Blood Memory

Written by Greg Iles

Narrated by Joyce Bean

Catherine “Cat” Ferry is a forensic odontologist, a specialist in bite marks and the clues they provide. But while Cat’s colleagues know her as a world-class scientist, she secretly attempts to manage her fragile psyche with alcohol, delving into the minds of rapists and murderers yet never allowing her own frightening past to creep into the foreground.

Cat’s latest case involves a disturbing murder in New Orleans. Banishing her personal demons, she focuses on the potential killer, until one morning she’s paralyzed by a panic attack at a grisly murder scene. Praying the attack is a onetime event, she continues her job as a consultant to the New Orleans Police Department, but when another victim dies in the same shocking way—raising fears that a serial killer is at large—Cat blacks out over the victim’s mutilated corpse.

Suspended from the FBI task force, plagued by nightmares, and at odds with her married lover—a homicide detective—Cat finally reaches her breaking point. In a desperate effort to regain control over a life spiraling out of control, Cat retreats to her hometown of Natchez, Mississippi. But her family’s secluded antebellum estate provides no sanctuary.

When some of Cat’s forensic chemicals are spilled in her childhood bedroom, two bloody footprints are revealed. This sight shocks her more than any corpse she has seen in her career. Cat’s father was murdered when she was eight years old, but she always believed the crime occurred in the garden outside their home. The bloody footprints suggest otherwise.

Driven by this fragment of her past, Cat attempts a forensic reconstruction of the decades-old crime, even as developments with the New Orleans task force pull her back into the case she left behind. Plagued by troubling nightmares, Cat pieces together the horrifying events she has been shielded from all her life. Soon, both she and the FBI realize that the murders occurring now in New Orleans are intimately bound up with Cat’s family and her past.

Can Cat trust her own memories? Or has the truth been so distorted that she can never know her family’s real history? Finding a solution to these intertwined murders means more than stopping a remorseless killer—it may be the only way to save Cat Ferry’s sanity...and her life.

Greg Iles is a masterful storyteller. In this dramatic novel of suspense he deftly probes the relationship between good and evil, and the unique power of human memory to reconstruct—or completely reinvent—the past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Feb 15, 2005
• ISBN: 9781597100809

Greg Iles

Greg Iles has spent most of his life in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau Phoenix, was the first of many New York Times bestsellers. His Natchez Burning trilogy continued the story of Penn Cage, the protagonist of The Quiet Game, Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He is a member of the lit-rock group The Rock Bottom Remainders, lives in Natchez with his wife, and his three children.

Reviews for Blood Memory

[vecharo · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

In this day and age black are people are still relegated to the uneducated.

[deep220_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love a good southern mystery and Blood Memory offers two. Cat must solve a serial murder case while her personal life is falling to pieces. So she must go home to find out about her families past but like most unfortunately things in the south they are not talked about just buried deep permanently.

[Fekisha VanWright · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

When I first started my job 10 yrs ago, a co-worker was listening to Greg Illes. He seemed to like it but I never sought interest. Tonight, 2023/04/01, I decided to listen to a book by this author. Worst decision ever. I don’t care about Cat being pregnant or her life in general. I wanted the meat to start in the book and that did not happen for me. PLUS the FACT that he makes black people sound ignorant, dumb, and still feel like slave shit going on will not ever allow me to listen to another book of his. Completely tone deaf and out of touch. This book is slow and terrible. ??????????

[katie richmond · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well written and interesting. Amazing crime thriller with very real and relatable characters.

[Mary Nichter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Greg Ike’s books keep you in the edge of your chair!!!

[Brenda Shealey Steele · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a detailed book! Great book! The secret thoughts of the characters opened my eyes to my childhood trauma! I also got an understanding of my emotions! Thank you Greg Iles.

