Haunted Be the Holidays ( A Krewe of Hunters/ 1001 Dark Nights) by Heather Graham-Review & Excerpt Tour

Haunted Be the Holidays (A Krewe of Hunters / 1001 Dark Nights) by Heather Graham-Review & Excerpt Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 30, 2018

When you’re looking for the victim of a mysterious murder in a theater, there is nothing like calling on a dead diva for help! Krewe members must find the victim if they’re to discover the identity of a murderer at large, one more than willing to kill the performers when he doesn’t like the show.

It’s Halloween at the Global Tower Theatre, a fantastic and historic theater owned by Adam Harrison and run by spouses of Krewe members. During a special performance, a strange actor makes an appearance in the middle of the show, warning of dire events if his murder is not solved before another holiday rolls around.

Dakota McCoy and Brodie McFadden dive into the mystery. Both have a
special talent for dealing with ghosts, but this one is proving elusive. With the help of Brodie’s diva mother and his ever-patient father – who were killed together when a stage chandelier fell upon them – Dakota and Brodie set out to solve the case.

If they can’t solve the murder quickly, there will be no Thanksgiving for the Krewe .

•••••••••

REVIEW: This is part of a series, and I must admit I’ve not read the previous books. So I went on Heather Graham’s website to get a little back ground …..

Secrets, ghosts and witchcraft! Join the Krewe of Hunters, an elite FBI unit of paranormal investigators, as they delve into the past to right the wrongs of the present.

Echoes of evil is the book that Dakota and Brodie meet, so this an extra. And reading we do catch up on previous couples (who I don’t know about !!)

But after catching us up, the action is practically nonstop.

My feeling is that you really need to read Echos of Evil, this feels like a snippet of their lives, and I like to know more.

But saying that, it’s a good read. Fast paced and full of action. It’s fun to see how they all interact with ghosts (it’s an everyday occurrence, so no one gets scared) a few twists that had you rereading to make sure you haven’t missed anything out ?

Very well written and thought out. All the characters were likeable and made me want to go back and read the series.

Reading Brodie interacting with his “dead” parents was interesting, and the interaction between Brodie and Dakota was great. And smut was kept to a minimum, story did focus a little too much on facts, and it did read like a history book, but it’s still an enjoyable read.

It’s a short mystery short, full of content, a few twists. And a really fun read.

Copy supplied for review

? Reviewed by Julie B

 

Nearing the theater, she paused, surprised to discover she was…
Looking for ghosts.
Well, there certainly weren’t any to be seen. What she did see was more children—scores of children. Big ones, little ones—all out for candy. It was Halloween, after all. They were in costumes. Moms and dads or uncles, aunts, cousins, or friends walked with them, sometimes in costume, and sometimes not.
No other little munchkins ran up to her for treats, but they were an entertaining sight.
Yep, it was Halloween.
Kody loved costumes—maybe it was part of loving the theater.
And that was why she immediately noticed the death’s head costume.
It was eerily similar to the one that had been designed for their play.
The costume’s mask resembled a death’s head on a seventeenth-century tombstone. The mouth gaped open, and the figure was wearing—as all evil characters seemed to sport—a black cape and hood.
The “death’s head” character spun around on the street, delighting kids as they scurried away.
It did a little dance on the sidewalk right in front of Kody, and the performance was a good one—the costume wearer could dance. He or she was doing a big à la Michael Jackson number, well timed and compelling, even with the cape on.
Only a Fedora was needed to make it complete.
Kody hadn’t realized she had paused to watch—until the end of the performance.
Then the character—with its gaping-mouth death’s head mask—came to a stop. People on the street started to applaud. Kody did the same.
Then it turned to her, slowly, theatrically, as if knowing she—specifically—was there.
It bowed deeply, rose, looked at her a long moment, and then walked off into the crowd.
Kody gave herself a serious mental shake as a wave of coldness ran through her body. She wasn’t easily frightened, and she didn’t know what it was about the performance that had disturbed her. Everyone around her was clapping. And it was Halloween. It was ridiculous to be afraid of a costumed performer on Halloween.
Except, of course, tonight she was in a show featuring a very similar figure. An evil being out to kidnap and kill her character.
Was that it?
Enough. Her children’s theater’s last production of the Halloween show was coming up, and all the costumed characters were filled with fun and made children laugh.
Her own performance in the night’s production would follow quickly. She needed to move. Forget the strange dance she had just seen—better yet, appreciate it for what it had been, a charming dance by an adult who loved Halloween and wanted to entertain those on the street.
She hurried on toward the theater.
But the strange chill that had invaded her remained. 


