Heather Graham (1)Besprekingen

A great start to the Blackbird Trilogy within the Krewe of Hunters series. I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy to see which cities they travel to next to try and stop the killers.

Romance

Paranormal

Murder

Crime

Thriller

Mystery

Mystery

I liked the characters and the story.

I really liked the story and all the characters. I couldn't figure out who did it until the end. A very pleasant book to read.

Nat: libro di facile lettura, storia e personaggi interessanti. Ambientato in una scuola di danza

In this novella we get to see Jon and his wife Kylie again when they end up in Salem trying to help solve a mystery and help a friend out. There are a lot of twists, turns, and unsuspecting moments but that is expected when you have The Krewe members around. I don’t want to give too much away because the readers should experience the suspense themselves and enjoy the ride. It has the perfect combination of paranormal and suspense. A fun way to kick off the Halloween Season.

I always enjoy a Krewe of Hunters book, and while they all have more than a few things in common, one of the things that separates them is the setting and all the historical facts that are sprinkled in about that place. The Night is Forever takes place somewhere outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and because of this rather vague location, I didn't feel like I got the usual historical tidbits I look forward to reading, but the story itself takes place on The Horse Farm, "a facility that assists patients with mental and physical recovery." Olivia Gordon works at this facility, and when her boss, a recovering addict, turns up dead with drugs in his system, she seems to be the only one who doesn't buy this story. She calls her cousin, Malachi, a member of the Krewe, who sends in Dustin Blake to investigate to see if there's anything to her suspicions.

This series of paranormal mysteries/romances doesn't disappoint and is always fun to read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, and continue to recommend it.

4/5 stars

I am generally not against slow plot development.
I don't need constant fast-paced action but I want the stuff I read to be at least somewhat interesting.
Up to 2/5th of the book (where I dnfed) there literally happens nothing. We don't learn anything interesting.
We are just in constantly repeating dialogue turning in circles.
Ghosts can't exist but everyone has personal experience to the contrary but they really can't exist because ghosts don't exist.
No, it couldn't have been Ghosts. There are Ghosts here but they are not evil. They can't be responsible because they are not evil but then ghosts don't exist so it must have been a human.
Voodoo is not evil but it can be evil but it really isn't but sometimes it is.
On and on and on.
You probably could half the page number just by removing all the repetition.
Apart from that everyone is constantly patting each other's back on how educated and great people they all are.
The only thing that actually happened was a bad case of instalust/love. But because everything was so incredibly dragged out and slow it didn't seem that bad. It really felt like they knew each other for ages which usually is a good thing but in this case, wasn't an achievement but a failing.
Only 2 days passed in the entirety I've read so far. That's roughly 80 pages per day.

Maybe the payoff is worth it eventually but I really feel like this book is just stealing my time.

Received in ebook format from www.netgalley.com.

This novel is set during the American Civil War and I believe one (the first?) in a trilogy about the Camerons, who are wealthy Virginia plantation family, along with some of the people they grow up with - such as Kiernan Mackay. Most of this novel is told from the point of view of Kiernan, who has grown up motherless, and therefore the apple of her father's eye and able to get away with more than other women of her class and age. She has become spirited and beautiful and has loved the oldest Cameron brother, Jesse, for most of her life.

The Camerons find their loyalties divided when the Civil War breaks out. Jesse and Kiernan end up as lovers, only to find themselves on opposite sides of the divide when Virginia secedes from the Union. Neither is willing to compromise on their convictions.

Jesse, who trained to be a doctor and has joined the army, leaves Kiernan behind in the little town of Harper's Ferry, which is about to find itself in the middle of a tug-of-war between the Union and the Confederacy. She marries Anthony Millar, on his way to fight, who gets killed before the marriage gets very far. Over the next few years, war throws Jessie and Kiernan back together, which means both of them begin to question their ideals, their loyalities, and their feelings for each other.

