Book Review: The Uninvited by Heather Graham

Title: The Uninvited (Krewe of Hunters #8)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Mira/Harlequin
Release Date: 08/28/2012
ISBN: 0778313700





I believe that this might be the last book in the Krewe of Hunters series, and I have to say that I'm a little glad at that. The idea behind the ongoing series is good, but there's only so many times you can create new Krewes just to start a new love interest before it just seems a little "same old, same old".


1777: In the throes of the Revolutionary War, Landon Mansion is commandeered by British Lord "Butcher" Bedford. He stabs Lucy Tarleton—who spurned his king and his love—leaving her to die in her father's arms.


NOW: After the day's final tour, docent Allison Leigh makes her rounds while locking up…and finds a colleague slumped over Bedford's desk, impaled on his own replica bayonet. 


Resident ghosts may be the stock-in-trade of stately Philadelphia homes, but Allison—a noted historian—is indignant at the prospect of "ghost hunters" investigating this apparent murder. 


Agent Tyler Montague knows his hauntings and his history. But while Allison is skeptical of the newcomer, a second mysterious murder occurs. Has "Butcher" Bedford resurfaced? Or is there another malevolent force at work in Landon Mansion? Wary, yet deeply attracted, Allison has to trust in Tyler and work with him to discover just what uninvited guest—dead or alive—has taken over the house. 


Or their lives could become history!

Now I have to say that one of the things I enjoyed about this entry was that Allison and Tyler don't actually jump into bed together immediately. Graham has the pair experience sparks, but for the most part they focus on the whole "someone is killing people and Allison is in danger" stuff first. We see Allison feeling guilty about her attraction to Tyler, thinking that it's inappropriate to lust after him when people are dying all around her, people she cared about. This is a very natural reaction and one that I'm glad Graham explored here. After all, if a few of your coworkers died you probably wouldn't be solely focusing on the sparks between you and Agent Awesome-Sauce.

I also rather liked the way the book played out for the most part. The mystery was nice and the history seemed to be pretty well researched, something that I noticed in the last few books in the series as well. This is one of Graham's strong suits in this series.

Where the book falters is that there are some scenes where it just seems a little bland and I really couldn't help but wish that we'd more get to the point. I also felt that the ending was a little overly rushed, making the rationale of the killer and the reveal underwhelming. I wasn't expecting a reveal that would make me gasp, just one that felt a more built up. It just feels like Graham sort of ran out of pages and figured "OK buttercup, time to wrap this mother up". This felt a little disappointing because the book up to that point was good. I almost think that the book would've been better served by not having a big showdown scene and having the baddie arrested without the inevitable "hey, I'm kidnapping the girl so I can kill her" scene.

Overall though, this wasn't terrible. It was good to see Adam poke his head into the book. I liked the history mixed into the book and I liked that the romance took a back burner to the story. I just feel that this series has run its course and that while I wouldn't mind seeing a story centered around a pre-existing couple (much like how Nora Roberts's In Death series does this), it's time for Roberts to move on. She's gotten a fresh wind with the last few books, but I can't help but feel that she'd rather be writing something else.

3 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: The Unspoken by Heather Graham

Title: The Unspoken (Krewe of Hunters)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Release Date: July 31, 2012
ISBN: 0778313611





If you've read my previous reviews for some of the books in this series, you'll know that I've been rather disappointed overall by the KoH series. Most of them seemed to more fizzle than anything else, but I'm glad to say that this book is a marked improvement over the last few books in this series. It's not an overwhelmingly great "Graham's back" type of book, but it's enough to where I can definitely recommend it to Graham fans.

1898: Bound for Chicago, the freighter Jerry McGuen goes down in Lake Michigan, taking with it every man aboard. But what other fate could befall a vessel carrying the ill-gotten sarcophagus of an Egyptian sorcerer?

Now: A veteran diver and "ghost ship" expert is exploring the legendary wreck for a documentary. He dies inexplicably inside the freighter's main saloon. Then another diver is killed and panicked rumors rise like bubbles from the lake: ancient demons have awakened below!

