2.5 Stars

While I haven't read a majority of this series, I always found that it's quite easy to pick up from book to book and just dive in - mostly because each book deals with a different case. But I really struggled with this one.

In the town of Clarity, a bunch of recent accidental deaths have left a bad taste with the local PD's. While everything points to these deaths being accidental, there's something off about them. Enter the FBI's special unit. Lead this time by Hollis, an agent who is still discovering the depths of her powers, the team finds themselves in a race against the clock to find a serial killer before he strikes again.

What I liked about the book were the crimes and how they were explained. Hooper has a knack for interesting crimes that keep you interested. I was constantly trying to figure out who the bad guy was. However, I will admit that when it was revealed, I was a little underwhelmed. I feel if you're going to a punch, the audience needs to already have a connection.

And speaking of connections, that was another problem. I never really connected with anyone. Each one had quirks that I liked, but as a whole, nothing really worked. It felt like, instead of reading a well oiled machine as they were supposed to be, it was like watching a new group come together. Yes, I get that this was the first time Hollis lead, but the team has known each other for a while. Every conversation just felt like an info dump between them that it just wasn't realistic that they were a team let alone friends.

Then there was the pacing. 2/3 of this book was literally just talking - and not about the case. About Hollis's feelings, and their powers, and how they were feeling right there, and everything but the case! Then a murder would happen and they'd be like, oh work time. I wanted more profiling. More diving into the murder's mind. More tracking. I guess, just more.

While this book didn't really do it for me, it didn't necessarily deter me from the other books in the series. I would probably read more from this group.

Members of Bishop’s unique Special Crimes Unit return in another spectacular book by Kay Hooper. In a small town named Clarity, unexplained accidents start happening and increase in strangeness. Sheriff Gordon knows something isn’t quite right but doesn’t know what and how to prove it so he calls the FBI for help.

Hollis Templeton and her partner, Reese DeMarco head to Clarity with Kirby Bell and Cullen Sheridan the other members of the team, to figure out if these accidents are really accidents. Hollis has so many abilities and keeps gaining more. Reese doesn’t think she’s ready to go into the field again, but Bishop always seems to know what the members of the team can handle. As Hollis and Reese work to find out what evil has afflicted the town. Hollis is learning more about herself and her adaptability than she thought she ever could.

Wait for Dark is superbly written and full of surprises. Another win for Hooper.

Wait for Dark is book 17 of Kay Hooper’s Bishop/SCU series (fifth book for this publisher) and even though I rated this one a four star it was exponentially better than the one before it, Fear the Dark was quite good but it seemed redundant to drawn out. This one is the one I have been waiting for. Hollis and Reese have been dancing around each other for the last five books. Finally Reese has said enough is enough and puts everything out on the table and basically tells Hollis this is how I feel about you I know you feel the same there is no backing away from me anymore. Yay! I love those two but tbh I hope I don’t see them again in another book for a while because they have been the main characters in the last six books Fear the Dark the exception. My theory is that Hollis and Reese are leading up to take over for Bishop and Miranda in the future. This isn’t a stand-alone but you don’t have to read every book before this one, probably just the ones with Hollis in them (like nine books) only because the background they cover in this book mentions the pertinent history there is so much more information so much more of the story behind Hollis in the books.

This book was dark, creepy and really good. It balanced the action and suspense with the talking it out much better than the previous two books. Hollis and Reese along with new comers Kirby and Cullen are called down to the tiny North Carolina town of Clarity to uncover the truth behind a string of “accidents”. The sheriff, Mal Gordon, who called them in had a gut feeling that the accidents weren’t what they seemed, he followed his instinct and looked up the victims phone records and discovered they all received a text messages all the same time of day of their deaths; the message read “wait for dark”. Upon the arrival of Hollis and her team it escalates to a brutal murder. Nothing is quite what it seems from the staged deaths to the people in town. Top it all off, Hollis is dealing with another emerging talent, her abilities come out as an as needed basis.

The creepy vile villain behind this gets his own third person POV which you get to see how disturbed his mind is and hints at the true meaning and goal behind his madness. The book starts with a bang and continues with a line of increasingly grotesque incidents. I really like how dark this series has gotten, Hooper has shifted the focus of the books and focus’ more on the suspense then the romance and that’s just fine by me. I hope to see more of Kirby and Cullen, I enjoyed those two. Overall, this was another great book for the series. I love this series it has to be one of my favorites I’ve been reading them almost from the beginning, I own them all. One of the things I love about it is the fact that every book focus on a different couple so I really hope (even though I know I’ll probably be wrong) the next book does not center on Hollis and Reese.

