Customer Reviews

Whisper of Evil (Evil Trilogy)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kay Hooper's books are always just the right mix of intrigue and romance. "Whisper of Evil" is a fine addition to her series of books about psychic FBI agents and the killers and love they find along the way.

The heroine of this installment, Nell Gallagher, returns home after a 12 year abscence to stop a killer who is taking out townsmen with dark secrets. Her cover for being in town is that she is tying up lose ends after her father has died. She left her home and her true-love Max, the night of her prom 12-years earlier and never contacted anyone from that night, until the day her belated return home.

The problem I have with the book is that there are too many threads. Hooper is trying to tell too many stories in the space that she has, and the love story gets short changed. Yes this is a suspense forsenic psychic murder mystery novel, but it is a romance, and I would have liked the romance to play a more central role.

This is a fairly ordinary police procedural novel with a paranormal twist. I liked the concept of a special FBI unit that uses agents with physic powers to solve the tough and ugly crimes. The small town setting and the mysterious past relationship between the main characters were interesting for a while. However, the execution in Whisper of Evil was long, sloppy and confusing.

I'm not looking for high-quality, classic writing in a casual summer read like this but I found it hard to maintain enough focus to keep reading through to the end (I did finish it!). Characters appear briefly and then disappear for 100 pages, forcing you to flip back in the book to remember whom we're talking about.

I gave it 2 stars because there is some entertainment value to be had here - some reasonably well drawn characters, some exciting plot twists - but I felt always felt little lost trying to follow the plot, and too much had to fall into place in the last few pages or so.

I would not recommend this, even as lightweight reading. There are just too many other offerings out there that are flat out better. Move on.

Of course I never read anything in order and in all fairness to myself this book was given to me to read this summer by a good friend who thought is was good. I must admit that it was a entertaining book.

Someone is killing people in Silence and know one knows who the killer is. Nell returns home to settle her fathers estate. It is the first time she has been home in a long while and she does not know what to expect. Max is not thrilled to see her. In fact he would be thrilled to see the backside of her as she heads out of silence. Somehow they both get caught up in the hunt for the killer stalking the people of Silence.

This is a paranormal thriller and romance does take a back seat in the storyline. That is not to say that it is lacking either. A good story that has many twists and turns. You won't know who the killer is until the last moment (unless you cheat).

"Three victims have fallen to a killer's savage vengeance." In the book Whisper of Evil, you will find out exactly what happens in a small town where everybody knows everyone else in Silence. I'm going to let you know exactly what is going on there. Nell Gallagher has returned to Silence to find out who the killer is in the last 8 months there have been 4 murders on men, all men, no women. The FBI was brought in on the case undercover without the local police knowing. Nell has psychic abilities that help her find clues that no one could possibly image.

Nell goes back to Silence pretending to be there to settle her father's estate because her father had died a year earlier. When she gets to Silence she runs into Max Tanner her old boyfriend in which she ran away from home at 17 the night of her prom leaving him behind with no explanation on why she was leaving. However, she confides in him because he knows her abilities and what she can do.

In this book, it is up to Nell to find the killer and stop him before he kills anyone else. She is sure that there is going to be another murder. Nell can see into the future, also the past she can be in a place and concentrate hard, and she can tap into what has happened in that place at a certain time.

In addition, in this book whenever someone is murdered a secret that they didn't want anyone else knowing comes out into the open and everyone begins to know the truth about that certain person. So, try to find out why they are letting the secrets out into the open.

In this book, Nell is brought back to Silence to figure out murders and you will be shocked to find out who the killer really is. Therefore, read this book and try to see if you can figure out who it is and exactly why they are killing men.

This book is a great mystery novel that anyone would like to read that is if you are into mystery novels that will surprise you and make you guess at just who the killer might be. This book is good for high school students as well as anyone else. This book I think makes you accept that not everyone's perfect and that everyone is special in there own way.

I have read most of Kay Hooper and Kay Robbins books and this is one of her better ones. The plots twist and turn and keep me guessing to the end.
Although the love story did not take center stage, it was just enough to call it a romance novel.
Her writing styles have changed a little bit in this latest book. The scenes switch back and forth that is similar to seeing a movie.
I am not sure if I like this or not but it certainly keep me from putting the book down!
Her best book is still Dream Man.

I might have read other Kay Hooper books before because it sounds so familiar ~~ at least the Bishop (the main character, Nell Gallagher's boss) sounds familiar, and the whole plot using the paranormal sounds familiar too. It doesn't matter really because it was a fun and intriguing read that has kept me guessing till the end. When I picked this book up, I was recovering from the flu and wanted something to distract me from being sick ~~ and this book did the trick.

Nell Gallagher returns home after twelve years to settle her father's estate and as an undercover FBI agent to discover who was murdering prominent citizens. There were four and each of them had a secret past that came to light after their deaths. It was mystifying and the local sheriff was getting desperate to find out who is stalking the townsfolks. Suspect after suspect have been eliminated but still, mysteriously, men were turning up dead and somehow it all links back to Nell's mysterious past. And with the paranormal stuff thrown in there ~~ it definitely makes it dark and intriguing.

It's a fast and entertaining read. It's not one of the more predictable reading either which makes it nice for those lazy summer afternoons. If you want to be entertained, I wouldn't hesitate to read this one!

6-15-06

I love Kay Hooper's novels and in this book in the EVIL set, she does not disappoint. This book is decidedly less graphic than touching evil but that does not distract from the book at all. It is still a fast paced read with twists and turns that Kay Hooper is famous for. I definitely recommend this book and can't wait for her next book!!!!

Is Kay Hooper really an expert on what makes a psychic and how approaching the paranormal works. There is a lot of detailed explanation in Whisper of Evil that takes away from the action of the book and keeps it from being an intense page turner. HOWEVER, the characters are interesting, the book is well written, and the suspense is intriguing; I will go on the the third book in the series.

Nell Gallagher, had a intense newly budding relationship with Max Turner when she was seventeen and already plagued by blackouts and psychic visions. Some terrible event took place that she witnessed on the night of her prom, and she ran away leaving Max to hope for her return for twelve (12) years. That's a long time for a guy as strong as Max is, but it's fiction.

Nell returns to her hometown of Silence as an undercover FBI agent who is part of the Special Crimes Unit that is made up of psychics and other paranormal "experts." Several men have been murdered; a serial killer is successfully removing upright community citizens who are exposed to have had some terrible secrets. Nell's family and the "Gallagher" curse play an integral part in the suspense and the story gets better as it goes along.

While the supernatural senses is consistent throughout each book, the story, theme and/or plot are so different you never solve the mystery til the end. Suspense, and literally heartpounding spookiness.

I have really enjoyed some of Kay Hooper's previous books, and perhaps if this were my first I would have enjoyed it more. The problem is that all of Hooper's books are beginning to seem identical. There's no longer any suspence and even the romance is so much formula that its unappealing. For a quick beach read this is acceptable.