Kay Hooper was born in California, in an air force base hospital since her father was stationed there at the time. The family moved back to North Carolina shortly afterward, so she was raised and went to school there.
The oldest of three children, Kay has a brother two years younger and a sister seven years younger. Her father (now retired) and brother are builders who own a highly respected construction company, and her mother worked for many years in personnel management before becoming Kay's personal assistant, a position she held until her untimely death in March 2002. Kay's sister Linda works as her Business Manager, Events Coordinator, and Regional Publicist. Kay and Linda also co-own an independent bookstore, Fireside Books and Gifts.
Kay graduated from East Rutherford High School and attended Isothermal Community College — where she quickly discovered that business classes did not in any way enthrall her. Switching to more involving courses such as history and literature, she also began to concentrate on writing, which had been a longtime interest. Very quickly hooked, she asked for a Christmas typewriter and began seriously working on her first novel. That book, a Regency romance titled Lady Thief, sold to Dell Publishing in 1980. She has since published more than 60 novels and four novellas
Kay is single and lives in a very small town in North Carolina, not far from her father and siblings. Deigning to live with her are a flock of cats with various personalities who all like sleeping on manuscripts and whatever research happens to be spread across Kay's desk. And living amongst the many felines are two cheerfully tolerant dogs, a shelter rescue, Bandit, who looks rather like a small sheepdog, and a Sheltie named Lizzie. Visit Kay's Pets Page for pics!
Kay also fosters cats and kittens for the Community Pet Center, a non-profit rescue organization on whose board she also sits.
Haunted
BISHOP/SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT Book #15
RELEASE DATE 9/2/14
How do you make peace with the dead if the dead aren’t ready to forgive? In New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper’s new novel, the answer lies in the twisting shadows of a small town, and its secrets yet unearthed...
When Deacon James’s younger sister Melanie calls him, terrified, he goes to her aid in the small Georgia town of Sociable. What he finds is a scared young woman in the grip of what she insists is a paranormal nightmare—and murder. Two local men have been killed under mysterious circumstances. And Melanie is the prime suspect.
Trinity Nichols left a high-stress job for quiet, small-town life. But news of the murders has left her—and the town—on edge, especially when there is nothing remotely ordinary about how the men died. And her investigation is yielding more than she bargained for, including a group of strangers who have descended on Sociable, some with abilities Trinity finds hard to believe, and agendas she refuses to trust. For some reason, they know a lot more than they should about what’s happening in town. And what’s happening is growing stranger by the minute.
Now Trinity, Deacon, and this odd band of FBI agents must work together to solve a series of disturbances so incredible that Trinity, and the town of Sociable, will be changed forever. She just isn’t certain who—or what—will be left standing when it’s all over.
*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review
Haunted is book 15 of the BISHOP/SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT series and has an incredible premise: A division of the FBI made up of agents and consultants that happens to have preternatural abilities and handle all of these 'extraordinary' cases that the regular Bureau won't take on.
In Haunted, small town Sheriff Trinity Nichols is hunting for a serial killer going after members of The Group, people who went to school together, ended up back in Sociable, and still remain friends. Working with SCU Special Agent Hollis Templeton - Medium, S.A Reese DeMarco - Telepath, and SA Deacon James - Empath, along with her extraordinary dog Braden, they strive to catch this psycho who is brutally murdering people of Sociable and leaving behind an interesting calling card.
I wanted to love this book. I really, really did. But I just didn't. I can only assume it's because this is my first book of this series and I haven't read and enjoyed the previous 14 installments, thus getting to know (and love I'm sure) the characters and the world.
It was well written, the characters were likable (I love Braden!), the mystery was intense and while slow building, left me satisfied, and it was a nicely detailed plot with multiple levels and mysteries with just enough darkness to keep my interest. I just personally didn't feel connected to the leading characters or the story, and once again, can only assume it's because I was just meeting them and trying to get caught up.
For fans of the BISHOP series, I think you will love this book. For new readers, if you don't feel like you need a deep connection inducing book, you will probably really like this. It successfully meshes elements of thriller, paranormal, suspense and mystery. Given the way I felt about it though, I would suggest reading the series from the beginning to fully appreciate what the author has produced here. I am a fan of Kay Hooper, and hope that I have a chance to get caught up with the SPU team in the not too distant future.
HAUNTED
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