Book Review — Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell

Title:  Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell
Author:  Paul Kane
Genre:  Horror/mystery crossover
Pages:  Paperback, 274
ISBN:  978-7-1-78108-455-7
Opening Lines:  "The box was full of possibilities; full of answers to questions he didn't even know he'd asked.  It was a puzzle, yes, but so much more than that."

Rating

"Late 1895, and Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Dr John Watson are called upon to investigate a missing persons case. On the face of it, this seems like a mystery that Holmes might relish — as the person in question vanished from a locked room. But this is just the start of an investigation that will draw the pair into contact with a shadowy organization talked about in whispers, known only as the 'Order of the Gash.'

"As more people go missing in a similar fashion, the clues point to a sinister asylum in France and to the underworld of London. However, it is an altogether different underworld that Holmes will soon discover — as he comes face to face not only with those followers who do the Order's bidding on Earth, but those who serve it in Hell: the Cenobites. Holmes' most outlandish adventure to date, on that has remained shrouded in secrecy until now, launches him headlong into Clive Barker's famous Hellraising universe . . . and things will never be the same again."

~ Jacket copy

Hellraiser was my first introduction to Clive Barker.  I remember sitting on my friend's couch during our weekly "beer and pie" nights.  We were slowly working our way through 80's horror flicks.  For him, he was reliving old childhood memories.  For me, I was finally able to watch many of the movies my mother forbade.  (And, in the case of Jason X, wondering why people decided to drag out a franchise.) 

Book Review — 14

Title:  14
Author:  Peter Clines
Genre:  Sci-Fi
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 350
Publisher:  Permuted Press
ISBN:  978-1-61868-052-5
Opening Lines:  "He ran.  He ran as fast as he could.  As if Hell itself were chasing him.  As if his life depended on it."

Rating

"There are some odd things about Nate's new apartment.

"Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn't perfect, it's livable. The rent is love, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don't nag at him too much.

"At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela's apartment. And Tim's. And Veek's.

"Because every room in his old Los Angeles brownstone has a mystery or two. Mysteries that stretch back over a hundred years. Some of them are in plain sight. Some are behind locked doors. And all together these mysteries could mean the end of Nate and his friends.

"Or the end of everything . . ."

~ Jacket copy

My bother has been pestering me to read this book since he got it on Audible.  Honestly, I wasn't sure what the hype was about.  After listening to the first 20 minutes of it and the ceaseless pestering, I finally decided to ILL it from the local library.  And once I started, the book would not leave my hand!

This book is hard to quantify without giving away the entire plot.  In a nutshell, it is a mystery!  After finding a fairly cheap apartment with a good view in downtown L.A., Nate keeps his head down and just plugs away at his life as data entry.  However, he starts noticing odd things about his apartment building . . .

Wow! This book is amazing, time consuming, and ineffable!  My brother did a great thing forcing me to read 14.  Being an avid reader, it is easy to pick up on a plot because, at some level, you've seen it before.  Clines was able—at some level—to keep me guessing and on the edge of my seat.  However, when I was able to put the pieces together, it felt akin to an Earth-shattering accomplishment and a little surprise just for me.  And the reward was great!

Clines created a well crafted story with a unique plot line, believable characters, and a good all around mystery.  While it encompasses the sci-fi genre perfectly, it is set in modern-day L.A.  At the onset, it has the elements of a classic horror novel; however, little things like the cockroaches make the reader start to wonder.  He does a marvelous job making his audience question what's really happening along with the characters.

This book is extremely hard to discuss without giving away the surprise.  It is similar to discovering your Christmas presents in mom and dad's closet and trying to feign surprise when you finally open them.  It would be wonderful to talk about, but ruining that mystery for future readers is inexcusable.  This is a book you should not miss!

Book Review — Penpal

Title:  Penpal
Author:  Dathan Auerbach
Genre:  Horror/Mystery
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 238
Publisher:  1000Vultures
ISBN:  978-0-9855455-0-5
Opening Lines:  "When I was younger, I took a job at a deli that had what the owner called an 'ice cream buffet.'  On Thursdays, children would get a free ice cream cone with their meals, and they could pick any one of the fifteen flavors we had."."

Rating

"In an attempt to make sense of his own mysterious and unsettling childhood memories, a man begins to reconstruct his past. As the games and adventures of his youth become engulfed by a larger story, he finds that it forms a tapestry of unbelievable horror that he never could have expected.