I enjoy Kay Hooper's work. I really enjoyed reading this book. Loved the story line and characters.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Wait for Dark is a wonderfully crafted story which kept me on the edge of my seat and at times cowering under the covers as I read. In true Kay Hooper fashion, I was engaged in this story right from the prologue. How could the following not engage your interest:?

“As if the car wanted to run over the boy.”



Really…insinuating that the car had a mind of its own? Yup…I was hooked. What is going on in the sleepy little town of Clarity?

The story begins with numerous “accidents” happening in the small town of Clarity, where the fourth “accident” is just weird, not really conceivable as to how it occurred. Conversations between Sheriff Mal Gordon and Deputy Emma Fletcher regarding these incidences:

“Just wondering how long it’s taken you to convince yourself this was an accident.” “All morning,” she confessed.

and

“ …No, I’m not okay. I’m not even close to being okay, not with stuff like this happening. First that weird car crash, then a grill exploding, and the elevator falling the way it did….and now this. Four people dead since the middle of July, all from accidents that shouldn’t have happened. That’s not normal, not for Clarity. I looked it up. The last accidental death here was from a farmer falling off the roof of his bar. Nearly fifteen years ago.”

So Sheriff Gordon calls in the Special Crimes Unit (SCU) to give him an assist. The weird stuff does not stop just because the SCU is in town. In fact, it seems like now one of the special agents (Hollis) is also a target. As the team tries to stop the next murder, they review all four previous crime scenes for commonalities. And then the unthinkable, a fifth murder. But this murder does not follow the same patterns? This really gets the SCU thinking. One clue that was common to all five victim’s is that each murder victim got a text just hours before their demise…and it said “Wait for Dark”. Kirby (SCU member) certainly got it right…she said “Now that’s creepy.”

As Hollis vows to stop the killer in an attempt to fight for her life, she develops new psychic talents to help fight this monster. Hollis takes her job VERY seriously and the first evening in town, she is pushing herself. In talking with her partner, Reese, we get a sense of her dedication, even to the extent of pushing herself too far:

“We both know you’re not going to sleep. You’ll lie awake in bed going over and over this case in your mind. Trying to figure out if you missed something.”

“It’s my job, Reese. To keep this monster from killing anyone else.”

“That isn’t your job. Your job is to investigate, build a profile, and narrow down what’s now a wide-open list of suspects. To hunt the monster. Our job is to do that. And if he kills again while we’re closing in on him, that’s on him. Not us.”

With the body count increasing, time is not with the team. I found the suspense very palpable. Frequently I was shaking with anticipation. The crime scenes were gruesome and at times so detailed that I shivered. Not sure this is the book one should read just before bed.

I do hope that Hollis and Reese can work out the status of their relationship in the next book as it really just needs to be settled. I would also like to see the progression of the partnership between Kirby and Cullen, after all Kirby is Cullen’s fourth partner in a mere 8 months. I also enjoyed the personal touch that Bishop bestowed upon the team in this case.

Not wanting to give away any more….pick up Wait for Dark and enjoy. As I have said before – Ms. Hooper never fails to deliver; at least from the limited exposure I have had (now three books from the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series and two books from the Bishop Files series). I will continue my quest of reading all the back titles in the two series, at least until a new title is published. ☺

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

I DNFed this book. I found it abnormally verbose and the amount of time spent on the main protagonist and her issues overwhelmed the mystery.

Here's the link to the review posted on my blog

Wait for Dark by Kay Hooper is the 17th novel in the paranormal Bishop series.

Four accidental deaths occur in a small community of Clarity, NC. All four accidents had something in common. They all got a message on their cell phones “Wait for dark” before their deaths. The local PD is unequipped to handle these cases and call the SCU to investigate. This is the first-time Hollis Templeton is leading a team and is unsure of her abilities. Along with her are two newbies and her partner Reese DeMarco who she still has unresolved issues with. When they arrive in Clarity, Hollis senses a new type of evil which even she has never encountered before. She will require all her evolving psychic powers and more to defeat this powerful enemy while keeping herself and her team safe.

This is a book I thoroughly enjoyed mostly because I have been following Hollis and Reese’s story for a long time and have been waiting to see them come together. The book is creepy but I did feel the end was rushed a little. Overall, I would still give it 4 stars as it’s a fitting end to one of my favorite couples in the Bishop series.

Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.

Kay Hooper’s Bishop Special Crimes Unit (SCU) series is long running. She is up to book 17 and they all deal with FBI agents with psychic abilities who use those abilities to solve crimes. They are romantic-ish suspense, with way more suspense and mystery than romance and they are titled in trilogies, although the series is one with all of the same characters that appear in multiple books. I was familiar with the characters since I read the first twelve-ish books. I thought it would be easy to read out of order since they pretty much follow the same formula…murder, serial killer, Bishop’s crew comes in, they investigate, something big happens, crime solved and this all goes on while a couple is falling for each other. What I found was that it was a lot harder to dive into book 17 than I expected. I knew the characters but either I don’t remember a whole lot of details from previous books (this is probable) or much has happened since I picked up a Bishop SCU book.

In Wait For Dark, I was bored to tears until about the last 20%. The killings were all staged accidents so when our SCU team shows up there is a lot of talk and speculation on what is going on. This book was a lot of dialogue with our characters talking out their theories, their evidence, their suspects and/or persons of interest. Maybe I choose to remember the good of the series but I don’t remember being this bored in the other books. In fact, I have really fond memories of Bishop and Miranda’s book. So all of this talking in circles made me lose interest about every other minute. Yes, I realize that is how cases are solved in real situations…lots of talking, speculation and going over things multiple times, but it really doesn’t make for an exciting novel. Unless you are really into mysteries with psychics, I wouldn’t recommend Wait For Dark.

Reading is my escape from the real world.  I love the stimulation of a well told story particularly one that gets my adrenaline pumping and keeps me enthralled through the telling.  I tend to shy away from the really dark and graphic crimes where evil oozes across the pages of the book but occasionally challenge myself with one of Ms. Hooper's oh so dark tales of criminal minds and the people who stop them.
When a series of horrific accidents occur in the small town of Clarity the local sheriff is taking no chances, he calls in the FBI's special crimes unit.  Are these nothing but a series of coincidences or is there something darker afoot?
Hollis and her team are still in the air when a man's cry for help leads the sheriff and his deputies to the discovery of a body impaled in a tree. This time there is no doubt. This is the scene of a murder.  As the FBI team arrives on the crime scene directly from the airport to investigate, readers learn that the killer is not happy with the turn of events and is taking actions to cover his tracks.
There are a couple of anomalies that I didn't understand. Clarity is a small town with a very low crime rate and yet they have a top notch medical examiner and the sheriff's deputies are trained in criminology?  The Clarity police department has a state of the art communication system which there was some type of explanation for but it is a it surprising to have such a sophisticated set up in a small town with little or no crime.  These were minor distractions that pulled me away from the story at hand but I shook them off and persevered on.   It is clear that the killer is indulging in blood sacrifices and blood rituals throughout the story.  Keeping Hollis the FBI team leader in the dark is the purpose of one of the early rituals and Hollis herself acknowledges it's effectiveness but this is another thread that is not fully pulled.
What is true and the focus of the continuing story is the next murder within 24 hours and a more gruesome murder it's hard to imagine. The killer is definitely escalating and the FBI team is going to have to pull out all stops in order to stop the killing spree and the mounting body count.  Hollis and DeMarco are going to be challenged in a very personal way.
Hollis evolves in every story that she's been a part of. Under duress she develops new psychic traits.  When Reese, is threatened she burns through all the magic that has been fogging her senses and negates the damage by developing a new skill.  All in all this is a well written crime drama where the reader can follow the clues and try to identify the killer. The author does a great job of laying out breadcrumbs for the readers but keeps the identify of the killer are mystery until the very end.

Synopsis:

An SCU team investigates a string of accidents, only to uncover a deadly and deliberate monster in the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper.

In Clarity, North Carolina, the residents have fallen victim to an unfortunate series of events. Seemingly random accidents have taken the lives of several citizens in the small mountain town. But these deadly coincidences are anything but. Something is on the hunt in Clarity, and the only clue as to what is a cryptic note given to the victims 24 hours before they meet their ends: “Wait for dark.”

Sheriff Mal Gordon knows how to handle his town, but he has no idea how to handle this. Hollis Templeton and her team from the Special Crimes Unit, including her partner and lover, telepath Reese DeMarco, are called in to investigate.