 

HEATHER GRAHAM is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than two hundred novels and novellas.   She has been honored with awards from booksellers and writers’ organizations for excellence in her work, and she is also proud to be a recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers and was also awarded the prestigious Thriller Master in 2016. 

She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA.  Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.

FOLLOW: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter /

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Keeper of the Night (The Keepers:LA #1) by Heather Graham

KEEPER OF THE NIGHT (The Keepers: LA #1) by Heather Graham-a review

Keeper of the Night

ABOUT THE BOOK: Released December 2012

In their new Keeper roles, these extraordinary women must balance the fate of the world with their desires…

New Keeper Rhiannon Gryffald has her peacekeeping duties cut out for her—because in Hollywood, it’s hard to tell the actors from the werewolves, bloodsuckers and shape-shifters. Then Rhiannon hears about a string of murders that bear all the hallmarks of a vampire serial killer, and she must confront her greatest challenge yet. Together with Elven detective Brodie McKay, they head to Laurel Canyon, epicenter of the danger, where they uncover a plot that may forever alter the face of human-paranormal relations

REVIEW:

Heather Graham, Alexandra Sokoloff, and Deborah Leblanc had previously written a trio of books known as The Keeper Trilogy (The Keeper, The Shifters, The Wolven). KEEPER OF THE NIGHT (The Keepers: LA #1) is the first storyline, written by Heather Graham, in their new spinoff trilogy focusing on the daughters (all cousins) of the original Keepers who have been called to take their seats at the Council of the Others. Although this particular series is a spin-off, the first storyline can be read as a stand-alone without too much trouble. But there is a caveat at the end of my review.

The Keepers are in essence –the Law- they reside over the different paranormal and supernatural species-Elven, Vampire, Wolven, Shifter etc. known as the ‘Others’. Keepers are born and it is their destiny to oversee and enforce the law. Keeper of the Night focuses on Vampire Keeper Rhiannon Gryffald and Elven detective Brodie McKay. Although the Keepers are NOT vampire, wolven etc they do bare some of the powers and abilities of their brethren.

Keeper of the Night finds new Keeper Rhiannon Gryffald as she embarks on her first official investigation that places her into a world of rotting corpses, hidden secrets and an ensemble of actors who want nothing more than to make it big in Hollywood. But when the dead and missing are somehow connected to the local theatre group, Rhiannon finds herself with an unlikely partner-Elven Detective Brodie McKay. But Brodie is undercover as a member of the acting community and to keep his guise a secret, Rhiannon and Brodie must act like a couple to keep the cast from discovering Brodie’s true identity. But play acting as lovers soon leads to the real thing and it will be Brodie who finds himself guardian and protector of the Keeper of the Night.

Keeper of the Night is difficult to rate. Although I said that this storyline could be read as a stand-alone, some background information regarding Keepers and their destiny would have been helpful-to start a new series, especially a spin-off where there are already established characters and storylines, a little background would have been appreciated. I kept thinking-What IS a Keeper? How did they come to be? What is the history between Keepers and the Others? I had to search for some information online-other reviews from the previous series etc.  I am a big fan of authors who include the pertinent background information in each successive storyline. It keeps the series and premise coherent. I hope the next author will think to include some of the Keeper history.

There is a prequel novella available for FREE from Amazon: The Gatekeeper. I had hope that the Gatekeeper would have revealed more background information but it was only an introduction to this particular series and the main characters are not involved in Keeper of the Night-in fact they have nothing to do with the first novel at all.

Overall, this storyline was okay. It will not top my list of re-reads and I will probably not read it again. I was disappointed. Even the relationship and romance between Rhiannon and Brodie seemed forced. I did not feel the chemistry or even the tension between the couple and it was about 2/3 of the way through before any one on one time was had. And in that, I did not feel the connection to the couple or the story.

Copy supplied by Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

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