"Each chapter completes a different piece of the puzzle for both you and the narrator, and by the end of it all, you will wish you could forget what he never knew."

~ Jacket copy

Honestly, I have been in the mood for a good horror story.  After really enjoying NOS4A2, I decided to see what Amazon recommended based on that book.  This was one of the books near the top of the list.  Not even sure what I was getting myself into, I decided to ILL it through my local library.

The jacket copy does a better job explaining it than I ever could!  This is one of those books that is hard to explain without giving everything away.

Wow, I'm not even sure how to begin!  This book was a page turner!  I started it late last night, read until my eyes closed, and then finished it today.  Granted, there were extraneous details that I decided to skip over when it got a bit too wordy; however, the book kept me captivated and on the edge of my seat. 

As the jacket copy implies (and something stated near the beginning), the reader doesn't really put the pieces together until nearly the end of the novel.  For me, that wasn't the case.  From the first comment of the balloon adventure, I figured out was had happened and had a very good idea what was going to happen.  That being said, it was still hard to put the book down.

Aside from the fact that it was intensely captivating, I'm not sure what else there is to say about this book.  It definitely pulls at the heart strings and plays on the imaginary nature of childhood.  However, the dark and sinister aspect makes you think about things in a different light. 

Book Review — The Cold Dish

Title:  The Cold Dish
Author:  Craig Johnson
Genre:   Western mystery/contemporary fiction
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 354
Publisher:  Penguin, December 2004
ISBN:  978-0-14-303642-5
Opening Lines:  "'Bob Barnes says they got a dead body out on BLM land.  He's on line one.'"

Rating

"After twenty-four years as sheriff of Wyoming's Absaroka County, Walt Longmire's hopes of finishing out his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years earlier, Cody had been one of four high school boys given suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Somebody, it would seem, is seeking vengeance, and Longmire might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 buffalo rifle.

"With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and a cast of characters both tragic and humorous enough to fill the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all."

~ Jacket copy

After seeing the ads all over the place and realizing it took place in Wyoming, I did a marathon session of Longmire season one in hopes of catching season two at the get-go.  And imagine my surprise when I discovered it was a series written by an author in Ucross, Wyo.!  Of course, I wanted to read the books; however, buying more novels was really not in my budget.  Unfortunately, Craig Johnson came to our local bookstore for a Q&A session and a book signing.  Since my parents were back in Wyo. visiting and I had gotten them addicted to Longmire, we all went down to the bookstore, bought the first book, and had them signed.  It was a blast!  And Craig is so funny and very personable!  

Three years after his wife's death, Walt Longmire is look forward to possible retirement.  However, if you ask Vik, his transplant from Philly, he really hasn't been present the last three years.  Whether for good or ill, that all changes when the body of Cody Pritchard is found on BLM land by sheep herders.  After the body had been munched by the animals, shit and pissed on by the sheep, and exposed to the elements, it seemed rather hard to rule it as anything but a hunting accident.  However, after close inspection, they discover Cody was shot with a Sharps Buffalo Rifle, which is a collectible antique.  In addition, an eagle feather was left on the body.  Since Cody was part of a group of boys that raped a Cheyenne girl, Walt wonders whether this murder traces back to the reservation and the girl's relatives.

Walt is in a race against time to find the perp and save the remaining boys from the same fate.  However, even though he is a good sheriff, he struggles with the fact that the boys got off with hardly a slap on the wrist.  And there isn't a person in town, including his best friend, who wouldn't have wanted the boys dead.

This was a very interesting start to the series.  I wasn't expecting it the tackle such a huge issue as the rape of a girl with fetal alcohol syndrome.  Further, the hatred of the boys in the town and on the Rez was another big issue to deal with.  Honestly, the author did a good job in handling it.

Walt is a really good, down-to-earth character.  For me, he really seemed like an "every man" in a lot of ways.  He has been the sheriff of a small town for a long time, dealing with the death of his wife, and his daughter lives across the country.  Even though he went to school in California and served in Vietnam, he is still a small town man.  And, to be honest, that is what I like about him.  The author did a wonderful job of capturing the Wyoming native/cowboy.  It was obvious he knew his stuff and was very familiar with the lifestyle out here.

