Download Blood Of Others djvu

Former investigative reporter Rick Mofina knows journalism and, having covered a variety of law enforcement agencies over the years, knows police procedure as well. He uses his comprehensive knowledge of both fields to create a detailed, spellbinding thriller, "Blood of Others."

"Others" is the second Mofina novel I've read featuring the investigative "team" of San Francisco detective Walt Sydowski and newspaper reporter Tom Reed. Calling them a "team" is a bit misleading, since both of them are conducting their own investigations of a sensational case, the brutal murder of a young woman who was dressed in an expensive wedding gown and placed on display in a chic bridal boutique. Although Reed and Sydowski occasionally meet and provide each other a bit of information, each man has his own agenda, sources, and methods, and they spend most of the book chasing separate leads.

Actually, "Others" calls to mind the parable of the group of blind men, each of whom describes an elephant differently, based on the limited information each has available. By pursuing separate investigations, Reed and Sydoski inadvertently make catching the killer more difficult. Each also has a major thorn in his side affecting his judgment. Reed has a managing editor who is a complete horse's rear end and keeps threatening to fire or suspend him if Reed doesn't come up with one major scoop after another. Sydowski has been assigned, as part of his team, Ben Wyatt, an officer wrongly suspected of cowardice resulting in Wyatt's partner being shot and crippled. Sydowski refuses to interact with Wyatt, which is a major mistake, since Wyatt is a computer expert and quickly figures out that the killer chose the victim, a shy, quiet woman, because of her participation in online dating sites. The investigators also eventually realize that the killer is quite clever and very mobile, having killed a number of similar women in cities all across the United States and Canada.

Mofina does an excellent job of keeping the story moving at an accelerating pace. Various chapters are told from the points of view of Reed, Sydowski, Wyatt, the killer, and other major characters, including Wyatt's new girlfriend, who readers will quickly guess is going to be the killer's upcoming target. The personality insights Mofina provides humanizes the characters and makes them sympathetic, even when they act foolishly and jeopardize the investigation. The ending literally becomes a race to see whether the cops can catch the killer before he does Wyatt's girl friend in.

Mofina also provides a good bit of technical background material, but he introduces it naturally, to support the story line, rather than take readers out of the action with lengthy side dissertations. Readers not only see what the cops are doing, but also the practical results, as the technological tools the police employ bring them, step by step, closer to catching the killer. The only flaw in the book, in my mind, is the character of the managing editor, an obligatory foil designed to cause Reed personal and professional difficulties. His character lacks any credibility, making increasingly ridiculous overbroad demands of Reed that no major newspaper would ever tolerate in dealing with a prize winning reporter like Reed. The editor's one-dimensional villainy stands in stark contrast to the other richly detailed characters, even the killer, whose back story allows readers to understand his motivations.

"Blood of Others" is a reasonably long novel but one that flies by rather quickly, with dozens of short chapters. "Blood of Others" has a compelling plot, and, perhaps more important, an even more compelling cast of characters. Readers will be caught up, both in the pursuit of a near genius psycho killer, and in some serious, quite believable personal problems that the main characters must face, even if those problems threaten the course of the investigation. The only downside to reading this book will be a lack of productivity some readers may face on their jobs the next day if they wind up as I did, staying up way too late to finish it.

Wow! What can I say? This was a true thriller, and this type of work is one I haven't read in a long time! It is books like this that remind me of why I started reading--to get lost in the story. I like to consider myself a "modern day reader, meaning I read a lot of self-published books (on my electronic device, at that, too!), which don't always hold the same weight as books that were once only published through traditional publishers back in the day. What I liked about this book was how well-developed everything was. There were so many details, there were vivid descriptions, and the emotions were real! And holy shoot, do I use the internet for everything! Super scary! As for the characters, I got annoyed when my favorites got annoyed, I felt their pain, their passion, and their frustration. I must admit, I groaned when I felt they were being idiotic (too much Law & Order: SVU!) More importantly, I also felt the peace once the crime was finally solved and my favorites were vindicated. Keep writing, Mofina!

PS, Sydowski, you're an ass!

PPS, With the way the book ended, I definitely want the next book...now!

This is the second book I have read by this author, and characters from the first book I read, Cold Fear, also appear in this book. While it wasn't completely predictable, it was certainly more formulaic than Cold Fear. The final paragraphs did surprise me.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did Cold Fear. The pace was halting, and it was hard to like the top cop investigating the crime because of his stubborn refusal to give a second chance to a member of his team. While this helped to build tension in the story, I still wanted to smack the guy. Also the romance that developed between the team member and a potential victim was a little far-fetched. The newspaper reporter was, however, the most annoying character. His failure to take his son's illness seriously and to follow through with medical intervention was possibly realistic but definitely off-putting. It was overall an okay book.

I have read "several" Mofina books. I use the quotes because this author is likely the most prolific writer I've ever encountered. I had just finished "Be Mine" and thought I'd follow up with this one before moving on to one other of his in my library.
This book was an extremely tense read--right to the very end. I don't retell story lines in my reviews, but suffice it to say, the rising action got a hold of me and wouldn't let go. The research that went into this book was phenomenal. It was almost too much in some places. But as a police procedural, I'd have to say the depth of the investigation was unparalleled. I realize that the writer was formerly a crime reporter and his talent in that field is very evident in this book.
No question, this was a great read and I would readily recommend it to anyone interested in the police procedural genre.

Again, WOW, I can't believe I downloaded 2 is Rick Mofina books and let them sit while j read other stuff. Because I didn't know how Great his books are, so I would like to let everyone know...Rick Mofina; Blood of Others and No Way Back are GREAT books, suspenseful, gripping, everything u can think of!!! So please, don't wait, if u already have these books downloaded, ditch whatever your reading right now because I guarantee you they are not as good as what you should be reading.
Thank you Rick Mofina, I LOVED these two books and can't wait to read everything else you've written!
P.Scott, forever a true fan of yours