The expedition's beleaguered financier calls paranormal investigator Katya Sokolov to Chicago to save the film—and perhaps some innocent lives. Along with media forensics guru Will Chan, Kat plumbs the depths of an evil that may date back to the time of the Pharaohs. But some secrets are best drowned in the seas of the past.…

I really believe that part of what makes the book work is that our pairing in this book are two members from the separate Krewe teams. They've had their characters slowly built up in the previous books and because of that, they're more developed than some of the other love interests and you can get more invested in their characters and their romance. The mystery isn't bad either. It's not going to stump Sherlock Holmes anytime soon, but it's enough to keep me reading and the whole "investigating a shipwreck" part was entertaining.

My biggest gripe would've been that Kat and Will's romance goes a little fast at times. One moment they're ready to tear each other's heads off and the next they're totally into each other and friendly enough to where they can leave the door open between their rooms. The interaction between them was so nice that I didn't overly mind, but I'd have liked to see a bit more of the thawing of the ice between them. Their animosity/irritation for one another was so strong at first (without being outright hate) that it just seemed a little to sudden. The whodunit could've been a little better done, but it made sense for the most part and was entertaining, so I can't really get too angry about that.

Overall though, this was a very fun read and one of the better entries in the KoH series so far. There's a very good dollop of adventure here, which will make this a fantastic beach read. I didn't have to struggle as much through this as I did with some of the earlier books in the series and towards the end I couldn't help but want to keep reading. It's still not Graham's best work, but it's one that fans will want to read.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: The Unseen by Heather Graham

Title: The Unseen

Author: Heather Graham

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: 03/27/2012

ISBN: 0778313298

I'll give all of the long time Heather Graham fans a warning. The old Graham is probably never going to come back. I'd liken her older books to rich Godiva chocolate: rich and oh-so-sinfully bad for you, whereas her newer books are like Hershey chocolate: good, but not nearly as good as the Godiva was. This is pretty much the case here in this book.

1800s. San Antonio, Texas: In room 207 at the Longhorn Saloon, in the long shadow of the Alamo itself, a woman renowned for her beauty was brutally murdered. Her killer was never found.

One year ago: In that same historic room, another woman vanished without a trace. Her blood was everywhere…but her body was never recovered.

Now: In the last month, San Antonio has become a dumping ground for battered bodies. All young women, all long missing, almost all forgotten. Until now. Texas Ranger Logan Raintree cannot sit by and let his city’s most vulnerable citizens be slain. So when he is approached to lead a brand-new group of elite paranormal investigators working the case, he has no choice but to accept the challenge. And with it, his powerful ability to commune with the dead. Among Logan’s new team is Kelsey O’Brien, a U.S. marshal known for her razor-sharp intuition and a toughness that belies her delicate exterior. Kelsey has been waiting all her life to work with someone who can understand her ability to “see” the past unfolding in the present. Now she has her chance.

Together, Kelsey and Logan follow their instincts to the Alamo and to the newly reopened Longhorn, which once tempted heroes with drink, cards and women. If the spirits of those long-dead Texans are really appearing to the victims before their deaths, only Kelsey and Logan have the skills to find out why. And if something more earthly is menacing the city’s oldest, darkest corners, only they can stop it – before more innocent women join the company of San Antonio’s restless ghosts….

I'll be honest and say that while this wasn't an "oh my gosh, read it until my eyeballs pop out" type of book, it wasn't bad and is an improvement over some of Graham's previous books. (This is far better than Dust to Dust was.) The Unseen is pretty much a continuation of the Krewe of Hunters series, but with a new group of characters since the previous bunch had all been paired off with their love interests. This book brings us a new pairing, a new murder mystery, and a new set of ghosts.

I really wanted to judge this book on its own merit (for good or bad), but some of the similarities between the pairing in this book and the pairing in the first KoH book sort of prevented that. Like our pairing in Phantom Evil, we're given two people in law enforcement, with the male love interest being a Native American. This is generally where the similarities ended, but it's enough to where I kind of felt a little disappointed that Graham didn't shake things up a little more. I'd have loved to have seen a pairing where one of the duo was a brash young thing that shoehorned their way into the investigation, but hopefully we'll get that in another book. The pairing in this book is nice, but didn't really set off an avalanche of steamy sparks. It's sort of just there and secondary to the book's mystery.