Aside from Walt, Henry practically made the book.  Their relationship, friendly bantering, and Henry's diction had me continue reading.  He is marvelously hilarious!  Plus, it takes a saint to be able to put up with Walt the way he does.  I cannot wait to see more of this character.

The storyline was definitely engaging, and it took me by surprise when we finally find out the identity of the perp.  That being said, I felt it was too loose a fit for who it turns out to be.  Without giving anything away, it is really hard to discuss.  Also, even though the spiritual elements were interesting in relation to the Sharps Buffalo Rifle, it seemed to come out of the blue and rather extraneous while Walt is trying to save George and Henry.  I found myself skipping large sections of text because it just drug on.  Plus, it felt as though Walt was tripping on some heavy narcotics.  And, because it's my biggest pet peeve, there were editing issues.  It didn't distract from the book, but another round of editing would have helped.

After listening to Craig Johnson speak and watching Longmire, I am very curious to see how the series progresses.  It is wonderful to read a book about the state I grew up in and will always love as my home!  He is able to really capture the beauty, magic, and lifestyle of Wyo., and that is refreshing.  

Current Pages: 8836
Current Progress:

31/50 books

Book Review — Grim

Title:  Grim
Author:  Joseph Spencer
Genre:  Mystery/supernatural suspense
Published:  September 1, 2012
Publisher:  Damnation Books, LLC
ISBN-10:   1615727531
Rating:

"When everything is taken from him, Detective Adam White must choose what’s most important. Does he stick to the heroic ideals which made him a famed paragon of justice and take down a murderous madman? Or does he give in to his vigilante impulses, avenge his wife’s murder, and become the type of killer he’s hunted for so many years?"

~ Goodreads

I heard about this book as part of a book tour. Since I like serial killers and a good murder mystery, this book seemed like a winner!

Honestly, even after reading the book, I am not entirely clear what it was really and truly about. What I know is that a series of murders are happening that appear to be in the style of an old mob killer. However, according to all reports, the hitman is dead. The police department’s poster boy, Adam White, is on the case. His investigation leads him to Heath Grim, the masked and disfigured owner of the apartments across from the crime scene. This tangled mess of a story involves two warring mob families, death, horrible violence, and the supernatural.

I’m not even sure where to start with this book. The idea was interesting; however, that’s where it stopped. The beginning was rather engaging. Unfortunately, it went from meh to ugh pretty quickly. It might be easier to break it down.

The Good

• The whole serial killer angle was a big draw 
• I like the supernatural element that was behind a lot of the motives
• The casino game near the end was well played 
• The use of masks was an interesting idea

The Bad

• Voorhees and Myers cross streets in front of Grim’s apartment complex was way too obvious. Further, on the next page, White compared Grim to Jason Voorhees. In addition, the stripper being named Gemma Jamerson was a *facepalm* moment. And, sadly, that isn’t the worst of it. The author makes pop culture references to Batman, movies, and so on; however, he suddenly changes the name of well known comic book characters, movie titles, and an actress. Why? I’m sorry, but that was just way too much for me. 
• There were a lot of inconsistencies throughout the book. One of them was Grim’s Rosacea. On one page, he says that it appear a few years ago and doctors didn’t know why; however, on the very next page, he tells White that he has battled with it his whole life. Huh?
• Bruno’s cussing was too much. While I understand a character cussing like a sailor, when it interrupts the flow and halts the reader, it is way too much. 
• As the book neared its conclusion, I found myself heavily reminded of The Dark Knight and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Grim, in a weird fashion, was an archetype of Bruce Wayne: his parents were taken from him, he lost someone dear to him, made a bargain to get revenge, and acted as a masked vigilante. And, if Grim was Bruce Wayne, Adam White was Harvey Dent. Along with the Batman theme, Grim’s comment about his girlfriend thinking he didn’t smile enough was just like Joker. As far as Red Dragon, the split personality/possession reminded me of Francis Dolarhyde.
• I didn’t like the pacing of the book. 

All in all, I just didn’t like Grim. For me, it really wasn’t original and pulled too much from other sources. In addition, the grammar really tripped me up. I think, given some time and work, it might be better. Unfortunately, at this point, it felt like ripping teeth to finish the book, and it didn’t do it for me. Further, some of the violence seemed a little too over the top.

