IN THE BLOOD
RICK R. REED
ISBN: 1932300902
September 2007
Quest Books, an Imprint of Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC
4700 Highway 365, Suite A PMB 210 Port Arthur, TX 77642
Trade Paper
$15.95
186 pages
Mystery/Horror/Romance/LGBT
Rating: 3 cups

Elise Groneman is an artist who makes her living as a prostitute. She longs for the recognition her art deserves, but has never had a show of her work and that holds her back. She is very sensitive about it and knows there will be a right time for it to be seen by the public. Encouragement would be a help to her but does not get that either. She will find help and encouragement in an unlikely place, but will she be able to accept everything that is going on or will she just want to give up?

Edward Tanguy is an aspiring artist. He was about to become recognized for his work and even planned to have a gallery showing of his work. He left all that behind for love. Now, years later, he wonders how smart that decision was. He will do anything in his power to keep the same thing from happening some other unsuspecting person. He figures it is worth the risk he will take. Things were blurry for him and he wants to make sure everything is explained. His actions will not be well received, but but he will do it any way because he wishes things had gone differently for him.

Being a prostitute is not what Elise wants to be. She keeps herself hidden and only does tricks when she needs the money. Meeting Terrence affects her in more ways than one. Elise never thought about meeting and finding herself attracted to another woman. The pull between them is strong. Maria is something else and Elise has no clue what is really going on. Terrence tries to keep them apart to no avail. He can only hope their secret is safe. It is a matter of life and death to Terrence, Edward, and Maria, but Maria does not care. She wants Elise in her life for good. Her emotions are running high and her final decision could be costly.

Mr. Reed paints so vivid a picture that boggles the mind. The emotions are raw and very central to this story. Each character must figure out how their emotions play out for them. Maria, Edward, Terrence, and Elise are wonderful characters. I was swept up in the battles of the mind as well as the heart. The images in some of the scenes are rather gruesome but show how animalistic anything can be and are certainly not for people with vivid imaginations like I have. I found the story interesting and the flashbacks explained a lot of how things came to be. It is well worth your time, if you love intriguing literature and this book is definitely intriguing.

Krista
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books