The mystery actually wasn't bad. I did enjoy the Texas setting as well as the inclusion of the infamous Alamo. We're given a good start, a tale of a star-crossed Southern belle that fell into a seedy lifestyle and was murdered because of her ill fated decisions and a valuable diamond ring. It's what really brought me into the book and pushed me past the tepid love scenes between Logan and Kelsey. It eventually turned a little predictable, but overall it wasn't half bad. I just wish that the mystery and murders had been played up a little more, with the main characters doing a little more detecting and investigating. Things just sort of progressed from point A to point B and it didn't really seem that our lead characters did anything on their own without a ghost to point the way for them. (Although if I can compare it to the mystery in the first KoH book, the mystery here is way better laid out.) I was still slightly surprised by the whodunit, although I wasn't too far off in my estimation.

Overall this is a good but not great Graham novel. It's something that is absolutely worth a library read, but I'd hesitate to buy this at a hardback price. (If it was paperback then it'd be easier to say "buy it".) Graham has shown some improvement as of late and this book is no exception, but I think this book would have done better if it had just spent a little more time in the stew pot.If you're looking for a whiz-banger of a read, you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for a decent read to while away a few hours with in front of the fireplace, then this is worth checking out.

2.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: The Evil Inside by Heather Graham

Title: The Evil Inside (Krewe of Hunters #4)

Author: Heather Graham

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: 08/30/2011

ISBN: 0778312534

I was initially apprehensive about reading this book. After all, some of the previous books in this series weren't really as good as some of Graham's previous works. I decided to give this a read & ultimately I'm rather glad I did.

For as long as it has stood overlooking New England’s jagged coastline, Lexington House has been the witness to madness…and murder. But in recent years the inexplicable malice that once tormented so many has lain as silent as its victims. Until now…

A member of the nation’s foremost paranormal forensic team, Jenna Duffy has made a career out of investigating the inexplicable. Yet nothing could prepare her for the string of slayings once again plaguing Lexington House – or for the chief suspect, a boy barely old enough to drive, much less kill.

With the young man’s life on the line, Jenna must team up with attorney Samuel Hill to pinpoint who – or what – is taking the lives of those who get too close to the past. But everything they learn brings them closer to the forces of evil stalking this tortured ground.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I really enjoyed reading this book. From the very first page I was hooked. The suspense in this was well done for the most part & unlike some of the previous books, I couldn't instantly discover who the true killer was. The romance in this was also pleasant, albeit a little too overly similarly plotted to the romances in the previous books. I'd like to see a romance in this series (there's still one more character to match up) where the love interest didn't instantly go the skeptical route or have that be a big focus of the match up. It just gets a little overly tread after a while. Even with this handicap our main characters are still well matched. Their romance isn't "set the pages on fire" hot, but it is sweet.

One of the strongest points in the book was the book's atmosphere, which was helped along by Graham setting the story in Salem, Massachusetts. The name alone gives the reader a certain mental image, which helps out greatly in this book. It also doesn't hurt that Graham decided to bring in the idea of witch hunting, comparing the hunts of the past to those of the present. It was a bold but smart move by Graham.

It's not a completely flawless book, however. At times I really couldn't help but wish that Graham had fleshed out some of the characters more, especially our whodunit. The whodunit wasn't an outrageous surprise but a little more development would have made the finish really stand out. I sort of blame this on the fact that this book was part of a series. It was only when the KoH had to be involved that the book started somewhat unraveling & I feel like if our two heroes had to do more of the footwork themselves (rather than relying on people who could quickly do it offscreen) the book would have been a little more tightly woven. This would have been an excellent standalone novel.

I'd still highly recommend this as a last minute vacation or "yay, the kids are back in school" read. Despite a few stumbles, this was a lot of fun to read & I would recommend it even if you haven't read or been all that entranced by the previous books. I'd go as far as to say that this is easily the best book of the series so far.

3.4/5

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Sacred Evil by Heather Graham

Title: Sacred Evil (Krewe of Hunters #3)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 07/26/2011
ISBN: 0778312429







If you were like me & was disappointed in the previous book in the series, take an easy breath: this book is better. It's not as fun as the first book was, but it's still much more intriguing than Heart of Evil.

A terror born of Jack the Ripper

The details of the crime scene are no coincidence. The body—a promising starlet—has been battered, bloodied and then discarded between two of Manhattan's oldest graveyards.

One look and Detective Jude Crosby recognizes the tableau:

A re–creation of Jack the Ripper's gruesome work. But he also sees something beyond the actions of a mere copycat. Something more dangerous…and unexplainable.

