I actually liked it more than three stars. I was a bit unsure in the middle; I felt I didn't know Lucy and I began to get a bit bored with the story. It was probably my own fault as this is the first Lucy Black book I have read and it is the 3rd or 4th in the series. However, I kept going and I thoroughly enjoyed the latter part of the book. I have downloaded another one. I must check the order of the books and read the first one. ( )

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It's pre-Brexit days in Northern Ireland and tensions are flying high. Anti-immigration, anti-homosexuality, and "us" first thinking are the norm. DS Lucy Black is called to investigate one apparent hate crime after another in the fourth installment in the Lucy Black series by Brian McGilloway, Bad Blood.

A young man's body is found in a park and a bloody stone is found nearby. A local pastor was heard just hours before to say that stoning of homosexuals was acceptable behavior for their sins. A local Romanian family is targeted by anti-immigrant thinkers. The same pastor has been heard saying the communities should be for "us" versus "them." Things are never quite as simple or black-and-white and DS Lucy Black and her boss DI Tom Fleming know that although this pastor has been spewing what can only be deemed "hate" speech, he's not the only one with these sentiments. Is it possible they can find the killer before another person is targeted?

As previously mentioned, Bad Blood is the fourth in the Lucy Black series and the second book that I've read. As with the previous books in this series, I found this one to be a fast-paced and engaging read. It was quite interesting to read about a pre-Brexit environment in a post-Brexit world. It's been awhile since I've read Little Lost Girl, but the dynamics between Lucy and her coworkers have developed quite nicely as has her relationship with her mother. Bad Blood features a lot more political action than I expected and although timely and topical it casts the bad guys in a strange light (politics makes for strange bedfellows my friends). Are there bad guys in this story? Oh yes. There are bad guys, guys that seemed to be sucked into bad things, and then just really, really bad and very manipulative bad guys. There's a lot of action going on in Bad Blood including the upcoming Brexit vote, hate crimes, hate speech, murder, multiple assaults, and even attempted rape (no, not going to tell you who, read the book!), and it all takes place in less than one week. The title is perfect because it refers to "bad blood" from past inflictions and the present, "bad blood" between family members, and more. If you enjoy reading crime fiction or mystery thrillers then you'll definitely want to add Bad Blood to your TBR list. Did I enjoy reading Bad Blood? Yes! I had forgotten why I enjoyed reading Mr. McGilloway's writing, but reading Bad Blood brought it back to me so much so that I'll be rereading Little Girl Lost and the remaining books in the Lucy Black series just to catch up.

This review originally posted on 07/14/2017 at http://www.thebookdivasreads.com/2017/07/2017-book-238-bad-blood-by-brian.html. ( )

This is my first introduction to this series. While, I had no issues having this be my first time meeting them, I had a bit of an problem connecting with the rest of the characters and storyline. There was nothing that interesting or endearing about the other characters. Therefore, there was times when I easily lost focus on the story. Yet, I liked Lucy and her boss, Tom. They paired nicely together to solve the case. In regards to their intelligence; I found that they were both equally balanced. While, this book was just middle of the road for me, there were times when I liked what I was reading. Additionally, I want to get to know Lucy better and to do this I will consider checking out the first book in this series. ( )