Heart of Evil (Krewe of Hunters 2)- Heather Graham
Publisher: MIRA Books
Ecopy courtesy of netgalley and Mira Books
Released 28th June 2011
SOME SECRETS REFUSE TO STAY BURIED... 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 fl ame, 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.…
This is the second book following the special task force investigating crimes through the use of logic and feelings or the ‘Krewe of Hunters’ as they call themselves. This time the book concentrates heavily on Jake Mallory and his old flame Ashley Donegal and I was disappointed that the other members of the Krewe are not big players in this book – in fact it’s pretty much a two hander between Jake and Ashley with cameos by Angela and Jackson. The others are barely mentioned! This meant it lacked the camaraderie of Phantom Evil of a team investigating a crime and while I did like Jake and Ashley as characters I didn’t feel as invested in them as I did in Angela and Jackson previously.
The crime features heavily on the American civil war which I have to confess I know very little about – it’s exactly taught in British schools! So I was a little confused in the first few chapters with the historical detail, vast number of characters that were introduced during the re-enactment, but soon it settled down and focused on the relationship between Jake and Ashley. It was quite sweet the way they re-connected after years apart and liked that Ashley wasn’t afraid to make a move on Jake. Jake was a real southern gentleman – and I have to admit to a little crush on him!
As for the crime the suspects weren’t particularly developed and I found it difficult to tell the difference between them. This meant I didn’t spend much time trying to figure out who was behind it. However, the ghost element in the story worked well with Marshall Donegal making a real impact. Overall, this was sweet love story, with some ghosts but a disappointing crime and I missed the supporting characters!
Recommended for fans of Nora Roberts and Suza Kates. 6 out of 10
Agh, that really bugs me to when you get addicted to characters in a series but the following books don't really feature all the characters, they just kind of fade to black and that's so sad. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm not really much of a crime thriller reader, but I love me Southern Gentlemen. Jake sound dreamy. :)
Meh, not my genre. But nice review and you know I always like the end where you recommend it to peeps who liked this and that
ReplyDeleteLOL I don't know if you can say the civil war is taught in American schools. ;) Doesn't sound too bad with a ghost element and a gentleman so it might be fine for something to read for the summer.
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