The Special Crimes Unit (SCU) is accustomed to unusual cases but they've never experienced a summoning like this. Something is calling various psychics to the town of Prosperity, NC, where their psychic abilities will be put to perhaps the strongest test of their lives. The SCU wasn't specifically summoned by the force, but they felt the psychic blast and the local police force has requested their presence. Can they uncover and help stop the force driving residents to suddenly attack and kill others?

HOLD BACK THE DARK is the sixth book in the Bishop Special Crimes Unit series (and eighteenth in the overall series) and is probably best enjoyed in the context of the series as a whole. We get to reconnect with many of the characters we've grown to love over the course of the series. It's going to take a joint effort if they are going to stop the evil that threatens Prosperity. If you need to refresh your memory or are new to the series, there is a helpful list of characters with a brief bio that includes which books they have previously appeared in.

One of the things I love about Kay Hooper's books are the characters and how they work together and this is clearly evident in HOLD BACK THE DARK. Each book features different psychic pairings and we see how the various powers enhance and support each other. In HOLD BACK THE DARK, SCU Chief Noah Bishop has to rely on individuals who have turned down working in the SCU and so we get a better glimpse into the struggles the characters face coping with abilities that the general public doesn't understand. Most of the story centers around Reese and Hollis, although Dalton Davenport's history is particularly heart-breaking, making his current success even more rewarding.

HOLD BACK THE DARK ended before I was ready to let go of the characters, but I'm sure we'll visit with them again in future books. Kay Hooper is one of my long-time favorite authors and an immediate must-read for me as soon as each new book comes out. If you love paranormal and thrillers, don't hesitate to give Kay Hooper and HOLD BACK THE DARK a try.

Book Summary

A town in the thrall of evil. A summons that can’t be ignored. The SCU returns in a nail-biting novel from New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper.

The Chosen have been warned. Powerful psychics across the globe have gotten the same eerie and insistent message: Go to Prosperity. Because in this small North Carolina mountain town, madness has taken hold…

Trapped in a nightmare they can’t escape, the residents of Prosperity are killing one another, waking up with no memory of the monstrous acts they’ve committed—or the reasons why. Chief Deputy Katie Cole knows that whatever evil is afoot is beyond her expertise, and beyond the understanding of Sheriff Jackson Archer. They need help.

The Special Crimes Unit is called in for its specific brand of investigation, to aid the Chosen as well as the once-peaceful mountain town. It will take all the agents’ training, all their experience, and every extra sense they can call on to get to the bottom of things in Prosperity. And as a sinister pattern begins to emerge, even the most experienced and hardened SCU agents must brace themselves for a flood of darkness unlike any the world has ever seen…

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