Review BLOOD LOSS by Alex Barclay

    Blood Loss by Alex Barclay

Irish author Alex Barclay writes about Denver, USA.  Her character , FBI Agent Ren Bryce is bipolar and has been in four previous Alex Barclay novels.

In Blood Loss, a young girl’s rape at a teen party becomes linked to the disappearance of an eleven year old girl and her babysitter from a hotel whilst her parents dine in the hotel restaurant. 

When the father and babysitter are found dead it seems a clear cut case.  However, despite finding herself caught between her old married amour and her new boyfriend Ren isn’t convinced that the case is solved.  So, in a near manic state, between psychiatrists and off medication Ren perseveres until she discovers that the case has far reaching repercussions ranging as far as the senate and large pharmaceutical companies.

I’ve read all the Ren Bryce books and have enjoyed them all.  Ren is struggling to maintain in this one and makes a sympathetic character.  I find it interesting to see a bipolar main character, who functions well most of the time but who can lose it too.  The use of bipolar characters in the FBI and CIA is quite topical at the moment with Homeland on our TV screens, which also features a bipolar agent.   Alex Barclay skilfully paces the novel and keeps the storyline believable with a lovely mix of personal and police plots.  A good idea for a stocking filler – I bet you’ll be tempted to read the other Ren Bryce novels too!