RS Review: The Seance [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "The Seance" by Heather Graham.

Product Description

A chill falls over Christina Hardy's housewarming party when talk turns to a recent murder that has all the hallmarks of the so-called "Interstate Killer" murders from fifteen years before. To lighten the mood, the guests drag out an old Ouija board for a little spooky fun and that's when things become truly terrifying.

Summoned by the Ouija board, the restless spirit of Beau Kidd, the lead detective — and chief suspect — on the original case, seeks Christina's help: the latest killing isn't a copycat crime, and he wants his name cleared. Back in the real world, cop-turned-writer Jed Braden is skeptical of Christina's ghostly encounters, but his police sources confirm all the intimate details of the case — her otherworldly source is reliable, and the body count is growing.

The spirits are right. The Interstate Killer is still out there, and Christina's life is hanging in the balance between this world and the next.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Mira; Reprint edition (March 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 077832916X
ISBN-13: 978-0778329169

My Review:

I hate to admit but this is the first Heather Graham book I couldn't finish!

I really liked the premise of the book (ghost, seance and occult) and the mystery was very interesting but to me the characters weren't very well thought out and I didn't care for them.  The hero and heroine knew each other from childhood but all they did was fight or argue every time they were in the same room as adults.

It was great to see Adam Harrison again though!

DNF

Phantom Evil (Krewe of Hunters) [Hardcover]

I've finished "Phantom Evil" the 1st book in her new Krewe of Hunter series by Heather Graham.

Product Description

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.

Product Details
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Mira; 400 edition (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329534
ISBN-13: 978-0778329534

My Review:
Storyline:  The wife of Louisiana State Senator David Holloway, Regina falls from the balcony of their mansion to her death. The New Orleans Police Department investigates and concludes Regina committed suicide as she still grieved the loss of her son Jacob due to a DUI several months ago.

Adam Harrison sends in his special paranormal unit headed by Jackson Crowe and his team consists of five other people, each of which has some sort of experience or knowledge about other-worldly things. Their first job and the place where they all meet each other is in a New Orleans mansion where the senator's wife was found dead on the walkway underneath her balcony. Having suffered a horrendous loss recently, many assume that she has jumped to hear death, but the good Senator swears that she would never have jumped, and asks the special team to come and investigate whether or not ghosts had anything to do with her untimely death.

Jackson and Angela Hawkins a young policewoman from Virginia who has can communicate with the dead  wind up leading a team of younger men and women, all in their 20's. The six of them live together in the mansion in order to investigate and to determine if it really was some sort of ghost that killed the Senator's wife, or if she was killed by someone who was far from the grave.

Characters:  Jackson made a great team leader because he's dedicated, feels responsible for his team-mates, great detective skills, delegates really well and has some interesting talents himself.  Angela made a great right hand women because she's cool and calm in situations, also some great detective skills, can communicate with the dead, level-headed, can take care of herself and nice personality.

Really liked how all the kids as they are called got along really well and figured out the pecking order between them.  They also had no problem with Jackson and Angela leading them and delegating team-work to them, etc.
  
Romance:  Both Jackson and Angela were attracted to each other from the start and their romance started very slowly and they got to know each other.  Loved how all the kids knew they were sleeping together!

Killer(s):  All of the them had an agenda and motives of why they were killing people, etc.  One of them was really sick and perverted!

4/5


Books in Series:

Heart of Evil - Jun 28th
Sacred Evil - July 26th
The Evil Inside - Aug 30th

The Killing Edge

I've finished reading "The Killing Edge" a book in the Harrison Investigation series by Heather Graham.

Product Description

Chloe Marin was lucky. She was just a teenager when a party at a Florida beachside mansion turned into a savage killing spree, and she was one of the few to survive. Bloody handwriting on the walls pointed to a cult whose rituals included human sacrifice. Chloe's sketch of one of the killers linked two dead cult members found in the Everglades to the massacre, closing the case as far as the cops were concerned.

