Echoes of Evil by Heather Graham Series: Krewe of Hunters #26
Published by Harlequin MIRA on Sept. 18, 2018
Genres: Paranormal romantic suspense
Pages: 329
Format: Hardcover
Source: the library
Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible
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Also in this series: Phantom Evil, The Hidden, Heart of Evil, Haunted Destiny, Deadly Fate, Darkest Journey, Dying Breath, The Summoning, The Seekers, The Unholy, The Dead Heat of Summer, The Unforgiven, The Forbidden
Also by this author: Phantom Evil, The Hidden, Flawless, Heart of Evil, Haunted Destiny, Deadly Fate, Darkest Journey, A Perfect Obsession, Dying Breath, The Summoning, The Seekers, The Unholy, The Dead Heat of Summer, The Unforgiven, The Forbidden
Brodie McFadden is supposed to be on vacation, getting some sunshine and deciding if he wants to join his brothers and the Krewe of Hunters, a special paranormal investigation unit of the FBI. But a diving excursion with an old navy buddy to a historic shipwreck uncovers a crime scene—and the corpse is new.
Museum curator Dakota “Kody” McCoy just wants her Key West culture festival to succeed. She’s always had a deep connection to her home, including being regularly haunted by some of the resident ghosts. Then, in the middle of a performance, a beloved local musician drops dead. It seems accidental, but Kody isn’t so sure.
Brodie thinks the recent deaths are linked, and he needs help from Kody. Something about her festival is dangerous. And the threat is creeping ever closer. Has she uncovered a treasure from the past that someone will kill for?
Review
I was a little disappointed in the latest Krewe of Hunters novel by Heather Graham. The plot seemed a little disjointed, cobbled together rather than tightly planned, and the mystery lacks the urgency of the previous two books.
Kody, the heroine, is an engaging character, and thankfully we spend more time with her than with hero Brodie, because he comes across as somewhat two-dimensional. (Also, Kody and Brodie? Really?) Graham introduces almost too many secondary characters in this book, and few of them exhibit much depth either; the most interesting is the first murder victim, whom we get to know only through what the main characters learn about him. Ironically, the two liveliest characters, aside from Kody, are the congenial ghosts; I found them both quite enjoyable.
For a Krewe of Hunters book, Echoes of Evil is remarkably unspooky and unsuspenseful. For that matter, it’s only nominally a Krewe novel: Brodie calls on Angela (long distance) for some research, and Jackson makes an appearance toward the end, but the Krewe as a team are not involved. Nor are Brodie’s brothers (from Fade to Black and Pale as Death.) However, Liam and Kelsey from Ghost Moon (part 3 of the Bone Island trilogy) do play a role, so while the novel is only loosely a Krewe book, it does have ties to other books in Graham’s oeuvre.
I’m certainly not giving up on Heather Graham or the Krewe of Hunters series simply because one book fell a bit flat for me. Her books are usually entertaining and suspenseful: fast-paced, quick-reading page-turners. I hope her next book, Undercover Connection (Goodreads), will be a return to her usual form. The first chapter is included as a teaser in the back of Echoes of Evil; it starts off well, and appears to be a standalone. It’s due out on Nov. 20, 2018. The next New York Confidential novel, A Lethal Legacy, is due out in March 2019, and in May we’ll get another Krewe novel, The Summoning. So there are plenty more Graham books to look forward to!
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.
Lark
That’s too bad this one wasn’t as good as her others. At least you liked Kody. I haven’t read any Heather Graham books lately, but I think I’ll wait for her next one to come out rather than read this one.
Lark_Bookwyrm
You could skip this one, unless you feel strongly about reading all three McFadden brothers’ books. On the other hand, it’s only my opinion, and other readers may have enjoyed this one more than I did. I didn’t dislike it; it just wasn’t as engaging as some of her previous books. Thanks for stopping by!
Northwoman
I’m just getting ready to start this series and I’ve been collecting them on audio. I keep thinking I better read at least one to make sure I like them before I collect anymore. But it’s good to hear you are favorable on the series even though this one wasn’t up to par. Have you listened to any on audio? Anne – Books of My Heart
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Just realized you must have tried commenting on this one twice! Sorry; for some reason my comment plugin didn’t recognize your email. Anyway, the same answer holds for both your comments. 🙂
Northwoman
I’ve started collecting these on audio so I am glad to hear you think the series is worthwhile overall. I’m sorry this one wasn’t up to par for you. I suppose I should read one before I buy anymore. Have you tried any of them on audio? Anne – Books of My Heart
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Lark_Bookwyrm
I haven’t tried the audiobooks yet. These are such quick reads for me, I usually plow through one in under 2 hours. I’ve found them all entertaining (well, all the ones I’ve read), but some hold together better than others, plotwise, and some are more chilling than others. One or two have been a bit too dark for me, but I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to dark and creepy, and even I have no trouble with a lot of them. Since the hero and heroine tend to change with each book (or sometimes get two), you can read some of them out of order. There are mini-series within the overall series, and those work better in order. Have fun!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
That’s too bad this one didn’t work out for you as I love the shipwreck element. She has an older trilogy that takes place in Key West that features a museum. I wonder if she tried to work that into this one and that made it even more confusing. I’ll read this one because I’ve read the previous two involving the McFadden brothers but I’ll keep my expectations low.
Lark_Bookwyrm
I suspect she did; at least, I think there are secondary characters who starred in a previous series in Key West. I haven’t read that trilogy, so I can’t be certain, but I suspected it. Incidentally, there’s also a novella or short story featuring this hero and heroine (a mini-sequel) and probably the other McFaddens; it came out just before Halloween. It’s in the 1001 Dark Nights line. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m planning to.
Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits
Pity you didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others. Still — 26th in the series! That’s impressive.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
It’s been a long series; she writes 2 or 3 per year (plus books in a few other series.) They aren’t deep, but they are fun!
A Voracious Reader
I’ve heard of Heather Graham and I’m pretty sure I’ve read a book or two by here, but I don’t recall this series. I’ll need to look into it.
Lark_Bookwyrm
It’s a fun series, if a little uneven.