I recently read Blood Equity, book 5 in the FBI Agent Jade Monrow Live or Die Series by C.M. Sutter. This time, Jade and her partner Renz, head to Savannah to figure out why people are falling over dead after consuming a dangerous drug cocktail.
This one started quite a bit differently than the others. We got to see detectives working the case in Savannah before the FBI was called. It was a nice change. We learned about their routines and some backstories. Usually, we know whot he killer is right off the bat. This time was different. We knew that murders were happening, but not who was doing it. Three deaths occurred before we even got an inkling of who the killer was or what his reasoning was.
I also learned that Jade had been divorced. It may have been brought up earlier in the series, but I hadn’t remembered that. Still, it’s a nice touch to learning their backstories slowly. I also caught how Jade seemed to really notice Detective Mitch Cannon!
I also loved that we got to see Jade and Renz act more playfully with each other. They really have a great sibling vibe going on.
We end up learning that the killer is David Bradley and that his wife was murdered the year before. She worked for a tourism company and the owner had asked her to get her some aspirin. While out of the office, Vivian was approached by a drug-addicted homeless man who tried to steal her purse. She fought back and ended up being pushed in the street, where she was run over by a tourist. No one was brought to justice, and David blames everyone involved. This is why he wants to kill the tourism industry in Savannah and hill the city while he’s at it.
The deaths are horrific. David gives them a lethal cocktail of K2 and Fentanyl. They’re coherent long enough to stumble in front of a crowd, usually of tourists, before collapsing dead. What’s cool about how this story unfolded is that you saw the deaths first, then we met the killer. We weren’t sure about the killer’s motives, though we got glimpses of them.
In the end, David abducts Jade, and I was so scared about her fate. Renz was, too, and the entire team, plus the Savannah FB,I got involved. They finally tracked him down. An FBI agent shot him dead, something David probably wanted. Death by cop seemed a fitting end for him.
It was neat to see Jade and Renz discuss the case at the end while they were on their way home. Jade saw the human side of David and understood his anger. Obviously, she didn’t condone what he’d done, but from her past experiences, especially with the death of her father, she knew why people do some things. Also obvious was the fact that Renz did NOT see it that way!
Anyway, I can’t wait for the next book!