre & cruel method of killing, as The Inquisitor draws Jenner & de Jong into his plan, played with his rules, and with an endgame that will be a personal nightmare for both of them. Hayes is a superb writer! A medical examiner himself, he is aptly suited to deliver the most graphic scenes of violence perpetrated on the victims in the most chilling way, and yet he is also able to keep the reader on the edge of their seat throughout. I simply could not put "Precious Blood" down, and I have to say that Montanari & Connolly have some serious competition on their hands now.