The book has an interesting plot setting in that it starts with the threatened burning of Kiernan's house - to be interrupted by Jesse's timely arrival. It immediately slips back a few years previously to help set up Kiernan's relationship both with Jesse and her husband Anthony.

There are several sex scenes, of a relatively explicit nature, all outside of marriage, so this book is to be avoided if these scenes are not enjoyed. Kiernan in particular is a bit more headstrong than I like - not sure she compares particularly well to Scarlett O'Hara.

In Summary: I did enjoy this book, it has an advantage of not being entirely formulaic in structure or story line, and the primary characters are interesting

I'm a huge fan of Heather Graham's Krewe of Hunters series and always look forward to reading one. The Night is Alive is set in one of my all time favorite places to visit, Savannah, Georgia, so this one already had that going for it. What absolutely hooked me was the addition of pirates! Yes, pirates! As with the other Krewe books, The Night is Alive included little bits and bobs of interesting historical facts about Savannah during the mid-1700s. In present day Savannah, though, we have Abby Anderson, a recent FBI graduate, who receives a cryptic call from her grandfather asking her to come home, but when she gets there, she finds him dead, She tries to convince the local police that her grandfather was murdered, but when they won't listen, she contacts the FBI's notorious Krewe of Hunters, who send FBI Consultant Malachi Gordon to investigate. When more people turn up dead, it becomes even more urgent to solve this puzzle before the list grows even longer.

I enjoyed the romance between Abby and Malachi but felt it was a bit rushed. The mystery was interesting, and although I ended up figuring out who the murderer was before the end, the why and how were a surprise.

All in all, I enjoyed The Night is Alive and look forward to continuing with the series.

4/5 stares.

The plot sounded interesting: mummies, curses, talking to dead people. I stuck with it and I guess I was just being stubborn because the book only got worse. Poor writing, poor dialog, boring characters....I'd never read this author and I won't be reading anymore by her.

This book combines 3 of my favorite genres - paranormal, romance, and history - so is it any wonder I loved it! Heather Graham weaves history into her books depending on where they are set, and this one was set in Philadelphia, so we got a lot of information on Philadelphia that I didn't know. Of course there were ghosts, and docent Allison Leigh thought she was going crazy when a friend of hers, who died in the mansion, started following her around, trying to talk to her. One of the members of the board called in the Krewe of Hunters to get to the bottom of things, and they sent a private detective who is consulting with them for this case, Tyler Montague. Allison doesn't take to Tyler at all, but is tasked with helping him because she is an expert on the history of the house. Not long after that, another friend of Allison's, and a member of the board, dies under mysterious circumstances, so there is a sense of urgency to solve the case, especially when it appears that Allison is being targeted by the killer.

One thing I really liked about this book was the way the romance developed slower than in some of the other books in this series, so it felt more natural. The mystery was interesting, and the pacing was very well done. The characters were likable and relatable, and the setting was described in detail, which was appreciated. The conclusion was satisfying, as well.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much, and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

5/5 stars.

One Wore Blue starts off with Southern belle Kiernan Miller living in Virginia about one year before the American Civil War begins. Kiernan’s childhood friend Jesse Cameron is a doctor who has decided to join the Union army as a field medic when the war breaks out. His younger brother Daniel will fight for the South, they are both West Point grads. Kiernan and the Cameron brothers grew up together and there are sparks between Kieran and Jesse now as adults.

The story mainly centers around Kiernan and Jessie and the war that separates them. Kiernan is hell bent on rooting for the Southern cause, while Jessie sympathizes with the North. The author uses this as the main conflict in their relationship.

Author Heather Graham infuses actual places and people pertaining to the Civil War into her storyline and I really enjoyed that the most.

Historical details are seamlessly blended in throughout, so you are getting facts about the Civil War while reading. There’s mention of the different battles and skirmishes all throughout the storyline and you see Jessie working as a doctor trying to save the lives of both Northern and Southern soldiers. The story moved on along pretty quickly and the supporting characters dove in and out of the storyline well. The ending wraps it all up nicely and the next book features Jessie’s younger brother Daniel. I have the second book and will definitely be reading it.

