Title: Beyond the Grave (Past Midnight #3)
Author: Mara Purnhagen
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 08/23/2011
ISBN: 0373210310
I'm going to have to tone down my geekthusiam while writing this review because quite frankly, I thought this book was awesome. It's one of the best in the Past Midnight series so far, in my humble opinion.
A haunting new tale in the Past Midnight series...
I can’t move forward with my life until I know my demons are confined to the past...
Being Charlotte Silver, the daughter of famous paranormal investigators, means my life isn’t like that of other teenage girls. Especially after what happened to my parents. Things changed. I missed prom and deferred my big college plans. But I still have my boyfriend, Noah. He’s everything I could want—if I can figure out what’s up with him. Suddenly Noah is secretive.
I fear it has something to do with what happened to us three months ago. The bruise Noah suffered during a paranormal attack has never completely faded. Now I’ve learned Noah is researching demons. And when he disappears, it’s up to me to find him—before something else does.
If you couldn't guess from my earlier statement, I loved this book. I loved that it was such a quick & easy read. Also great was that we get a deeper look into the character of Bliss, someone that many will recognize as the former Queen of Mean that she used to be in some of the previous books. We get a better look into her character, showing us things that really help explain how & why she's acted like she has in the past. It really was a good look into a character that could stand to have a series of her own eventually. (After you read this book you'll understand why this could work.)
What really impressed me was that there weren't a lot of punches pulled in this book. People who are a little squeamish will probably wince at the ending since it can get a little on the gory side. You also have to have read the previous books in the series in order to really appreciate everything that's going on here. Enough is explained that new readers will be able to keep up but it probably won't be as fun for them as it would for someone who has read the entire run so far.
I'm not sure if this is the last book in the series or not, to be honest. There's a definite "ending" feel to this book & if Purnhagen did decide to end the series, this would be a terrific ending. I hope she continues the series in some form or fashion (whether with Charlotte or with another character) because there's still a whole world here to explore, especially the world of the Protectors, a group of people whose entire purpose is to protect people like Charlotte.
This is definitely one of my top 10 books of the year. If you haven't read any of Purnhagen's previous books, you need to get them & read them just so you can read Beyond the Grave. It's that good. I have to say, this book is making me want to start over at the beginning of the series & re-read them all, including 1.5.
This is a must read for anyone who loves supernatural fiction! Not a teen? Don't worry because you don't have to be under 18 in order to love this book.
5 out of 5 stars!
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
P.S. I read on the author's blog that this has been optioned for a TV series! I'm definitely crossing my fingers that the bigwigs at CBS realize that they've got a good thing here!
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