"Blood Victory" by Christopher Rice is a dark and captivating vampire tale that sinks its teeth into your imagination, delivering a satisfying blend of thrills and supernatural intrigue.

Book 3 in the burning girl series, although it doesn't dissuade you from reading the book. I do feel that i would still have benefitted from reading the previous books for a bit of backstory between the characters. The story had everything from graphic scenes to thrilling chases with the right amount of suspense. I enjoyed the sci-fi element to the thriller it added to the experience. Clever plot line and great attention to detail.

This is the third book in Rice’s Burning Girl series. The background: Charlotte Rowe spent the first seven yeas of her life in the hands of a pair of serial killers who murdered her parents and tried to shape her in their own twisted image.

Then, as an adult, as the test subject of an experimental drug, she was infused with extraordinary powers. Choosing to become the secret weapon of a mysterious consortium, she uses her powers for “good” by hunting down murders, rapist and killer who have avoided justice.

Over the course of the series, Charlotte and her powers become owned by a consortium of powerful players, so she’s not exactly free. They pick her targets, and consortium leader Cole hopes to mass produce the drug so that victims in life and death situations can fight back and survive (yeah, right).

In this book, Charlotte goes after Cyrus Mattingly and his gang, who pick up women who are never heard from again. Cyrus is a long-haul truck driver, and his cargo bay is living hell on wheels. Charlotte manipulates her way into being his latest victim while the team observes her from a control room, ready to intervene if needed. But the Consortium breaks up as two members try to murder Charlotte and sabotage her mission. To complicate matters further, when Charlotte triggers into her superpowers to abduct Cyrus, she discovers that his murders are a coordinated effort by a family of killers. The addition of the character Mother adds an additional dark motivation the confrontation.

However, the sub-plot of intrigue involving Charley’s handler’s and investors slowed the action down for me. Frankly, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get back to the plot and not have to wade through these machinations.
People like Cyrus and his brothers lurk in our real world. Human and sex trafficking is real and being addressed by US Marshalls and other agencies as they attempt to bring missing children home. In fact, more than two million kids are affected by this crime every year. While the book is gory and violent, I felt the violence was there for a reason.

I’m a fan of Criminal Minds, and like this version where an awful man is hunted down and murdered by the woman he planned to victimize. But if you are sensitive to torture or victim situations, you may want to steer clear.

While Blood Victory can technically be read as a standalone, I’d advise against jumping into this series midway. The first two books were excellent, so definitely start with Bone Music, book one.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Christopher Rice brings a PJTracy / Jeffrey Deaver vibe to this serial killer hunt. You know it's going to be bloody.

From Goodreads:
"As the test subject of an experimental drug, Charlotte Rowe was infused with extraordinary powers. As the secret weapon of a mysterious consortium, she baits evil predators and stops them in their tracks. But it takes more than fear to trigger what’s coursing through Charlotte’s blood. She needs to be terrorized. Serial killer Cyrus Mattingly is up to the task."

With a description like that and the last name RICE - how can you not want to read this thriller???

I wish had had access to the first few books before reading this one, but I have added them to my list because it was THAT GOOD and I need to goo backwards to move forwards into this series (if that makes sense?!)

Thank you to the Christopher Rice, the publisher and NetGalley for my complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please excuse my tardiness in posting my review as my TBR continuously grows and I keep finding so many book with so little time!

So much gratitude for this copy shared with me, always xo

this one was just... a little too out there for me. i don't mind suspending disbelief for a story, but i need the author to comit, you know? in blood victory and the previous book in the series, bone music, i felt that the author couldn't what subject he wanted to talk about and decided to throw a little bit of everything. it was tiring. plus i switched to audio about a third of the way through and that might've been the wrong choice, because i really disliked the narrator. i probably won't be continuing with the series.

I enjoyed this trilogy but I honestly felt like this was the weakest of the three books. Thats not great since the climax should be more captivating. I didn't dislike it. I still enjoyed the read. It just didn't quite live up to the other two for me.

I was not a big fan of Chs=istopher Rice's early books, but he has grown so much as a writer over the years. His books are more believable even when "out there" a little, and he has found his style.