Book Review — The Tomb

Title:  The Tomb
Author:  F. Paul Wilson
Genre:  Horror
Pages:  Paperback, 404
Published:  November 1984
Publisher:  A Berkley Book
ISBN:  0-425-07295-9
Opening Lines:  "Repairman Jack awoke with light in his eyes, white noise in his ears, and an ache in his back."

Rating

"Halfway around the world an evil is emerging from eons of darkness.

"Hungry for human flesh, released to hunt by a demonic power beyond time, beyond reason, beyond even memory.

"Sent to America to fulfill a curse that will seal the fate of a family, a man and the woman he loves, in an unsuspecting city."

~ Jacket copy

When my mother and I were visiting my aunt, we made our customary trip to the local used bookstore.  My mother was talking about a series that my brother had gotten her reading.  However, due to some of the subject matter later in the series, she decided to stop read it.  This, of course, piqued my interested.  Since we were in the used bookstore, I looked up the series and found the first book.  Luckily, I was able to find The Tomb sitting on the shelf at the bookstore!

Even though the whole concept behind the Repairman Jack series was interesting and I love a good horror story, this book ended up sitting on my shelf for a year or so.  Just recently, a lovely author friend of mine reminded me about it by mentioning the newest book in the series.  After reading her e-mail, I jumped off of the couch, ran over to the bookshelf, dusted off the book, and started reading.  However, the reading has been slow going because of life . . .

Repairman Jack is a "fix-it" man.  When there is a problem you cannot fix, you call him.  Getting his name from a contact in the UN, Kusum, an Indian delegate, calls Jack to help him retrieve his grandmother's stolen necklace.  After being rolled by a guy in the alley, Kusum's grandmother is left on the edge of death.  Before he death, he would like her to be reunited with the necklace, a family heirloom.  At the same time, Jack's ex-girlfriend asks him to help find her missing aunt.

Taking on both jobs sends Jack on a weird adventure which spans time, continents, and myth.  He must face internal and external demons in order to figure out these cases.

Unfortunately, it took me awhile to get through this book.  That being said, it was fairly engaging and quite interesting.  I found Jack to be an extremely interesting character, and I would love to know more about his back story.  To keep off of the grid, he turns all of his money into gold and tapes it up in the wall.  Further, even though he is extremely paranoid, he has funny and cute little quirks that make him three dimensional.

For the most part, I found the secondary characters felt a little one-sided.  Gia felt like the typical jilted lover, Kolabati was pretty predictable, Vicky was a stereotype, and so on.  However, even though she wasn't in the book for very long, Nellie was a neat character.  Further, Abe was a little more fleshed out and added an interesting element.

I loved the nature of villain's motivation.  The historical back story, the religious issues involved, and so on, were simply amazing and well done.  The author also has a wonderful grasp of karma and the Vedic religion.  The rakoshi were strange and disturbing monsters, and the twist was unexpected!  However, I wish they were fleshed out a bit more.  I assume that the author wanted them to stay somewhat vague and mysterious.  Unfortunately, in some ways, it kind of worked against him.

This book was a good mystery and had elements of a classic boogeyman horror story.  I think this was a good start to the Repairman Jack series, and it looks like it could turn into something brilliant!  Even though it took be awhile to read it, the pacing was well done, the storyline had twists and turns, and Jack was a well written character.  All in all, this was a fun and enjoyable read.

Current Pages: 3529
Current Progress:

13/50 books

Book Review — The Bone Collector

Title:  The Bone Collector
Author:  Jeffery Deaver
Genre:  Fiction, mystery
Pages:  Hardback, 418
Published:  1997
Publisher:  Penguin Group
ISBN:  0-670-86871-X
Opening Lines:  "She wanted only to sleep."
Rating:

"Lincoln Rhyme, ex-head of NYPD forensics, was the nation's foremost criminalist, the man who could work a crim scene and come away with a perfect profile of the killer, frozen in time. Now, Lincoln is frozen in place—permanently. An accident on the job left him a quadriplegic who can move just one finger, a great mind strapped to his bed, mulish and sarcastic, hiding from a life he no longer wants to live.

"Until he sees the crime-scene report about a corpse found buried on a deserted West Side railroad track, its bloody hand rising from the dirt. It belonged to a man who got into a cab at the airport and never got out. Reluctantly, Lincoln Rhyme abandons retirement to track down a killer whose ingenious clues hold the secret to saving his victims—if Rhyme can decipher them in time.

"The search leads him to the Bone Collector, whose obsession with old New York colors every scrap of evidence he leaves for Rhyme and his new partner, Amelia Sachs, whom he drafts as his arms and legs. But she's never worked a crime scene in her life—and he can only whisper in her ear as she does the exacting work he lvoed more than anything else."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  On my seventeenth birthday, my parents (my mother was rather reluctant) took me to see The Bone Collector.  My mother sat through the whole movie with her hands covering her eyes, and my father and I were riveted.  I loved the movie.  I loved the combination of Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  However, I kind of lost track of the movie.  When HBO started airing it this past December, I decided to read the book.  Luckily, the local library happened to have a copy of the book!  Unfortunately, since I've been battling a nasty virus, it has taken me a long time to actually finish the book.

While walking her last beat, dispatch sends Amelia Sachs to the scene of a supposed crime.  What she finds is a mutilated hand rising from the ground.  Falling back on her academy training, she immediately seals of the area in hopes of preserving the scene and keeping any physical evidence intact.  Since there is a UN conference in NYC, her boss is quick criticize her actions and dismiss her concerns.  However, once the case is brought to retired Lincoln Rhyme, her quick thinking brings her to the forefront of his mind.  And, even though she is a beat cop about to be transferred to Publication Relations, Rhyme wants her to be his arms and legs while walking the grid as they chase an unsub that could be a serial killer.

I loved the character development in the book.  With little things like Amelia's love of fast cars and her nervous habit of picking at her fingers, he was able to make the character believable and three dimensional.  Further, it was neat to see how Rhyme and Amelia were able to grow through the book, and, in some ways, become different/better people.  After suffering from a debilitating accident, Rhyme was struggling with his new role and had a hard time finding a place in his life.  Through the work on the case and his connection with Amelia, he was able to recapture some semblance of life.  It was very neat to see him go through the change.  The way it was written, as a reader, I felt much closer to the character.

The law enforcement jargon was awesome!  When they talked about running prints and car plates through NCIC, I got excited.  After working emergency dispatch for awhile, it was nice to be able recognize some of the lingo and know what they were talking about.  That being said, however, a lot of the things were never fully explained and could easily cause confusion.  Even though Deaver had a lexicon in the back of the book, I felt he didn't do a good job having entries in it to explain all of the things he was discussing through the course of the novel.

The novel was suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat.  Several times I found myself staying up way too late reading "just one more page."  If you're reading this because of the movie, they are different.  Some of the crimes are similar, but there are a lot that were left out of the movie.  The motivation behind the killings is not the same, Amelia has a different last name and looks different, and so on.  That being said, I still loved the book!

Current Pages: 418
Current Progress:

1/50 books

Book Review — Bag of Bones

Title:  Bag of Bones
Author:  Stephen King
Genre:  Mystery/suspense
Pages:  Paperback 732
Published:  1998
Purchase:  Stephen King: Bag of Bones
Opening Lines:  "On a very hot day in August 1994, my wife told me she was going down to the Derry Rite Aid to pick up a refill on her sinus medicine prescription—this is the stuff you can buy over the counter these days, I believe."

"Four years after the sudden death of his wife, forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is still grieving.  Unable to write, and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the western Maine summerhouse he calls Sara Laughs, Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway.  There, he finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, whose vindictive purpose is to take his three-year-old granddaughter, Kyra, away from her widowed young mother, Mattie.  As Mike is drawn into Mattie and Kyra's struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors.  What are the forces that have been unleashed there—and what do they want with Mike Noonan?

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  I originally saw the TV mini-series before venturing into this book.  Like any other King novel, the story is dense, the characters are rich, and the setting is highly important.  With most of his novels, I find myself at a loss trying to explain this one.  There are several different stories happening in the novel; however, they all end up connecting at the end.  And they are all greatly tied to the past.


At the beginning of the novel, Mike is struggling with the death of his wife, Jo.  While making it onto the top 10 bestseller list several times, his fiction has never been a HUGE seller.  He makes enough money for the couple of live comfortably in Derry and own a beautiful lakeside house on the TR-90.  So, after his wife's death, he finds himself struggling with writer's block.  Not wanting to risk his sales falling, his agent pesters him constantly about writing another novel.  Mike candidly tells the audience that some authors tend to save up "nuts" for the winter—the dry season.  Sitting in a safety deposit box, he has four previously written novels.  And, honestly, I have to wonder whether Bag of Bones was one such novel for King.  It lacks the special-something that makes them of of his books.

He spends a lot of time analyzing Mike's writer's block and pissing away four years of his life.  Honestly, I think over the first 100 pages is just following him around in his daze and his fascination with crossword puzzles.  Aside from learning about his saved "nuts" and the writer's block, I'm not sure there is too much worthwhile in the beginning of the book.  To me, the most important things were Jo's death, the discovery made upon her death, the writer's block, and the reoccurring dreams of Sara Laughs.  Which could have easily been cut in half.

Once Mike finally ends up back on the TR-90, he spends tons of time trying to track down Jo's every move before she died in a sick fantasy that she was cheating on him.  During this time, he runs into Kyra and Mattie Devore.  After which, he spends his time trying to cancel out thoughts of his growing lust for Mattie with his newly found writing ability.  During this time, he also discovers that there are strange things happening throughout Sara Laughs and with the TR-90.  And some of them revolve around Jo.

From things said by the caretaker of Sara Laughs, Jo was writing some sort of local history.  He is extremely curious about this and decides it will have some clue as to the ghostly occurrences in the house.  However, even though he is obsessed with finding these documents, he never looks for them!  He has a strong feeling that they are in her studio—where he previously found his old typewriter—but he never ventures back in to search for these documents.  When he learns from he brother that she truly did know what was happening, he still does not take the time to find them.  This seemed rather weird to me.  Also, the amount of time he spent worrying about the owls never turned into anything.  If he is concerned about them and the caretaker tells him to locate them, why does he just sit on his thumbs and do nothing?

On top of all this, the book just took too long.  He didn't figure out what was happening until 20-40 pages from the end.  It was frustrating to read 732 pages of a book that could have been half of that.

All of this aside, however, I generally enjoyed the book.  The back story was very interesting, and I loved the characters of Mattie and Kyra.  King did a wonderful job filling out their relationship and showing the love between mother and daughter.  Further, the setting was brilliant!  If you have ever read any of his books, you know that the setting is always important.  During the storm at the end of the book, I found myself constantly fearing that our 55+ mph winds would end up in a nasty storm.  It is simply amazing how he is able to make such benign things—weather, towns, etc.—into fully developed characters.

As far as his books go, this one was not my favorite.  It did not live up to my expectations.  While it was entertaining, I felt I really missed out on the King-experience I was desiring.   


Rating:
Currently: The Demon of Renaissance Drive by Elizabeth Reuter
Current Pages: 8877
Current Progress:

23/50 books

Book Review -- Ghost Shadow

Title:  Ghost Shadow
Author:  Heather Graham
Genre:  Mystery/suspense
Pages:  Paperback 351
Published:  2010
Opening Lines:  "The blue light made the hallway dark and eerie, though just beyond the doors to the museum, the magic sunlight of the island glowed upon tourists and the few locals who considered early morning to be a time before noon."

"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 fiancee's murder?

"Worse—the body count's rising on the Island of Bones, and the 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 . . ."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  After finishing Deadly Night, I couldn't get enough of Heather Graham's storytelling.  Unfortunately, our local bookstore didn't have the next in the series, so I ended up grabbing this one.  The whole concept of seeing/talking to dead people can prove to be extremely creepy, which is what I was looking for.  

I have not read anymore of her books, so my knowledge is somewhat limited.  That being said, however, I feel as though all of her characters are cut from the same cloth.  Her male lead is the classic Byronic hero—tall, dark, handsome, and brooding—and have a seemingly tough exterior.  However, once the female lead starts to find that the man is actually a lot more sensitive and "sensual."  Further, the female leads always in their 20s, own their own business, have some connection to the murder/mystery, and have some sort of supernatural power that allows them to figure out the crime.  Due to that, her character seem rather flat.  However, they all have a unique back-story outside of the main plot line, which gives them some three-dimensional depth.  Along those lines, I don't feel that there is enough time for full character development.  Yes they are dealing with a crazy occurrence, but they don't seem to change after all is said and done.  It feels more like a snapshot of on section of their life. And, for the most part, all of the characters seem to know each other, be friends, or passing acquaintances.

The books tend to jump around in the POV.  It is all a third person; however, it transfers between the killer and the two leads.  At times, it is hard to delineate between the characters because their voices are so similar.  

