Blood Sister (Annie Hansen Mysteries Book 1)

Kenna McKinnon has created something special in 'Blood Sister,' a heroine that is neither cop or 'concerned citizen,' nor is the book set in some great U.S. or U.K city like so many mystery novels tend to be. Instead, we meet Annie, a young schizophrenic, working under the tutelage of Private Detective, Lorne O'Halloran as part of a community service order, in the small town of Serendipity on a remote Canadian island. Despite suffering from hallucinations and 'hearing voices' Annie proves to be an insightful and effective investigator and when first the local doctor is murdered in a particularly gruesome manner, closely followed by the death of the mayor in equally bloody fashion, Annie finds herself embroiled in a complex and baffling mystery, compounded by the fact that she herself appears to be the perfect alibi for one of the chief suspects, her boyfriend Samir. When detective Mark Snow arrives from the mainland to oversee the investigation, she finds herself working with him as the pair attempt to solve a case that provides more questions than answers.I found Annie to be a complicated and flawed heroine, struggling to live with her illness while attempting to carve herself a niche in the world.Well written and totally different from the standard fare on offer in this genre, Blood Sister is a welcome breath of breath air in the annals of crime mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and give it a resounding 5 stars!

Blood Oath by Kenna McKinnon is an expertly-written tale on many levels. The immediate impact is a crime novel in the ‘North American’ hard-boiled style, but the author’s Scottish blood shines delightfully through in the occasional gleaming phraseology. Which suits me, as I am Scots myself. Phrases such as “hands cupping the coolness of it,” could hardly be more Gaelic in origin.Indeed the entire character of the main character, a female detective with multiple voices, could have come from the pen of Robert Louis Stevenson. Long John Silver and Dr Hyde has a Canadian Companion worthy to be called sister, Blood Sister, indeed. The coalesced personalities create an ability to question beyond the obvious, a gift for a detective.In saying that, the book bristles with Canadian culture and the anthropological knowledge of the author; there is music in the words and intelligence in the content. Clever, clever writing with hidden meanings in the open, double meanings in broken phrases, as schizophrenic as the main character herself. Some of the superstitions mentioned are common to many cultures, such as the belief in the evil eye and although the main character has a Norse name. There is blood in the red herrings, blood in the scarlet pimpernels that tie in aristocrats escaping the Terror of Republican France and refugees fleeing the horror of war-tortured Sudan, sunrises in the west and upside down oceans in a world turning on its head.It is a book with the pain of loneliness in a woman who was never alone, a juxtaposition of superstition and hope. Some passages remain with the reader:“The music of its mourning”And “preparing to pick my cold bones.” Compare that line with the centuries old Scottish classic: “O'er his white banes when they are bare, the wind shall blaw for evermair.”Kenna McKinnon, do you have any idea how good you are?

An assistant detective, schizophrenic and ocd make up Annie Hansens life. Starting off with a murder of a doctor, but who did it? Did annie do it? Did Annie's boyfriend (?) Do it? Sometimes Annie doesn't know what's going on in her life due to her mental illness that she has battled since childhood. A childhood fraught with being told by her father that's she's normal and there's nothing wrong with her even when she starts to burn the curtains in her home. He's father abandons the family and takes up with another woman half his age and her daughter. Her father tends to be absent for most of her life and as an art she literally no contact with him. Her mother dies and becomes something else she has to struggle to deal with.In comes Mark Snow who she's the assistant to. By the end of the book and the murder solved they have the best beginnings of a relationship.I thought the book was a little confusing between Annie and her voices in her head until I got into the swing of the book. The written g style was easy to get into. Posts of twists and turns which give for an exciting read. I found the relationship between Annie and her supposed boyfriend kinda annoying if am honest and I don't think it added anything to the story at all.

Kenna McKinnon has created something special in 'Blood Sister,' a heroine that is neither cop or 'concerned citizen,' nor is the book set in some great U.S. or U.K city like so many mystery novels tend to be. Instead, we meet Annie, a young schizophrenic, working under the tutelage of Private Detective, Lorne O'Halloran as part of a community service order, in the small town of Serendipity on a remote Canadian island. Despite suffering from hallucinations and 'hearing voices' Annie proves to be an insightful and effective investigator and when first the local doctor is murdered in a particularly gruesome manner, closely followed by the death of the mayor in equally bloody fashion, Annie finds herself embroiled in a complex and baffling mystery, compounded by the fact that she herself appears to be the perfect alibi for one of the chief suspects, her boyfriend Samir. When detective Mark Snow arrives from the mainland to oversee the investigation, she finds herself working with him as the pair attempt to solve a case that provides more questions than answers.I found Annie to be a complicated and flawed heroine, struggling to live with her illness while attempting to carve herself a niche in the world.Well written and totally different from the standard fare on offer in this genre, Blood Sister is a welcome breath of breath air in the annals of crime mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and give it a resounding 5 stars!

I'm sorry but I've not quite reached 10% and I'm bailing. I know it's not normally enough to judge a book - but I don't like the scatty writing style. And the premise that someone on "probation" would be handed so much responsibility so easily just seems odd.The constant italics of the voices in Annie's head are really distracting to the narrative and it doesn't help when you have disjointed events. For example - Samir gets out of bed, puts on jeans and steps to the bathroom (tripping over the jeans) - only to (presumably) take them off again to shower. Then he comes out and only pulls on a shirt so I'm assuming he either showered in the jeans or walked out without them on....it's the little things.

Annie has issues & plenty of them. Voices in her head and OCD cause havoc as she struggles to hold down her job as assistant detective on Serendipity Island but she carries on regardless, determined to bring Doc’s killer to justice. I absolutely loved the light-hearted way in which the author carried the story forward, yet could also appreciate the difficult mental health problems & disabilities that are handled within the tale. This is a perfect example of empathetic writing, where bold, vibrant characters have been created, yet realistically touching upon otherwise taboo subjects. A must read for any crime lover.