Blood Sisters: Katie Maguire

By Graham Masterton

In a nursing home outside Cork, an elderly nun lies dead. She has been suffocated. It looks like a mercy-killing—until another sister from the same convent is found murdered, floating in the Glashaboy river. Why would anyone want to kill them? When a child's skull is unearthed in the convent garden, Katie Maguire discovers a 50 year old secret that might lead her to the killer, if the killer doesn't find her first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Sep 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781784081324

Graham Masterton

Graham Masterton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1946. He worked as a newspaper reporter before taking over joint editorship of the British editions of Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. His debut novel, The Manitou, was published in 1976 and sold over one million copies in its first six months. It was adapted into the 1978 film starring Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Michael Ansara, and Burgess Meredith. Since then, Masterton has written over seventy-five horror novels, thrillers, and historical sagas, as well as published four collections of short stories and edited Scare Care, an anthology of horror stories for the benefit of abused children. He and his wife, Wiescka, have three sons. They live in Cork, Ireland, where Masterton continues to write.  

Reviews for Blood Sisters

[tobinelliott · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This one was just kind of a whole big bag of meh for me.

It certainly checked off all the boxes:
- Crazed killer who actually prefers to torture and mutilate first? Check.
- Crazed killer has an anti-religion bias? Check.
- Crazed killer is killing due to a decades-old slight against them? Check.
- A current or former cop has a personal vendetta against Katie? Check.
- At least one current or former cop dies in the line of duty? Check.
- Current or former cop that dies is "far too young" to die? Check.
- Katie has issues with her boyfriend? Check.
- Katie has sex that is awkward to read about? Check.
- Katie has a guy make an awkward comment about her beauty? Check.
- Katie has a woman who wants her? Check.
- Katie suffers an attack on her life in her own home? Check.
- Katie visits her dad? Check.
- Katie mentally wrings her hands about an issue that plagues her throughout most of the novel? Check.

Yup. Masterton hit damn near everything.

And that's the problem, I think. When this series started, it felt somewhat fresh and somewhat different. But, five books on, everything that made it fresh and different is now stale and the same old same old.

I'll likely read one more, just to see if Masterton decides to break out and take a chance, but I can't see that happening.

[hfineisen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Masterton is pretty graphic so if blood, guts and brain matter aren’t your thing, you may want to pass on this series. That said, Maguire has a few cases going on here dealing with dead horses and dead nuns and her usual nemesis. This is a series that is best read consecutively as the plot is character driven in places and it ends with a cliffhanger. I especially liked the history of various saints covered in this one. Another good entry in the Katie Maguire series.Provided by NetGalley

[rowingrabbit · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.5 starsJust a quick note if, like me, you haven't read the previous books in the series. It became obvious early on I was at a tremendous disadvantage as I had no knowledge of the characters' history. It greatly affected my enjoyment of the story & reaction to some of the characters. Not the author's fault...mea culpa. So I would not recommend this as a stand alone.

[runner56_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I have a real problem with Katie Maguire, for a high ranking police officer she is so tangled and confused.....She love’s Michael? or does she? Michael loves her? or does he? Michael may want to live with her in Ireland or may want to move to San Francisco and indulge his pastime within a global pharmaceutical empire? He moves to San Francisco and then moves back! Katie is pregnant but the baby is not Michael’s rather her next door neighbour who she became intimate with when Michael decided to go Stateside.....but now Michael’s back....and Katie love’s Michael and Michael love’s Katie? What will Michael say when he discovers that Katie is pregnant with the child of his next door neighbour who is now unfortunately but conveniently dead....surely his love for Katie will forgive all of her little misdemeanours....yeah right Katie get a life!!Now as if this was not enough Katie is now even questioning her own sexuality as she appears to be succumbing to the advances of the attractive Sergeant Ni Nuallan known as “Kyna” ....”Without a word, Katie took Kyna into her arms and held her close. Kyna dropped her folder on to the carpet and held Katie, too. They kissed, tenderly but chastely, both with their eyes open, as if they needed to see one another as close as possible”.....Amongst all this personal angst we have the brutal butchering of some lovely old nuns just going about their daily job of spreading the good word. It seems that a number of the good sisters have an evil past and someone is out for revenge and in typical Graham Masterton style this revenge is long, brutal and bloody.Having read and enjoyed previous Katie Maguire adventures particularly A Terrible Beauty (now renamed White Bones) I found this latest offering by Mr Masterton devoid of ideas lacking in direction and with a somewhat clichéd storyline. As is a trade mark of the author some extreme violence is introduced but this does little to enhance a story that is doomed to mediocrity from the first chapter and even a cliffhanger type ending does little to endear the reader to the complicated childish and pathetic world of Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire.