Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Book Review

 Bad Blood 

(The Naturals #4)

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Published Year: 2016

Page Count: 375 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Cults and Secret Societies, Young Adult, Blood and Gore, 2026-read. 

Rating: 4.5/5 😀😀😀😀😀

This series is so much fun to read! Hands down.

I had formed various threads in my mind of how this book would unravel and how the ending would play out. There are many twists and surprises in the story but the one that came in lieu of Cassie's mother's dual nature felt redundant. Why can't she justify herself as someone who wanted to survive against all odds because she wasn't someone who would give up easily ? Why introduce this new element into an already twisted and mind bending story? I also felt that the author had not laid enough groundwork for establishing a solid timeline ( because so much was happening all through) to the succession of Masters and their apprentices - like the relationship between Mason Kyle(who is Nightshade, poison Master, killed in prison) and Kane Derby( son of cult leader Holland Derby in Gaither) - when and how did this friendship bud? How did Ree and Malcolm Lowell become part of the Masters cult? It felt like a strong and well described story without any holes in it except for a few lingering questions like the above ones. I liked the ending which comes with a promise for more action and more control handed to the Naturals than before. One thing this book definitely was not was being predictable. All my threads of conjecture didn't hold water with what transpired in this story. Which makes this an interesting and thrilling read. Not a dud. 

Cassie and her Naturals team had stumbled upon a centuries old Masters cult which had been killing 9 people every three years and been transferring power to their apprentices after 21 years on board. They also had a Pythia, a woman who was fearless, judge and jury, upon whom they produced an offspring to become the most important member Nine of their group. The current Pythia was Cassie's mother who had been abducted from a staged murder scene six years ago. Cassie now had a young sister, Laurel from her mother and one of the Masters. As Cassie and her team dug deep into the past of Nightshade whom they had apprehended and identified as Mason Kyle,they uncovered how he played a significant role in choosing her mother to play the part of Pythia. I couldn't help idolizing this group which remained surreptitious and discreet despite being an abhorrent and comprising of psychopaths. What was the purpose of their group? Why had they come together and what was their motto? The history and more background needed to be given - perhaps in the next book! Looking forward!