Title: Blood Opus (Espionage Horror #3)

Author: L.J. Dougherty

Release date: April 3rd, 2023

I’ll be the first to admit, this is typically not the type of book (or movie) that I’d be drawn towards. I’ve never been a fan of James Bond, and spy books and movies/TV shows just don’t get me excited. But – and this is where L.J. has caught my attention – I do love creature-feature stories, and after following photographer-turned Nazi Hunter, Jimmy Knotts through two novels, I couldn’t wait to see what L.J. pummeled us with this time.

You 100% absolutely have to have read the first two novels in the series to read this one, so if you’ve not read those yet, stop here and go grab ‘Beasts of the Caliber Lodge’ now. Once done that and the follow up, ‘Primal Reserve,’ then you’ll be here and ready to roll through this, the third novel.

Jimmy Knotts is hot on the trail of his partner, Levi, and not knowing what he’s in for, as he seems to do, he heads in head-first, asking questions later.

What I liked: With ‘Blood Opus,’ you know what you’re in for, for the third novel. We’re going to get deception, double-crossing and a rip-roaring adventure story where our MC, Jimmy Knotts, is doing whatever he can to bring Nazi’s to justice, but to also stay one step ahead of death.

In this one, Jimmy follows the clues to a strange, secretive party in Germany. Dougherty is a master at painting the picture for setting – from what everyone is wearing, what they’re eating and the mood of the evening. It is fantastic and done in such as way that it’s not overboard. We don’t get 3,000 words on the food, but we get enough to have you practically salivate over how real the food feels.

As the story goes on, Jimmy has to partner with a foe, an M16 agent that he can’t decide whether he can trust him or not, as well as with a CIA operative that comes to help, just when Jimmy needs it most.

With this one, L.J. delivers perhaps his beast creature yet, a winged-harbinger-of-death that is driven by blood and swoops in to rip, shred and suck out the marrow. Every time the book introduces/re-introduces this creature, the tensions rise even more and from what Jimmy’s been through over the first two books, that’s saying something.

This one ended with a fitting finale, one that can be interpreted as the closing of the story and the end of the trilogy, or, setting up for potentially more adventures featuring Jimmy.

What I didn’t like: Like the first two novels, it does take some time before the creature shows up. This will either work or not for the reader, depending on just how much they love spy thrillers. As well, there’s a few characters that felt elevated but ultimately fizzled out, so the introduction of them felt a bit flat when it was all said and done.

Why you should buy this: If you’ve read the first two, the third is a no-brainer. L.J. writes so cinematically and everything is fully formed and easy to picture and see the action, not just read it. Dougherty has hit a home run here, Jimmy Knotts being one of the best main characters you’ll come across.

I only hope we get more in this series.

5/5