I have read and enjoyed the "Bishop Special Crime Unit" series for a very, very long time. The stories, most of the time, feature long known members of the team but there are enough completely new characters to keep the series fresh. The longtime members often make jokes or references like any group of people that work constantly together do...but a new reader, one that doesn't start at the first may not understand them all...so if you like this type of story you might want to read some of the earlier books first. This being said...this one, Curse of Salem follows on the heels of the previous one in the series, Hidden Salem. The setting and some of the characters are the same as in this previous book, so you may want to read that one before this one. Most of the earlier books I would call "romantic suspense", but these later books are diffidently "paranormal mystery". Bishop's team returns to Salem, where things have again gone wrong. Hollis is usually the key figure on the team, but she doesn't feel she's 'right " for the job this time. Noone is very comfortable being here and Hollis soon realizes that she needs to let some of them with other abilities take over, which added a refreshing element to the storyline. There is lots of suspense with this killer, and his work is nothing but horrific, and the team is missing vital clues as the killer seems to have the ability to jam their receptive talents. I have always loved this series which has a specific kind of magic and is absolutely perfect for the "ghost story junkie". ( )

This is the twentieth book in a series that began in 2000. This time Bishop, his wife Miranda, Hollis Templeton and Reese Demarco, and Diana and Quentin Hayes find themselves returning to Salem at the request of Finn Deverell who is the Chief Deputy.

Mediums Hollis and Diana have had a vision in the gray time which indicates that a serial killer is going to be killing members of the five powerful, psychic families that control Salem. When Finn calls them in because of a farseeing by one of the Elders, they are ready to respond in numbers.

But Salem isn't their usual scene. Psychic powers don't work as usual. There is a lot of interference that has just gotten worse since the events of HIDDEN SALEM (2020). They do have other allies in town besides Finn. Nellie Cavendish is a powerful multi-talent who is a recent arrival in town and just getting used to her considerable powers - when she isn't trying to deny them. Even the crows are useful allies.

When a man who's had a fight with his wife disappears, and then is found tortured to death, and another man is kidnapped almost immediately after the first disappearance, the team begins to think that someone is really trying to destroy member of the five families. But that doesn't make a lot of sense since about 40% of the town is related in some way to the families.

Then Hollis has another vision and a young woman named Megan Hales comes to her and tells her she was the first. This comes as a surprise because everyone thought that she had left Salem to make a new life for herself after being jilted by her fiancé shortly before their planned wedding day. Being led to her buried body by the crows turns their investigation onto a new path.

The story is filled with all kinds of paranormal abilities along with being a police procedural. It was interesting trying to figure out who the villain was and to watch the team go off in all sorts of directions until they could focus on the correct villain.

Fans of the Bishop/SCU stories won't want to miss this latest episode. ( )

The Special Crimes Unit receives a warning that the town of Salem is facing a serial killer targeting the leading families in brutal ways. They dispatch multiple investigators, but they are partially stymied by the unnaturally high energy field in town.

Quite short, and ends a bit suddenly. But worth reading for fans of the series. ( )