Forensic Mystery Bk. 3:
The Circle of Blood
by Alane Ferguson

    THE CIRCLE OF BLOOD by Alane Ferguson
    Category:  Mystery/Thriller
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  2/28/08
    Publisher:  Viking
    Reviewed by:  Jaglvr
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Meet Cameryn Mahoney. She’s not your average high school senior. She’s the assistant to the county coroner in
    Silverton, Colorado. Most kids her age find her fascination with all things forensic rather bizarre, if not macabre. But
    Cameryn is intrigued and has gained the (reluctant) respect of local law enforcement and medical personnel alike.

    The story starts off with Cameryn and her father handling a fatal car accident. The victim affects Cameryn and her
    father in the fact that it’s a young man. Nothing is worse than a senseless death. But Cameryn is ever the professional
    and they get the job done.

    Later that day, Cameryn encounters her long lost mother, Hannah. Hannah has a young girl in the car with her. The
    girl seems agitated and Hannah doesn’t give Cameryn a straight answer. But there is little Cameryn can do, and her
    mother drives off with the sad girl, Mariah, in the passenger seat.

    Only later does the encounter come back to haunt Cameryn. Her father is out of town when the call comes in.
    There’s another dead body. Cameryn is asked to attend to the scene until her father can be present. Upon seeing the
    body, Cameryn realizes that it’s the girl, Mariah. If she lets on that she recognizes the girl, then her mother could be
    implicated.

    What starts as an omission soon blossoms into a complete mystery that entwines everything that Cameryn does. Her
    mother eventually gets arrested for a murder that she swears she didn’t commit. No one is there to help Hannah.
    Cameryn has since learned the truth of her childhood, and still finds it in her heart to forgive Hannah for everything
    she’s done and comes to her aid. Against the odds and against the advice of everyone she knows, Cameryn takes it
    upon herself to clear her mother’s name.

    For anyone who's a fan of C.S.I. or Bones, THE CIRCLE OF BLOOD is a real page-turner. It’s a bit graphic in
    the descriptions of dead bodies and autopsies, but done so in a fascinating and scientific manner. This isn’t the first
    story featuring Cameryn Mahoney, but one doesn’t have to have read the previous stories to enjoy this one. The
    story is easy to follow with little to cloud the main plot. I enjoyed it quite a bit and will now look for the previous
    Cameryn Mahoney books myself.