Ghost Shadow (The Bone Island Trilogy) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Ghost Shadow" the 1st book in her Bone Island Trilogy" by Heather Graham.

Product Description

There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution…vengeance…to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence.

Katie O'Hara is one who can.

As she's drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée's murder?

Worse — the body count's rising on the Island of Bones, andthe dead seem to be reenacting some macabre tableaux from history. The danger is increasing by the moment — especially as Katie finds herself irresistibly drawn to David, who may be responsible for more than just one killing….

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than one hundred novels, many of which have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and mother of five, she still enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well, from locations such as Cairo, Egypt, to her own backyard, the Florida Keys. Reading, however, is the pastime she still loves best, and she is a member of many writing groups. She’s currently the vice president of the Horror Writers’ Association, and she’s also an active member of International Thriller Writers. She is very proud to be a Killerette in the Killer Thriller Band, along with many fellow novelists she greatly admires.

My Review:

Storyline:  In Key West, photographer David Beckett takes the group on a tour of his family's wax museum. They reach the Count von Cosel exhibit however, in the bed near the Count is not waxy version Elena, but the corpse of David's former fiancée Tanya Barnard. Although everyone suspected David killed her, no evidence proved he did. Still he left town with a cloud hanging over him.

Ten years later, the Barnard homicide remains unsolved as David returns to Key West. With the death of David's octogenarian grandfather last year, businesswoman Katie O'Hara, a ghost whisperer, wants to buy the wax museum; David opposes the sale.

Katie O'Hara, owner of Katie-okie, a karaoke business that seems to only play at her uncle's bar and restaurant, attempts to purchase a tourist attraction that has been vacant on the island ever since a woman was found murdered in one of the exhibits. The evening before the purchase goes through, she walks past the building and sees the lights on. Katie, of course, goes to investigate the mysterious lights only to find the co-owner of the building, and the man who many believed murdered the woman years before, David Beckett. After David blocks Katie's purchase of the museum, the two wind up teaming up in order to find out who killed the woman, David's ex-fiance, so many years before

He asks his friend Pete and his cousin Liam, both cops, to reopen the cold case. When a second murder occurs with the victim posed in a nearby museum, the Key West police and Katie wonder if the killer just came home from overseas after a decade away.

Katie can see and talk to ghosts and her constant companion is Bartholomew - a wise- cracking Privateer who is determined to keep her safe.

Characters:  Katie is one very determined, stubborn and smart women who won't let a man control her.  David was one very hot and sexy arrogant man who is determined to keep Katie safe from the killer and not end up like his ex-girlfriend. 

Romance:  I really did like the romance between Katie and David because he accepts that she can see and speak to ghosts when she finally tells him.  You can really feel the attraction between them from the moment they meet in the museum (though they both hated each other at that moment).  Some pretty steamy love scenes.

Killer(s): The killer was out for revenge and was quite creative on how they killed their victims.  Some people might pick up on who the killer might be while others might not.  Picked the right profession to figure out who to pick off and was very discreet on following them without anyone noticing.

I really loved how Graham incorporated true stories/legends into the storyline (really enjoyed learning about Robert the Doll, Carl Tanzler and Elena Milagro Hoyes).

5/5