But while the SCU has prepared them for the unknown, the incredible evil stalking Clarity shakes the team to their core when one of their own is targeted. Now Hollis, the “cat with nine lives” finds herself facing death again.

And this time, not even her partner can protect her... (Goodreads)


Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. All of the agents in the Special Crimes Unit have psychic abilities that they use when pursuing the criminals. I really enjoyed the parts of the book that dealt with these psychic abilities, which I thought could have been more. That is what makes this book special and I just wanted a little more of it. This is only my opinion and others might not feel the same way. I liked getting to revisit some characters that I met when I read previous books and getting to meet some new one.

The mystery is carried on well throughout the entire book. There were a lot of very tense moments and disturbing scenes that led to much tension and suspense. The author is very talented in creating these scenes for the reader to enjoy.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted paranormal suspense. I have read quite a few of the books from the beginning of the series and I have enjoyed them all. If you have not read any books in this series, I would suggest you start at the beginning to see where it all started. If you have been reading the series all along this is a great new installment.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A small mountain community is rocked by a series of deadly accidents never realizing there is a dark evil in their midst until the sheriff's bad feeling leads him to bring in the FBI's Special Crimes Unit.

I was introduced to this compelling, dark, and gritty thriller series with the release of the previous book, Fear the Dark. Violent and inexplicable crime that has a woo-woo element is the forte of Bishop and his team of psychic agents.

My favorite part of the story is the creepy beginning when there is something terrifying in the shadows and preying on unsuspecting folks and then seeing the team come in and work every angle of the crimes until they become the predators. The case seems more than difficult in the beginning, but slowly clues are uncovered and the killer, who does have a narrative part, starts to feel the pressure.

The story has a strong human element along with the horrors of the bad guy. There is the intro to Mal Gordon and his sheriff's department and then the FBI team sent in flipping through a large group of narrators. These folks have their flaws and strengths that make them good at what they do and make me connect with them and root for them. In Wait for the Dark, the author brings back the team of Hollis Templeton and Reese DeMarco while adding a pair of new agents, Kirby and Cullen, on their first case. Hollis and Reese are the key players once things get going.

Hollis was nearly destroyed by her own life tragedy before joining the team and has seen her share of evil which makes her shut down her emotions, forget to rely on her team, and take it all on herself. However, she is partnered with the stolid and dependable Reese who made it clear he has feelings for her and he is her partner and will not be pushed aside so he will carefully handle her troubles and be there for her when she is ready. There is as much suspense riding on this pair to figure out how to work together and be stronger as there is with the case they are working on.

I will confess that though I loved this one and was really into it on one level that I had an odd detached feeling, too. I think it was Hollis and her emerging new psychic powers. It was interesting, but more of a distraction to me when I wanted to focus on the group, the case, and even the romance rather than that. I also felt the actual killer and his issue was a let down compared to the early set up and ongoing build up. But that said, this was exciting and kept me guessing as well as riveted to the end.

I really need to go back and get the earlier books and I fully plan to continue with the series. These are for those who enjoy thriller or romantic suspense that's got a paranormal element and just a dash of romance.

I have reviewed "Wait for Dark" by Kay Hooper for ReaderToReader.com where it will remain on the site indefinitely. If there are any questions or concerns, please contact Vickie Denney at: Vickie@ReaderToReader.com
The link to the site is posted below.
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What is happening in Clarity, North Carolina? This sleepy town where crime is practically non-existent is now seeing many deadly accidents. However, it appears these events are somehow premeditated and clearly aimed at random residents. The one commonality is that each victim receives a cryptic text twenty-four hours before their demise stating: "Wait for Dark."

The town's sheriff, Mal Gordon knows he is in over his head. The type of offenses he is used to handling consists mainly of speeding tickets, arrests for vandalism, or drunk driving. These new situations find Gordon way out of his league, so the Special Crimes Unit of the FBI is called in to help.

Agents Hollis Templeton and her partner, Reese DeMarco along with others come to town in search of clues. In addition to being profilers, they all possess a vast array of psychic, telepathic, and precognitive supernatural powers, making these incidents matters that encompass their expertise.

As more heinous and horrific deaths happen, which in no way could be considered accidents, Hollis remembers an attack she suffered where she almost perished, yet she does not deter her in her determination to seek out the evil invading this area even if it means putting herself in peril.

"Wait for Dark," the fifth novel in the Bishop/SCU series is jam-packed with suspense and tension. The reader is kept on pins and needles as to the culprit's identity until the surprising conclusion.