Ten years later Chloe works as a psychologist specializing in art therapy to help traumatized victims, and on the side she finds release in her passion for the martial arts. Police who hire her as a consultant know she's a literal kick-ass advocate for victims who can't always speak for themselves.

The current disappearance of a young swimsuit model ranks low on the cops' priority list. Everyone assumes the girl has run off for some fun in the sun, instead of getting ready for a photo shoot. Everyone but Chloe, who suspects a killer is using the modeling agency to stalk his prey. When the ghost of the model appears, asking Chloe for help, she knows that she has to do everything she can.

So does Luke Cane, a British ex-cop-turned-P.I. investigating the disappearance of the model on behalf of her father. Chloe and Luke have trouble trusting each other, but they can't help their strong attraction for one another. Luckily they agree on the important things: someone needs to find those missing girls, and if a few laws have to get bent so lives can be saved, too bad.

When Chloe arrives late for an appointment at the modeling agency, she discovers a gruesome mass murder eerily similar to the one she witnessed a decade ago—and can't help thinking that if she hadn't run late, she would have been there when the killer arrived. Ten years ago she hadn't been convinced the police had identified the real killers, and now she's sure of it. The same evil mind is behind the current murders, and she's afraid she's the target — and

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a 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.

My Review:

Storyline:  I really did enjoy the storyline because it involves a Church which you don't see very much in a book with ritual killings and religion.  You don't find out who the real killer is until the very end when they reveal themselves.

Characters:  Chloe and Luke were both well written, loners, scared to start a new relationship.  Chloe was a great character because she can take care of herself, survived a horrifying trama and became an sketch artist and psychologist and she's quite smart.  Luke was such a great character because he also survived a tragic and horrifying trama.

Romance:  I really enjoyed the romance between Chloe and Luke because it was passionate and steamy, they both were taking it slow and he made sure Chloe enjoyed it too before taking his own pleasure.

Killer(s):  The killers were well written especially the mastermind and real killer.  You didn't find out the real reason and who was the real target until the very end.

4/5

Unhallowed Ground

I've finished reading "Unhallowed Ground" a book in the Harrison Investigation series by Heather Graham.

Product Description

When Sarah McKinley is finally able to buy and restore the historic Florida mansion that she has always loved, she dismisses the horror stories of past residents vanishing and a long-dead housekeeper who practiced black magic. Then, in the midst of renovations, she makes a grim discovery. Hidden within the walls of Sarah's dream house are the remains of dozens of bodies—some dating back over a century.

The door to the past is blown wide open when Caleb Anderson, a private investigator, shows up at the mansion. He believes several current missing-persons cases are linked to the house and its dark past. Working together to find the connection and stop a contemporary killer, Sarah and Caleb are compelled to research the history of the haunted house, growing closer to each other even as the solution to the murders eludes them.

But there is one who knows the truth…a spirit who follows every move they make. Soon Caleb begins to fear that if he can't stay a step ahead, he could lose Sarah to a killer with an ability to transcend time in a quest for blood and sacrifice.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a 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.
 
My Review:
 
4/5
 
I will write my review later on tonight, so please check back thanks!

Haunted (Hardcover)

I've recently read "Haunted" by Heather Graham.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Love is everywhere. . . When does a gift become a curse? Matt Stone doesn't believe in ghosts. But there are those who are convinced his home, a historic Virginia estate that dates back to the Revolutionary War, is haunted. Pressured to get at the truth about some strange happenings at Melody House, he agrees to let Harrison Investigations explore the house. But he isn't ready for beautiful, intriguing Darcy Tremayne. As a paranormal investigator, Darcy has learned to believe in the unbelievable. And she's given Matt fair warning: sometimes people don't like the skeletons she finds. She never dreamed that the warning would apply to herself. For she's about to discover thatMelody House holds much more than a simple mystery form the distant past. What it holds is a very real and lethal danger, one that will cast her into a struggle against the worlds of both the living and the dead.