I did not realize Blood Victory was the 3rd in a series so I came in at the end. Usually not a problem for me, but I found this, almost comic book type super heroish woman hard to buy. It just was not realistic, and I had trouble surrendering my belief to follow along.
Perhaps if I get a chance to go back and start from book 1 I may feel differently.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

#'Blood Victory's is bestselling author #Christopher Rice's 3rd Book in his #Burning Girl series. If your into suspense, thrillers, and crime fiction this will be a great addition. So if you enjoy paranormal suspense, action, and series books this is wonderful.
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # Christopher Rice, and # Thomas & Mercer for the advanced copy

This is the third book in the The Burning Girl series and as funny as it may be, I have only read this one and the second book, Blood Echo, in the series. I have the first one and plan on reading it especially after having read Blood Victory.

I quite enjoyed Blood Victory and found that it kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't want to put it down even late at night when I knew I needed to get to sleep because my little one would be waking up in a few hours. I don't find a lot of books like this.

Christopher Rice has a brilliant imagination when it comes to his books. How he came up with the Head Slayer, is beyond me. How does someone come up with anything that was written into this book. The perpetrator and what they do is not something that I have heard of before and I am a huge thriller fan.

I love the main character, Charley. She has overcome so much in her past and is conquering it in ways that are unimaginable. In a way, if you have experienced trauma than you can relate to Charley to some degree.

Blood Victory is filled with suspense, mystery, action, and so much more. It is a must read and as I mentioned before the books don't necessarily need to be read in order. I have not had any difficulty with understanding the story even though it does seem to touch on past events because Christopher Rice provides a small summary about them. Blood Victory also has a Glossary of Terms at the end of it that really helps for understanding some common used terms such as Zypraxon and paradrenaline.

Rating: 5 out of 5 as this book will keep you wanting more and more. It is well written and I loved the ending. I am hoping that we get a 4th Burning Girl book.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* still liked the first book the most tbh its not bad tho and would be more of a 3.5 stars

This series is amazing. Charley is constantly evolving, as is her relationship with Luke. Although the relationship of Cole and Dylan was interesting, at this point in the series I wanted more about Charley, and eventually got it!. Well written with amazing details. Cyrus is the stuff of nightmares. The Consortium is always lurking in the background. looking forward to more from Mr. Rice.

This installment was the best yet. Characters were almost too real and it was definitely a story to recommend and reread.

i really enjoy Mr. Rice's writing and this was another great read from him. I liked the characters and the story that was set up in this book.

What a fast ride this book was! This is a great series and I think that this installment was best. There was so much action, evil, and horror. Be prepared to start flipping pages.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Charlotte "Charley" Rowe was the unwitting subject of an experimental drug called Zypraxon. And she is the only one who has lived through the experience.
When she is "triggered" by extreme terror while under the drugs influence, she has superhuman powers and healing abilities.
Alongside her boyfriend Luke, she is working for a consortuim group to capture serial killers.
Targeting Cyrus Mattingly, a trucker who has been buying large quantities of a chemical used to dissolve bodies, Charley goes undercover, posing as a potential victim.
When Cyrus sets his sights on her, she gets more than she bargained. He is hiding some horrific secrets, and what he leads her into is worse than she ever imagined.
This sci-fi supernatural thriller immediately pulled me in and kept up a fast, action packed pace.
There are some truly terrifying and creepy moments in this skillfully constructed story.
Charley stands out as an exceptionally intriguing character, and I look forward to more in this compelling series.
Though this can be read as a stand alone, I urge you to start from the beginning so you can fully enjoy the evolving characters and storyline.
Thank you Thomas & Mercer for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Gotta read this series! No doubt Christopher Rice has a large shadow to follow with such a famous mother as an author, I think he has really hit his stride and taken off with this series - and this is the best one yet. A very interesting, interconnected, and diverse set of characters with the right amount of intrigue and bizarre psychopathy to really keep things moving. The "key character" in the story, the "Burning Girl", is an interesting "reluctant' heroine, who is getting to find her feet in her role, and we've taken that ride with her. A combination of superhero and insecure human with an assortment of really bad guys/girls to take care of. If you haven't read prior reads, there is enough background to jump right in this one. Looking forward to the nest installment!

