While Gabriella Giovanni has never had much luck with love, her passion is reporting the news associated with crimes. Her job at the Bay Herald has helped her to deal with the kidnapping and death of her sister at six years old, but she has never looked back at Caterina's case until now when another girl has gone missing. She is brought face to face with Jack Johnson, who claims to be responsible for both crimes. Her investigative instincts turn to obsession, when she meets with Johnson and allows him to manipulate her until she is on the precipice of losing everything.

Blessed Are the Dead takes inspiration from other serial killer stories, but spins them in a way that gives them new life in this first book in the Gabriella Giovanni Mystery series. Ms. Belcamino takes her experience as a former crime reporter and weaves it into a thriller that is almost impossible to put down. Throughout the story, we are in Gabriella's head as we learn about her strengths as a reporter and her insecurities as a woman. Many elements fill out the plot including Gabriella's family, her Catholic upbringing, her love life, and her relationships with her colleagues. Overall, Blessed Are the Dead is not a perfect book but is an amazing story told by a first time novelist.