[susandennis-139327 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Welcome back, old friend. One of my favorite books ever is Greg Iles' Mortal Fear. He's written four books since then and none have measured up. But the drought is over. Catherine (Cat) Ferry is a forensic odontologist with some issues of her own. And she's smack in the middle of a serial killer's rampage. The killer's mark? Teeth bites. This book has it all. It's a big, fat meaty read with great characters and a plot that moves right along.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fast-paced read by Iles, but not one of my favorites. When forensic odontological, "Cat" Kelly starts suffering from panic attack S at crime scenes, she is suspended from the force. Cat returns to her Mississippi hometown suffering from alcoholism, nightmares, and doubt about an affair with a married man. As she seeks answers to her father's death, she finds the link too close with the brutal murders she was trying to solve. Although I am a HUGE fan of the Natchez series, this one fell short for me. I didn't especially like Cat, even knowing some of the circumstances which caused her to be the woman she grew to be.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At age 31, Cat Ferry has it all going for her: brains, beauty, family wealth, and an accomplished career in a branch of the dental sciences that puts her into frequent contact with police officers solving intriguing crimes. But Cat Ferry is a mess: dental school was a refuge from the medical school she was asked to leave, she has a string of broken relationships with older men, alcoholism is a likely diagnosis, and her current relationship with a married police officer is quickly reaching its crisis point. I love the "Penn" character and hope the author keeps him. If you like Grisham or DeMille you will love Iles.

[readinggrrl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found a copy of this at our beach house and picked it up for something to read while we were there - I couldn't put it down. I loved it. Cat is a mess, personally and now her professional career is taking a dive. Suffering from panic attacks at the last two crime scenes Cat is struggling to get control of her life. She is pregnant by her married boyfriend, trying to withdraw from alcohol and is having flashbacks of her fathers death. It seems that the story she has been told all her life is not true and the truth is muddled up in her head with blackouts, manic episodes, and alcohol. Now the police think she may have some inside information into the serial murders that are taking place or she may actually be the perpetrator. The truth however is far more disturbing. I loved how this book unraveled, as Cat tries to piece together what is going on with her. Iles has hooked me with his subtle writing, it was like peeling an onion with each layer you find something new. His descriptions of the South and southern culture bring the bayou right to you and allow you to feel the humidity in the air and the deeply secretive ways of many of the little towns near New Orleans. I am also impressed that Iles has been able to capture the fear, confusion and insight of a female character which seems so difficult for so many male writers who try to have a female protagonist. Kudos Iles I will be seeking you out for more! So glad I found this one.

[hemlokgang · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Greg Iles definitely knows how to tell a multi-layered story very well. As is often true with his novels, the protagonist becomes a vehicle for the exploration of a human experience via the examination of its psychological, social, and physical perspectives. Iles has demonstrated the consistent ability to describe the macro and micro of complex issues, in this case incest/sexual abuse. Set in New Orleans, the protagonist moves from confusion to complicity to clarity in a manner that strikes this reader as realistic and very human. Nice twists and turns as well, which are de rigeur for a good serial killer mystery.

[shazjhb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have read a couple of his books recently and I must say I find some of what he writes unrealistic. It is not in the factual issues in this book but in the way some of the characters behavior especially law enforcement. He has brilliant well developed characters who act out of character.

[perkybookworm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was fast-paced and kept me reading, so I guess for that reason I have to say it wasn't bad.However, I think when somebody told Greg Iles to write what he knows, he really, really took it to heart. This is the third book by him that I've read, and they're starting to seem pretty repetitive. Every one takes place in the city of Natchez, Mississippi; every one has a character who wants to "save" the city; there's always somebody having an affair, and a separate couple with a budding romance; one character is always a doctor and another is always a lawyer; and finally, snakes and the Mississippi river generally seem to feature heavily. I'm beginning to question this author's creativity, as it seems like he just sticks these same elements into a blender and randomly selects which one will be the main plot point.

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'd not read Greg Iles before, but this was a good thriller that kept me interested throughout, despite the somewhat disturbing subject matter. And unlike most abridged audios, this one didn't appear to sound abridged. In other words, it read fairly smoothly & I didn't seem to be missing out on a lot that might've been cut out. I may have to look for more by this author.

[roycrofter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow! This book clipped right along, a definite page-turner. The ending was surprise after surprise, so maybe it was a little too much, but all-in-all a very enjoyable thriller, and the underlying theme is overwhelming. Spot on Mr. Iles.