A really good book I enjoyed reading though i found the plot hard to follow at times.I recommend for all fiction readers.

Blood Victory, by author Christopher Rice, is the third installment in the authors Burning Girl series. In this installment, Charlotte Rowe goes after Cyrus Mattingly and those like him who pick up women who are never heard from again. You can call it human trafficking if you like since the chosen women are taken long distances to a secret place where Mother has set up shop. Charlotte's plan is to lure Cyrus to targeting her by pretending to be someone else, and then hopefully he can lead Charlotte and her team, which includes Cole Graydon, the CEO of Graydon Pharmaceuticals, Noah Turlington, who returns to the series, Luke & Bailey Prescott, to Cyrus' base of operation.

I should probably summarize why you should be reading this series. In the beginning, Charlotte Rowe aka Trina Pierce, spent the first 7 years of her life in the hands of the only parents she knew—a pair of serial killers named Abigail and Daniel Banning who murdered her mother and tried to shape Charlotte in their own twisted image. If only the nightmare had ended when she was rescued. Instead, her real father exploited her tabloid-ready story for fame and profit—until Charlotte finally broke free from her ghoulish past and fled to Arizona where she met Dylan aka Noah. Noah tricked her into taking what she believed was a new drug to calm her anxieties.

Noah injected her with a substance called Zypraxen that gives Charlotte superhuman strength once she is triggered by certain emotions. Charlotte became a person who has preternatural powers and strengths that are wanted by certain nefarious consortium of powerful players. Over the course of this series, she's got herself out of life and death situations that didn't look good for our heroine thanks to Zypraxen. But she's not exactly free. Cole's hoping that he can mass produce the drug so that others who fell to rapists, serial killers, and human traffickers can fight back and take down their abusers. But Charlotte is the only one who has survived. Charlotte has never forgiven Noah for what he did to her.

She did agree to work with Cole hunting down mass murderers, rapists, and killers who have avoided justice. Thankfully, Charlotte found Luke, a Deputy Sheriff in their hometown, who has had his own nightmares since reuniting with Charlotte including being kidnapped thanks to Cole's security failures. Bailey is Luke's brother. Bailey sees a world without walls. He's willing to go wherever he desires which makes him a good person to have around when Charlotte needs back-up. The bad part is that Cole's consortium really would like to see Charlotte in a lab, not running around freely acting as though she's a superhero.

This causes all sorts of consternation with Cole because he wants Charlotte to remain free doing what she's doing. I think that this book is tied down unnecessarily by the ongoing tension between Cole and Noah who were once lovers. I think that the addition of Mother to this story gives the story that dark quality that the writer has added to this story from the beginning. There is another character who is featured in this story. Holly is another woman who became a target of Mother’s operation to shut up strong willed women. Holly’s story ends with her making a choice of what to do with her life now that Charley saved her from certain death.

Charley has her own demons that chase her. She still remembers finding her mother’s last words on the place where she was kept. She's not indestructible. She's still human no matter how much others want her to believe otherwise. Her trials in the first part of this book are dark and twisted and it really allows you to see that Charley's past still weighs heavily on what she does now. She still remembers her own fathers’ betrayal at trying to make an easy buck of her horrible story. But, with Luke alongside, she has found a bit of light that hopefully won't be extinguished any time soon.

Those like Cyrus and his brothers are not fictional characters in the real world. Human and sex trafficking is real and is now being addressed by US Marshal's and other agencies as they attempt to bring missing children home. They've had remarkable success in several states recently. An estimated 1.2 million kids are affected by trafficking every single year. 2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade. If you know of anyone who might be missing or involved, please contact the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST(1-800-843-5678).

Interesting premise. A woman who is part of some secret organization that tracks and takes out serial killers, but with a twist. They've developed an experimental drug that gives her super strength, super human powers. She lures evil men to take her as a victim, but she actually plays the victim, torture and all, until she becomes afraid enough to trigger the drug. And like any drug, the more you take it, the more your body becomes tolerant or resistant to it.

I felt like this book had an interesting perspective, and I liked that it was a female empowered story. It was definitely dark and a different spin on crime fiction.

The audiobook narration added to the sort of dark and creepy, almost clinical and emotionless perspective. Well done.