As with Deadly Night, the major theme is history and local legend.  From the timeline at the beginning of the novel, the theme was already set.  In some ways, theme was quite unique (mostly in how she chose to play it out); however, in relation to her other other, it was predictable.

For the most part, the plot is extremely formulaic.  It follows the typical story arc without doing anything original.  And, in comparison to Deadly Night, it was already plotted out and known.  For this reason, the antagonist was easily guessed or identified.

As for the sub-plots, yes.  As with the last book, the sub-plot follows the budding romance between the make and female lead.  This sub-plot also follows the main arc hand-in-hand.

In this book, she uses a lot of symbolism.  The staging of the murders, to me, felt as though she was pointing to something larger.  Unfortunately, I don't think she really followed it through.  Deliberately using the Tanzler/De Hoyos and Robert the Doll stories felt as though she was really opening up for something.  Sadly, it just didn't happen.

As with the other book, she is very, very focused on her setting.  She relies heavily on the local history and legends.  Without the setting, I honestly don't think the book would work.  In a lot of ways, I think the setting is as much a character as anything else.  In some ways, more so.

Another thing that I noted was how heavily she relies on law enforcement.  Well it lends a credible/more realistic twist to the books, I wonder whether it has become a crutch.  Further, it almost appears as though she has written herself into a corner.

While there are issues with the book, I did end up enjoying it.  The rich history and the setting made me desire to jump on a plane and head to Key West!  Even though the books are predictable, they are still fun, fast paced, and entertaining.  I find myself getting fully caught up in the story and not wanting to put it down.  In fact, I have another of her books sitting on my coffee table waiting to be read ^_^


Rating:
Currently: Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham
Current Pages: 7700
Current Progress:

21/50 books

Book Review — Deadly Night

Title:  Deadly Night
Author:  Heather Graham
Genre:  Horror/Mystery
Pages:  Paperback 389
Published:  2008
Opening Lines:  "It was there . . ."

"Aiden Flynn, a private investigator and the eldest of the Flynn brothers, scoffs at the haunted-house rumors—especially since Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader who has been living in the mansion, is the one to tell him the tale of the woman in white.  But when he finds a human bone on the grounds and another by the river, Aiden delves into the dark history of the Flynn Mansion.

"Foced together to uncover the truth, Aiden and Kendall realize that a serial killer whose victims seem to vanish into thin air has long been at work . . . and their own fates are about to be seated forever unless they believe in the unbelievable."

~ Jacket Copy

Thoughts:  I have picked up Heather Graham's books quite a few times.  However, there was some other book that I planned on buying.  When my hubby and I went down to the used bookstore, a few of her books were sitting on the shelf.  After a lot of time reading the backs, I decided to give this series a try.

The book starts out switching between the War of Northern Aggression and present.  In the past, cousins on different sides of the war end up killing each other while trying to protect the same woman.  However, the present follows a young woman who was lured out to the mansion on the pretense of new historical information.  Unfortunately, she was lured by the serial killer.  At this point, the story picks up Aiden and Kendall's storyline.

The Flynn brothers end up in New Orleans when the learn that they have inherited an antebellum from a relative they never knew existed.  Due to this, they end up meeting Kendall, a local tarot reader and their aunt's caretaker.  And, honestly, the book gets way to complicated to explain.

I found the character development of Aiden was central to the plot.  He starts out as a hardcore former-FBO agent.  However, through his work with Kendall, he ends up melting.  Granted, it is made clear that his rough exterior is more than likely due to the death of his wife.  Even with that in mind, I felt the author did a good job portraying this without going over the top and 'poor me.'  Kendall was also an interesting character.  The fact that she had a degree in psychology and was a tarot reader was absolutely hilarious to me!  It was an interesting play.  However, throwing int he curve balls was perfect!

The setting was awesome!  I have wanted to visit New Orleans for years, so I was quick to tear through this book! Living in Wyoming, I'm used to a Halloween blanketed in snow.  The fact that they were able to still enjoy time outside was a very well thought out detail.

I ended up really enjoying this book.  I found myself in the couch spending most of the day reading this.  It was hard to put down.  And, I admit, there were some seriously creepy elements in this story!  Which, for me, is always a plus!   


Rating:
Currently: Still trying to decide . . .
Current Pages: 7349
Current Progress:

20/50 books