A wonderfully spooky romantic suspense novel. I enjoyed these characters and look forward to the next book in the series.

Each death looked like an accident, but Sheriff Malachi “Mal” Gordon strongly suspects something else is going on. Clarity hasn’t had an accidental death in almost fifteen years but is now averaging one per week, a statistic that convinces Mal to get assistance from the FBI. Noah Bishop’s Special Crimes Unit (SCU) has rightly earned their reputation for handling “weird” cases and so Hollis Templeton and her SCU partner, Reese DeMarco, are called in to investigate what is going on in the town of Clarity. Can the team uncover what is happening in Clarity before one of them becomes the next “accident” victim?

WAIT FOR DARK is the seventeenth book in Kay Hooper’s long-running <i>Bishop/Special Crimes Unit (SCU). One of the things I love about Kay Hooper’s series is that you can jump into the series at any point and instantly fall in love with the characters and structure of the SCU team. We get to meet different agents throughout the series while maintaining a sense of unity of the team at the same time. For readers new to the series, a helpful list of all the agents and their various abilities, as well as past book appearances, is provided as an appendix at the end of WAIT FOR DARK.

WAIT FOR DARK kept me on the edge of my seat, guessing as to who the darkly villainous mastermind was. Kay Hooper once again provides us with a villain who tests the limits of the agents’ abilities. However, it is Hollis who is center stage in WAIT FOR DARK as we see her growing and becoming more comfortable with who she is, as an investigator and as a person. Readers will want to revisit her earlier appearances in the <i>Bishop/Special Crimes Unit (SCU)</i> series in order to fully appreciate her growth as both an investigator and a medium.

WAIT FOR DARK is everything we expect from a Kay Hooper <i>Bishop/Special Crimes Unit (SCU)</i> novel. I love how Kay Hooper expertly combines solid police work with paranormal abilities to craft one heck of a stunning thriller! WAIT FOR DARK grips the reader tightly from the very first page as the horrific crimes only intensify with each new victim. If you love dark thrillers that delve into the paranormal, then WAIT FOR DARK is perfect for you!

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

This book grabbed me from page one. Very well written mystery with on going characters from previous books. I like the paranormal traits that she gives her characters and the fact that you can not figure out where the story is going or who did

Kay Hooper scores another hit! I have followed her career since the early 1980's and still enjoy her characters and their many talents. I am liking Hollis and Reece are an awesome duo!

Four horrifying fatal accidents in one small town make the sheriff suspicious. The fourth, a mystifying accident with a threshing machine, inspires him to call the FBI's Special Crimes Unit, which deals with the bizarre. What he doesn't know is that all SCU agents have psychic abilities--and so do most of the criminals they pursue.

Another solid entry in the long-running Bishop/SCU series. Gripping suspense with psychic investigators and a hint of romance. Hooper never puts a foot wrong.

I’ve been hooked on Kay Hooper’s paranormal novels ever since I read “After Carolyn” in 1997. I was disappointed when she drifted from paranormal to romance and delighted when she introduced her first “Bishop/Special Crimes Unit” novel in 2000. “Wait for Dark” is the latest in the series with “oldies” Reese and Hollis and “newbies” Cullen and Kirby. It pains me to say it, but this book is not up to par with the rest of the series. Too much time is spent talking about a variety of psychic abilities and characters from other books, Reese and Hollis talk incessantly about personal issues, and we barely learn anything about Cullen and Kirby. The plot was somewhat predictable, not very exciting, and it seemed as if the agents were barely using their psychic abilities. The unsub was ultimately caught because the team is psychic, but we didn’t get much of an explanation as to how they figured it out. It would have helped if incidents that occurred, and things that were said, weren’t left hanging. Ms. Hooper usually gives more space to the unsub’s POV, but this time space that could have been better utilized was taken up by unnecessary dialogue (see above). I didn’t guess who the unsub was, or why the unsub was killing people, so there’s that. However, except for the final victim, we never really find out why the other victims were chosen. I hope this book is not a sign that Ms. Hooper is getting lazy, something that seems to have happened to many other prolific writers. On the flip side, maybe it’s just me. I’ve read so many of these books, including “The Bishop Files” spin-off books, that I may be on “Bishop overload.” This is a 3.5-star book that I’m upgrading to 4-stars, because (1) it’s a fast read and (2) there are very few editorial errors and (3) it can be read as a standalone. Will I read the next book in the series? Yes, because I love the characters and hope the next one will be better.