BLOOD STAINS is the first in a new trilogy by Sharon Sala which features three sisters who learn upon the death of their father that they are not true sisters. The people they thought were their biological parents were not and in fact never even legally adopted them.

BLOOD STAINS is Maria's story. Though she is not the oldest hers is the first story told. As a toddler, Maria witnessed her mother's murder. Though she should know who committed the horrendous crime, she has no memory of the event. Upon learning how she came to live with Andrew Slade, she decides to return to Tulsa, the place of her birth, and find her mother's killer.

Arriving in Tulsa does not immediately reset Maria's memory, which for readers is good, because if it did where would the story be? Maria however is not a dummy and she knows she'll need help in solving her mother's murder and for that she turns to the police department where she meets Detective Bodie Scott. Bodie and Maria not only have to fight the unknown to discover who killed Sally Blake, Maria's mother, but their attraction to one another.

Ms. Sala is an author whose words instantly draw you into the story. BLOOD STAINS is no exception. As I found myself engrossed in Maria's story, I noticed the things I needed to be doing slipping to the wayside.

I have to be honest and say that for several Sala novels I was not a fan, but with her Storm Front series from last year, and with this year's The Searchers novel Ms. Sala has put herself back on my must read list.