Claudia Rose is a forensic handwriting expert and her current job is to determine whether or not an elderly man's will is authentic. Paige Sorensen's adult step-children, twins Dane and Diana, are contesting the will in which their father, Torg, left Paige a private school for girls in Bel Air and plenty of cash to go along with it.

As Claudia becomes more involved in Paige's life, she becomes more involved in the school and with Annabelle, the school's most troubled student. Annabelle Giordano's father Dominic has power, money, and influence, which he uses to smooth over the problems Annabelle stirs up. What he doesn't have is any interest in making his daughter feel important or loved.

The more Claudia tries to help Paige and Annabelle, the less she understands about the situation. After Paige and Annabelle disappear over the Christmas school break, Claudia becomes concerned. She asks her boyfriend Joel Jovanic, a detective with the LAPD, to see what he can find out, but the answers don't wind-up coming through official channels. The real mysteries are solved by Claudia stumbling on clues and taking matters into her own hands.

WRITTEN IN BLOOD continues the series as Claudia shows she is a force to be reckoned with, by friends and foes alike. There is some bit of romantic entanglement with Joel, but it seems that the next book might be where that storyline is truly developed. The information on the how's and the why's of forensic handwriting is really interesting and different. This is a series with a harder edge, but no graphic violence, and may appeal to fans of Patricia Cornwell.