[dgbdgb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another book with a female first person heroine. This is a little less convincing than the previous one. Also deals with child abuse so very difficult subject. But for a thriller well written, and kept me on the edge of my seat.

[emigre_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stunning thriller, couldn't stop reading it until the last page. The book is quite disturbing, but not in a gratuitous way, definitely a Greg Iles fan now.

[christinelstanley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good plot, although a little far-fetched in places. I'd guessed a few plot lines, but it didn't spoil my reading of the book since there were as many threads that I didn't guess. This is one of those books that will keep you up all night reading since you won't want to put it down.

[jeannemarkert · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Forensic expert Dr. Cat Ferry, Odontologist deals with bite marks on her victims plus her own family & her need for alcohol.Not one of the best books of Iles

[liveweb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best Iles read to date.....riveting.....with a ring of truth to it.

[vivalaerin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great suspense story! Fantastic and it turns into a fairly quick read because it is impossible to put down. There are so many excellent twists to keep you interested.

[bookmarque · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

More of a psychological thriller than a straight up forensic procedural. This is largely due to the fact that Cat is pretty screwed up. Considering the length of the book, I wish Iles had done more showing of Cat’s erratic behavior than telling, which he does in the first couple of paragraphs of the book. Some of the drawn out action sequences and internal monologues could have been trimmed without doing harm to the overall story and would have left room for showing us what Cat was like. So we’re told that she has to be on all kinds of meds to curb her behavior. She’s also an alcoholic. With all these chemicals in her system fighting for precedence it’s a wonder she can stand up much less be accomplished in her field of forensic odontology. When she basically quits everything cold turkey it quite leaves the bounds of reality. I’m sorry, but that particular chemical cocktail wouldn’t have left her quite so gently. Not only does she make brilliant leaps of intuition, she is coldly logical during both her investigations. Oh, but wait, she’s also insanely irrational and impulsive. She does a completely stupid thing one second and a completely rational one the next. I really wanted to smack her a lot of the time. Oh yeah, and she’s pregnant, too, as if the rest of her crazy life weren’t bad enough, now she’s going to bring some innocent into her sucking black hole. It was really too much to make me like her or even believe this person could exist.Of course the two cases intersect, but only coincidentally. It was pretty obvious that her dead daddy wasn’t her molester, but she bought it for a while and we had to wade through countless emotional blood-lettings until she figured out what we already knew. Grandpa was drawn as such an evil figure that at first, his fate wasn’t satisfactory. Then when Pearly spilled the story, I felt better.There were some passages I had to fast forward over though. Iles was effective in making me squirm. The book is pretty graphic when it comes to describing rape and child abuse. Not so much the act of the latter, but the after effects and the emotional fall out that inevitably occurs. The cycle of abuse is pretty well detailed as well – every abuser is a victim. There’s also Cat’s father’s Vietnam experience which wasn’t too pleasant either. Eventually both cases are solved and Cat is free to heal and put her life together. Of course there is a fine, upstanding man to take the place of the snakey Sean, and it’s a bit cliché for what has come before. That’s why even though I found this book relentlessly compelling, I can’t give it top marks. It needed more focus and believability for that.

[elphaba71 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic! This book is superbly written & riviting from page one, brilliant characters & suspense. Plenty of twists & turns kept me guessing right up to the last few pages.

[forgotten_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cat Ferry has never been in a good relationship, always going for the married ones. She works as a forensic expert and is called on in a case where there is a serial killer on the lose.However, at the same time she is battling alcohol, manic depression, and is possably pregnant. Something in this case calls to her though; some dark, forgotten memory. When she digs deeper for it she starts to remeber, and her past is revealed in a whole new and disturbing light...I really enjoyed this book. It's not my usual genre as I normally read supernatural but i found this really interesting and suspencful. The main character is very real and interesting. The plot was just great and exciting. Also, very educating, I seemed to have learned quite a bit from it. I highly recommend this for anyone!

[lorielibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Listened to the audio, which was quite good. Excellent thriller.

[jacki_73 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

predicatable and forgettable