As the city seethes with suspicion, Jude calls on Whitney Tremont, a member of the country's preeminent paranormal investigating team, to put the speculation to rest. Yet when Whitney and Jude delve deeper, what they discover is more shocking than either could have predicted, and twice as sinister…

It's really hard to write a book with Ripper themes to it & not have the book be incredibly interesting. What really intrigued me about the book is how much Graham took from past events. I was surprised to know that there were a series of murders in New York that closely mirrored Jack the Ripper's style & that even today, the murderer was never caught. That played in well with the modern day killings in this book, making the suspense that much more thrilling & fun to read.

The romance in the book is mostly cut & dry, sadly. The chemistry between our two main characters doesn't really come through as well as I'd wanted it to, although I will admit that their later love scenes are pretty sizzling. The mystery does make up for this for most of the book, so I was well willing to overlook this. The only downfall of the mystery is that the conclusion is a little abrupt. The killer's identity was about what I was expecting but it came about so quickly that I couldn't help but feel like I'd missed out on something. I couldn't help but feel that a quick 5 pages or so would have helped ease the transition from chase to resolution a bit better.

This was still very fun to read & it'll make for an excellent beach read when it's released. Despite a few mild disappointments in the last few books, this is a series that I'd still recommend & am still waiting to see how it all pans out in the end.

3 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Heart of Evil by Heather Graham

Title: Heart of Evil (Krewe of Hunters #2)
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date:06/28/2011
ISBN: 0778329984







I don't really expect much from romance books. This isn't because I don't think that there can be some fantastic books in the genre (there's some amazing stuff out there), but because the main goal of romance & most fiction isn't to be some amazingly deep read. Their goal is to entertain & only to entertain, which I respect. Unfortunately you sometimes get things that fall short of even that modest goal, which is what happened here with this book.

Emerging from the bayou like an apparition, Donegal Plantation is known for its unsurpassed dining, captivating atmosphere, haunting legends…and now a corpse swinging from the marble angel that marks its cemetery’s most majestic vault. A corpse discovered in nearly the same situation as that of Marshall Donegal, the patriarch killed in a skirmish just before the Civil War. Desperate for help traditional criminologists could never provide, plantation heiress Ashley Donegal turns to an elite team of paranormal investigators who blend hard forensics with rare – often inexplicable – intuition. Among them is Jake Mallory, a gifted New Orleans musician with talent that stretches beyond the realm of the physical, and a few dark ghosts of his own. The evil the team unveils has the power to shake the plantation to its very core. Jake and Ashley are forced to risk everything to unravel secrets that will not stay buried – even in death…

Normally I'd have a huge paragraph of great things to say about an Adam Harrison related book, but this just isn't the case with this book. While I do like the characters & at times there's some good chemistry, there just wasn't a lot that really stood out here until the ending. I did like the pacing towards the end & it does have a nice little scene at the end as well as some great recipes.

It's just that most of the book felt forced & predictable. Some of the background characters just blurred into one big lump because there wasn't anything to really make them stand out or be exemplary from the rest of the cast. It was also fairly easy to predict the killer because there were only a few people who were described well enough to be the killer & one of those I was able to eliminate because *minor spoiler* one of the team members showed an interest in him *end spoiler*. Even the love scenes didn't really do much to rescue the book because more often than not the chemistry just wasn't present enough to really loop me in like previous books have.

As far as entertainment value goes, I can't muster more than 2 stars for this book. The Heather Graham fangirl in me keeps nagging me to raise the star rating to at least 3 stars, but it's that same fangirl who says "well... I've read a lot better, especially in the AH line of books".

Read this at the library. I wouldn't bother purchasing it unless you absolutely have the urge to keep your collection current.

2/5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Title: Phantom Evil
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 03/29/2011
ISBN:0778329534







I'll admit that Graham's work has kind of suffered over the last few years, with some of her books not even holding a candle to how wonderful the earlier books were. (I don't know of many people who liked Dust to Dust, a title that has sat around on my bookstore shelves gathering well, dust.) She's released some stuff that's been pretty decent, but again- not stuff that's along the quality lines of her earlier releases. I almost passed this book up until I realized that it was an Adam Harrison book. Even though he's almost always a non-major character in the books, the ones that feature him are almost always great reads. This one generally followed that rule.