All in all, I found One Wore Blue to be a fun, historical romance heavy on the history aspect and set during the Civil War era. The blurb says it all…“Her Rebel Spirit Defied his Yankee Soul”. I was really impressed by the attention to historical detail and the southern backdrop. I recommend this one if you enjoy Civil War history and romance.
https://bookwormnai.wordpress.com/2023/09/01/one-wore-blue-by-heather-graham/

I don't like kidnappings and protagonists falling in love with their kidnappers. I should have checked the date on this when I checked it out of the library. It's from 1986 and a bit 80's rapey.

Stephan Dante has escaped from prison. Della and Mason are absolutely horrified. They are very familiar with Dante, “the vampire killer”. His cruelty and inhumanity is like nothing else these FBI agents have ever come across. They know he must be found quickly or there will be deadly consequences.

I have been reading this author since I was in high school. She has been a staple in my reading life for years. But, this is not my favorite series. It just seems too simple and predictable.

But, dang if she did not teach me quite a few things about Scotland and it’s lore. I very much enjoyed the weaving in of all the old superstitions and legacy’s surrounding the history of this country.

Need a quick serial killer chase…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Disappointing - not what I expected. It was a highschool sci-fi

This was my least favorite out of the series so far. It started strong and pulled me right in...it had great potential. But I definitely lost interest relatively quickly. There was just WAY to much history in this book. Ancient history, Norse history, New York history...you name it, they talked about it. The story was slowed down by all the history exposition. The caves and island were really interesting, and had the potential to be a much stronger part of the story. The first three books were definitely slow burns for me, and this started out good but turned into a slow burn, too. I felt like the story just creeped along at a snail's pace. There was no Finnegan's on Broadway in this one, since it was set on Douglas Island, but Danny made a very strong appearance.

All in all, not a terrible book, although it left a little to be desired. I usually give the books in this series three stars, but I really had the hardest time getting through this one. But if you enjoyed the first three books or like a stubborn, always-getting-herself-into-a-pickle heroine, then by all means read this book.

*I've noticed slight editing errors in each book, but this one definitely had one glaring error. While Kieran and Craig were in the bedroom, it said that Finn (Craig's cousin) took off his clothes to join Kieran...please, if the editors or publishers are reading this, hire me to do your editing.*

The final book in the Kieran and Craig series. As always, it was a slow start and it didn't really seem to keep my attention for very long at one time. It took longer to get through this than it should have. It was like one of those riddles where you have to figure out how the killer did it because all the doors and windows were locked from the inside and you don't know how they got in and out. It was a great concept, but the story also got away from that with the serial killer who goes after people he thinks are "witches." Pulling everything together took some twists and turns that I'm not completely sure I understood at the end. I don't want to give away spoilers, so I won't put my questions here but I don't completely understand how the end came together on this one.

All in all, if you enjoyed the rest of the series, or are a fan of Heather Graham in general, then by all means read this. It's an okay book, just not the best I've ever read.

Another fun caper with Kieran Finnegan and Special Agent Craig Frasier. It was definitely a slow burn for me, but once the story really got going, it really stepped up. There was less focus on the Finnegan family and pub in this book but there is still enough to make you feel like you're one of them. Heather Graham adds a bit of NY history to her stories, so you feel like you're learning things and are a true New Yorker. There was a lot of interaction between the various law enforcement groups, and early on I was very suspicious of one of them. I ended up being wrong, but that's what these books do...they keep you guessing until the very end. These books never fail to have twists and turns, red herrings, and puzzle pieces that don't go together until the last second.

All in all, a great addition to the NY Confidential series. Graham never disappoints. If you like a stubborn, does what she wants female protagonist who goes all-in no matter the consequences, along with suspense, murder, and romance, then you will enjoy this series. For fans of Christina Dodd or Karin Slaughter.