Precious Blood (Hardcover)

by Jonathan Hayes (Author)
Key Phrases: Precious Blood, Father Martin, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
New York City medical examiner Hayes provides plenty of authentic forensic atmosphere in his grisly debut. But his tale of a maniacal serial killer loose on the streets of Manhattan dwells too much on the carnage with insufficient focus on his protagonist's emotional state. Dr. Edward Jenner, an occasional private consultant who resigned from his post as a New York City forensic pathologist after the trauma of 9/11, is positive the gruesome crucifixion murder of a young college student is the handiwork of a burgeoning serial killer. When Ana de Jong, the murdered girl's roommate, appears in his loft, desperate for help, Jenner is plunged deep into a world of cruelty and death, a world he tried so desperately to leave behind. As more bodies pile up and the killer's methods become increasingly sadistic, Jenner races to identify the ancient text engraved in the victims' flesh, hoping it will lead him to the truth behind the murders. The somewhat creepy relationship that develops between Jenner and Ana distracts, while fans familiar with the conventions of the serial killer genre will find much of the action predictable. Hopefully, Hayes will combine his impressive forensics knowledge with a fresher plot and deeper characterization in his next thriller. (Nov.)
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Review
"An impressive debut . . . The murders are grisly and striking, and Jenner is a likable lead." -- Romantic Times

"An intelligent thriller that takes you down the meanest streets . . . This reader was scared to death." -- Linda Fairstein

"Fans of CSI and the like would definitely like this one." -- Library Journal

"Taut and chilling… a fast-paced thriller written by a real player in the game of forensic sleuthing." -- Kathy Reichs, author of the bestseller BONES TO ASHES

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060736666
• ISBN-13: 978-0060736668
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #792,909 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not "Silence of the Lambs", but a solid debut for Hayes, November 12, 2007

By	Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars solid serial killer investigation, October 30, 2007

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You LOVE Forensics, This Thriller is For You, July 3, 2008

By	C. Clift (Jersey City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.