Paranormal

Heart of Evil
Rating: 3 Stars

When a man is found murdered following a civil war reenactment, Ashley Donegal seeks the help of an old flame, Jake Mallory, a member of the FBI's paranormal investigative unit. It soon becomes clear that a madman with a grudge is on the rampage and Ashley and her family are his target.

The idea of a killer with a historic score to settle is interesting and constitutes a strong foundation for the story. Nevertheless, the plot is poorly executed. The prologue provides no preliminary information and could easily have been another chapter. The division into chapters is problematic in the sense that the narrative begins from the POV of one character and switches to another in the same chapter with no warning, which can be confusing at times.

The characters are like cardboard cutouts and their characterization lacks substance. Even though the romantic couple has more of a connection than the pair in the first book; there is still a serious absence of chemistry in their relationship. The secondary characters are not sufficiently developed and the suspects are merely candidates for a police line-up. Very few clues are provided for the reader to follow, and the villain is ultimately revealed after everyone else is either killed or has an alibi. I would like to point out that I enjoyed the plot in this book more than in the first.

Ms. Graham has many fans out there. Unfortunately, I am beginning to suspect that her writing is not for me as I do not enjoy having the story spoon-fed to me as if I am unable to follow a narrative thread.

Heart of Evil is scheduled for release on June 28, 2011. An advance copy of the book was provided to me for review by the publisher and NetGalley.com. ( )

Heart of Evil
Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:
When a man is found murdered following a civil war reenactment, Ashley Donegal seeks the help of an old flame, Jake Mallory, a member of the FBI's paranormal investigative unit. It soon becomes clear that a madman with a grudge is on the rampage and Ashley and her family are his target.

Review:
The idea of a killer with a historic score to settle is interesting and constitutes a strong foundation for the story. Nevertheless, the plot is poorly executed. The prologue provides no preliminary information and could easily have been another chapter. The division into chapters is problematic in the sense that the narrative begins from the POV of one character and switches to another in the same chapter with no warning, which can be confusing at times.

The characters are like cardboard cutouts and their characterization lacks substance. Even though the romantic couple has more of a connection than the pair in the first book; there is still a serious absence of chemistry in their relationship. The secondary characters are not sufficiently developed and the suspects are merely candidates for a police line-up. Very few clues are provided for the reader to follow, and the villain is ultimately revealed after everyone else is either killed or has an alibi. I would like to point out that I enjoyed the plot in this book more than in the first.

Ms. Graham has many fans out there. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. Her writing does not appeal to me as I do not enjoy having the story spoon fed to me as if I am unable to follow a narrative thread.

I can only recommend this for Graham devotees but I will not be continuing with the series.

Heart of Evil is scheduled for release on June 28, 2011. An advance copy of the book was provided to me for review by the publisher and NetGalley.com. ( )

Set in modern times, Heart of Evil is a paranormal murder mystery that stretches back to the Civil War. Set at Donegal Plantation, Ashley Donegal is trying to make ends meet and keep the plantation alive by converting it to a bed and breakfast and having an annual Civil War reenactment. During the reenactment, the actor playing the role of her ancestor Marshall Donegal is killed in a gruesome manner. A paranormal investigation team that includes her old flame, Jake Mallory, is brought in to investigate. Also helping to investigate are the ghosts of Marshall Donegal and his wife. The murder turns out to be a series of murders all centering around what happened over 150 years earlier.

I liked how this novel incorporated historical events, both with the Civil War reenactment, and how the events of the past tied in to the present day murders. It was cleverly done with a supernatural component mixed into it. As for the mystery aspect, the unveiling of the killer surprised me yet remained logical and well thought out. I was less impressed with the romance element between Ashley and Jake, which seemed generic and didn’t do too much to move me. The Krewe of Hunters team was interesting, and I thought more could be done with this cast of characters. All in all, this was a fun read that I would recommend.

Carl Alves – author of Conjesero ( )

This story of history, ghosts, and love reunited drew me in quickly and kept my attention throughout. There is nothing like a serial killer doing a vengeful ghost's bidding to bring back together two people who were separated because of their opposing views on the existence of such paranormal entities. How is that for an original plotline?

The setting came through beautifully through rich descriptions of the plantation and cemetery along with the rich history of the place. The setting of a civil war reenactment was very clever especially when you have modern day people playing the ghosts walking among them. Again, the story was so nicely layered, giving it a full plot. I highly recommend this novel, even if you haven't read the first in the series. It has a little something for everyone: history buffs, romance addicts, ( )