Dying Breath Series: Krewe of Hunters #21 on May 30, 2017
Pages: 384
Purchase: Amazon
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Also in this series: Phantom Evil, The Hidden, Heart of Evil, Haunted Destiny, Deadly Fate, Darkest Journey, Echoes of Evil, The Summoning, The Seekers, The Unholy, The Dead Heat of Summer, The Unforgiven, The Forbidden
Buried alive…
As a teenager, Vickie Preston survived an attack by a serial killer. That was the first time she saw a ghost. Now the city of Boston is being terrorized—someone is kidnapping women and burying them alive, but cruelly leaving a glimmer of hope for the authorities by sending a clue about their location. Vickie is pulled into the investigation when her name is mentioned in one of the notes. And as a historian, she has the knowledge to help uncover the graves the killer known as the Undertaker is choosing. But she also has another, unique lead: the spirit of one of the victims is appearing to her in dreams.
Special Agent Griffin Price is on the case for the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI's special unit for paranormal investigators. He feels particularly protective of Vickie, since their shared past is connected to the threat that currently surrounds them. With the killer accelerating his plans, time is running out for more victims hidden around the city. Vickie is becoming closer with Griffin, but she's getting too close to the danger, and every breath could be her last.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
Review
Dying Breath kicks off a trilogy-within-a-series which will feature the same couple investigating three crimes. It’s part of the Krewe of Hunters series, so I went in expecting suspense, mytery, romance, and more than a dash of the paranormal. And that’s exactly what I got.
The novel kicks off with teenage Vickie Preston escaping a serial killer after heeding the warning of a ghost Years later, with the killer still behind bars, Vickie appears to be connected to a new string of deaths and disappearances: young women who are being buried alive. And the cop who saved her life is now assigned to the case as a federal agent with the Krewe of Hunters. As Vickie and Griffin grow closer, the threat to Vickie herself grows — and other people connected to Vickie’s past are drawn in as well.
Graham kept me guessing throughout the entire book, setting up suspect after suspect to look suspicious before appearing to clear them…but not necessarily doing so. I can honestly say I didn’t see the solution coming. As my regular readers know, I’m not a fan of serial killer books, but for some reason I can usually handle this series, in part because Graham maintains just enough distance from the killers’ twisted minds. We see it more from the outside than the inside, which means I can enjoy the suspense and the romance while viewing the actual murders as a puzzle to be solved rather than as the exploration of a dark psyche. There are scenes where we get the killer’s third-person POV (without knowing who it is), but even then, it’s usually more about what they say and do than what they are thinking and feeling. That’s certainly true in this book. Those glimpses into the villain’s actions may also have made it more rather than less difficult to figure out who the murderer was.
I really like Vickie and Griffin together, despite a bit of an age difference. It’s no surprise that as a teen, Vickie had a bit of a crush on Griffin, who was a young rookie cop when he saved her life. Now that they’re both adults, a mutual attraction and trust builds quickly but believably. Both of them are able to see ghosts; in Vickie’s case, it’s the same ghost who warned her all those years ago. Since she can see and hear him, he has stayed with her, a sort of younger brother or good friend. He’s more than a plot device; he’s a full-fledged secondary character with a slightly cheeky charm.
And it’s a good thing that I like both Vickie and Griffin, because as I mentioned, they continue as protagonists for the next two books. That’s not the usual modus operandi for this series, which usually focuses on a new couple in each book (though all of them are connected to the Krewe in some way, and usually at least one has been a minor or secondary character in a previous book.) I’m looking forward to seeing Vickie and Griffin’s relationship develop, and wondering how long it will be before Vickie herself joins the Krewe.
About Heather Graham
NY Times best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows, and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.
Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children’s charity. She has been published in approximately twenty languages, and her books have won awards from Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, and Romantic Times, as well as major bookstore chains.
Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.
Heather is also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I really enjoyed this one as well. I liked seeing them again in Dark Rites and can’t wait till Wicked Deeds! I really liked how Graham handled the relationship between Vickie and Griffin. If she hadn’t put a substantial amount of time in between their first meeting and the reunion it could have landed in ick territory pretty fast!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Reviews From the Children’s Section – The Westing Game
Lark_Bookwyrm
I’ve read Dark Rites and enjoyed it also, so I, too, am looking forward to the third book—especially as it is set in Baltimore, which is a city I’m at least somewhat familiar with, having grown up living in the northern suburbs of DC. And I agree; putting 10 or 12 years between their meetings made the Vickie-Griffin relationship fine. Though the age difference isnt’ that great—maybe 5 or 6 years—that matters more when one of them is 17 or 18 than it does when one of them is late twenties and the other early-to-mid-thirties.
Lark
This sounds a lot like some of Kay Hooper’s books. Have you ever read her? She’s one of my favs. Which just makes me want to read this book even more. Great review! 🙂
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Lark_Bookwyrm
No, I haven’t, but I’ll check her out. Thanks for the recommendation!