Wendy Corsi Staub kicks off a new series with Blood Red which takes place in a small east coast town called Mundy’s Landing. The town has quite the history which will likely be developed more as the series continues. The first book centers on current events though that actually have little to do with Mundy’s Landing other than the fact that the target of serial killer lives there. As Rowan will soon learn, someone has been harboring a grudge for many years.
Although Blood Red begins with a murder, the plot develops slowly. Rowan is a frustrating character whose navel-gazing only makes the plot move even slower. The killer keeps things interesting though. Staub makes sure to hide the killer’s identity by using a gender neutral name and never using pronouns which allows for a number of possibilities for how the killer is connected to Rowan. Rowan’s secret though isn’t nearly as provocative as the killer’s motive for going after her and a number of other redheads (redheads abound begging the question, just how many people in the Mundy’s Landing area have red hair anyway?) which is unfortunate as Rowan’s secret could’ve made her a more multi-dimensional character. A more explosive secret could also have set up the future books in the series more the numerous subplots that further slowed the pacing did.
3/5
Review copy from Amazon vine.
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