MT Review: The Unseen [Hardcover]

I've finished "The Unseen" the 1st book in her new Krewe of Hunters series by Heather Graham.

Product Description

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, many of them 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….

Together, Kelsey and Logan follow their instincts to the Alamo and to the newly renovated Longhorn, which once tempted heroes with drinks, cards and women.  If the spirits of those long-dead Texans are 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 the San Antonio's restless ghosts ...

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She's a winner of the RWA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers' Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook.

Product Details
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Mira (March 27, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778313298
ISBN-13: 978-0778313298

My Review:

Storyline:  This series is a spin off of her Krewe of Hunters series with brand new characters mixed in with two of the previous Krewe of Hunter teamates.

The book opens in the 1800's to present day.  Young women are being murdered, and all were last seen around the Alamo and the Longhorn hotel. In the 1800's in room 207 Rose Langley was murdered by Matt Meyer hands after she was kidnapped by him. The room was covered in blood and her body was never found. Since then there have been more young woman slain and these murders and the mystery of the Longhorn is the first case for our new hunters.

Jackson Crow is the leader of government paranormal group who is recruiting a new team to help solve crimes.  He chooses Logan Raintree a half Native American Texas Ranger whose wife died by a killer three years ago to lead the new team and Kelsey O'Brien A Florida US Marshall to be his partner.  Logan and Kelsey both are wind  spirits - they can see, hear and communicate with spirits and Jackson wants them to use their skills to solve the crimes.

As they investigate they learn the murders are tied to the Alamo and the disappearance of a diamond.  Logan and Kelsey work with their new team (all who have some kind of skill) to find out what they all have in common and who the killer is.

Characters:  This book had a lot of action and the two main characters are well developed.  The other teammates weren't focused on much so I can't really say much about them except for Kat who played a secondary role in their investigation.

Romance:  Along the way both fall in love and into each other arms which I didn't find very convincing enough.  To me the romance felt more like lust than love (in my eyes I believe he still was in love with his dead wife).

Villain(s):  Both villains really enjoyed their kills and the bloodier the better.  They both were truly psychotically insane and one was really after the diamond.  

I really enjoyed reading about the history of the Alamo and the people associated with this historical event.

4/5

Other books in series:

1.  The Unholy - June 26, 2012
2.  The Unspoken - July 31, 2012
3.  The Uninvited - August 28, 2012

RS Review: Heart of Evil (Krewe of Hunters, Book 2) {Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Heart of Evil" the 2nd book in her Krewe of Hunters series by Heather Graham.

Product Description

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 the "Krewe of Hunters" is an old flame, Jake Mallory, a gifted musician with talent stretching far 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 .…

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.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira; Original edition (June 28, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329984
ISBN-13: 978-0778329985

My Review:

Ashley and her grandpa Frazier Donegals are the last living Donegals who live on Donegals Plantation.  Each year they hold an reinactment of the Civil War at the Plantation.  Suddenly Ashley is having dreams and visions which lead her to a gruesome find in the vaults.  The death is exactly how her ancestor Marshall Donegal died a long time ago.

She turns to Adam Harrison's FBI paranormal specialty team Krewe of Hunters and among them is her old flame Jack Mallory.  Jake grew up with Ashley but she ran away from him when he told her about his gift.  They are thrown together to solve the case and they haven't stopped loving or thinking of each other.   As the bodies start piling up they now have to use their wits and gifts to find the killer before Ashley joins them.

The driving point of the story is the eternal love story between Ashley's ancestors and the history of the plantation.

Loved the sweet romance between Jake and Ashley though it was slow building up.  Glad they got to know each other again and that Ashley finally realized that she was wrong for running away from Jake. 

4/5

Other Books in Series:


1. Phantom Evil
2. Sacred Evil
3. The Evil Inside

Home in Time for Christmas

I've just finished reading "Home in Time for Christmas" by Heather Graham.

Product Description

Centuries ago, by a scaffold in Manhattan, rose petals drifted gently to the ground…

…like snow on a wintry Massachusetts night. Melody Tarleton is driving home for Christmas when a man—clad in Revolutionary War-era costume—appears out of nowhere, right in the path of her car. Shaken, she takes in the injured stranger, listening with concern to Jake Mallory's fantastic claim that he's a Patriot soldier, sentenced to death by British authorities. The last thing he remembers is the tug of the noose.

Safe at her parents' house, Melody concocts a story to explain the handsome holiday guest with the courtly manners, strange clothes and nasty bump on the head. Mark, her close friend who wishes he were more, is skeptical and her family is fascinated—though not half so fascinated as Melody herself. Jake is passionate, charming and utterly unlike anyone she's ever met. Can he really be who he claims? And can a man from the distant past be the future she truly longs for?

With the aid of enchanted petals, ancient potions and the peculiar magic of the season, Melody and Jake embark on an unimaginable Christmas adventure—and discover a love that transcends time.

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:
 
Not one of her best books!  I actually had to make myself finish the book!
 
2/5