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he’s gathered know a little of the otherworldly—each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can’t tell if Adam’s demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he’s well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson’s careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam’s call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans’s French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house—once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives...and their immortal souls.

I was sucked into this book incredibly quickly & I feel that most readers will be as well. I was also quite taken with both the official pairing in this book as well as the potential pairings for future books as well. (I doubt this book will be the last we've seen of this team.) The plot moves along very quickly & I was glad to see that the couple in this book doesn't play a huge amount of love games.

The only downfall to this book is that while the premise is wonderful & the interaction between our two leads has tons of chemistry, the "whodunnit" of the book just seemed a little well, farfetched & overly complicated. There's several different things going on at once & the ending just seemed a little rushed, as if Graham had intended for something more & just ran out of room. I couldn't help but feel like it was just a teensy bit anti-climactic.

Overall though, this was an incredibly fun read & it's very much a turn in the right direction for Graham. It's not a complete return to her earlier greatness but it's in the same vein- enough so that longtime fans will enjoy this book & new readers will find themselves wanting to read more of her work.

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham

Title: Night of the Vampires
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 11/23/2010
ISBN: 0373774869

As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president's horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade's sister. Enemy or ally, he can't yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.

Megan Fox's quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can't disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn't come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?

There’s just something about a heroine with the name “Megan Fox” that makes me take that character a little less seriously. I know it isn’t fair, but I can’t help but imagine the actress each time I read the book & wonder if Heather Graham had been watching trailers for Jonah Hex when she was inspired to write this book. Mercifully this book isn’t as horrible as Jonah Hex was. To Graham’s defense though, this is more of a re-imagining of history ala Pride, Prejudice, & Zombies, though. (But with vampires.)

Graham has managed to weave the supernatural & history together incredibly well, to the point where it is honestly believable. Readers will love the little history references as well as the interaction between Megan & Cole. Also interesting is the mini-rivalry between Megan & one of the other female characters in the book (not mentioning who due to spoiler issues later in the book)- unfortunately it is woefully underserved for the vast majority of the book.

Unfortunately this isn’t really amazing fare for Graham. She’s had better in the past & this is sort of mediocre for her. It’s good, but apart from the mixture of history & horror there isn’t much here that’s new for her. This just wasn’t Graham at her best.

Still, this is a worthwhile book & it was quite a bit of fun to read. True, it isn’t her best but I would still recommend it to fans of Graham or for those who like seeing things re-imagined.

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Ghost Shadow by Heather Graham

Title: Ghost Shadow
Author: Heather Graham
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 06/29/2010
ISBN: 0778327914







If you've taken a vacation away from Heather Graham, now is the perfect time to dive back into one of her books! I'll admit that while some of her recent books haven't been up to her usual standards, this one is firmly in the "good" category.

Key West is full of ghost & murder stories. David Beckett's ex-fiancee became one of them the moment her body was discovered in one of the exhibits at his father's wax museum. Ten years later wax museum has been closed for a while & the enticing Katie O'Hara wants to purchase it & return it to it's former glory. Her plans are stalled when David returns back home. Despite their rocky start, Katie finds herself falling for him- despite him possibly being the one behind the murder! But Katie has an edge. She can see & talk to ghosts & she's determined to use that talent to discover who the murderer is. Too bad the murderer has other plans in mind...

Intriguing characters & a twisted murder mystery spark off Graham's newest trilogy. While Katie & David might not have the flash-bang chemistry of some of Graham's other character matchups, the pair does have a sweet sense of familiarity to them. They take to each other as if they've been together all along. Also fun is the character of Bartholomew, a deceased privateer (he takes issue if you call him a pirate). The scenes with him in it are some of the best of the book.

Graham does a good job of utilizing the mysteries of Florida- having Robert the Doll & the ultra-morbid story of Carl Tanzler really does help to enhance the creepiness of her book. (And if you haven't heard of either of them before- no worries. Graham gives a bit of back story to each of them.)

The only things some readers might take issue with is the lack of said flash-bang chemistry between the two leads as well as how underused Katie's talent is in this book. Hopefully we'll get to see more of both things in the next two books in the series.

In the end, this is classic Graham. It might not be my absolute favorite book she's written, but it is still very much worth reading. With the final book in the series coming out in just a few weeks, this is the perfect time to start reading so you can be ready when the last book releases!

(ARC provided by Netgalley)