10 June 2010

Review: GHOST SHADOW, Heather Graham

Book Details
Publisher:      Harlequin
Imprint:         Mira
Pub Date:      29 June 2010
ISBN:         9780778327912

I read this on my Kindle courtesy of a review copy supplied by the publisher through Net Galley.

Blurb from author's site:

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 MacDonald 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, 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…. 

The night that David Beckett filled in as a tour guide for Danny Zigler, the weekend tour host, tour participants got rather more than they bargained for. The authentic and detailed tableau they came upon showed Carl Tanzler and a young Cuban woman named Elena de Hoyas. Except that there was a real body there - that of David's ex-fiance Tanya.

Ten years on. The police rejected David as Tanya's murderer but the case was never solved. Now David, Tanya's brother Sam, and Tanya's ex-boyfriend are all back in town, and the murderer strikes again!

Heather Graham draws a long bow with the paranormal. You won't enjoy GHOST SHADOW if you can't tolerate a ghost or two. In fact the tourism industry in Key West thrives on them. Throw in a lynched privateer who is determined to right past wrongs, and Katie MacDonald who can not only see him but talks to him and to others more recently slain. The paranormal is not my usual cup of tea but the story was sufficiently intriguing to keep me reading.

My rating: 4.2

GHOST SHADOW is the first of a trilogy, all set in Key West (The Island of Bones) and all to be published within a very short time frame, just a month apart, June to August 2010. The books appear to be connected by characters in common.

Heather Graham is a prolific author, writing also as Shannon Drake, and Heather Graham Pozzessere. Her books are characterised by romantic suspense, historical settings, and paranormal elements.

8 comments:

Jose Ignacio Escribano said...

Kerrie, Nice post, but the book doesn't sound very appealling to me.

Deb said...

I read a number of her romance novels back in the 1980s which were published under the name Heather Graham Pozzessere. Several of them involved ghosts or the paranormal. I didn't realize she was also writing mysteries.

On the whole, I think living humans can provide enough mystery without having to bring in a ghost to liven (ha-ha) things up!

Kerrie said...

No Jose, I agree, probably not your cup of tea.

Kerrie said...

Deb, there's still a romance element in the mysteries too

Anonymous said...

Kerrie - Thanks for this review, as always. I'm not generally one for the paranormal, so I'm not sure I'd read this, but I'm glad you liked it well enough to stay interested in it.

Bernadette said...

Not quite my cup of tea but glad you found enough to keep you entertained

Kerrie Smith said...

No, I don't think you would particularly like this book Margot, but she is a very prolific author. The mind boggles at the output. Fancy releasing 3 books a month apart!

Kerrie Smith said...

No, not your cup of tea at all Bernadette, although the mystery element is quite well done.

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