HEATHER
GRAHAM
Synopsis
from Goodreads: Reclusive
collector Cutter Merlin is seldom seen in Key West – lately, not at
all. Officer Liam Beckett visits Merlin's curious house and discovers
the gentleman in his study. In his death grip: a volume of occult
lore and a reliquary. His eyes are wide with fright, his mouth a
horrified rictus where spiders now dwell.
Kelsey
Donovan returns to the old house to catalog her estranged
grandfather's collection of artifacts and antiquities, vowing to see
his treasures divested properly. But she cannot ignore the sense that
she's being watched, the reports of malevolent black figures, the
pervasive smell of death.
Is
the Merlin house haunted, even cursed? Liam knows well that some
ghost
stories are true and he swears to protect Kelsey. But there are
forces at work for whom one more life is a pittance to pay for their
deepest desire...
Stats
for my copy: Mass market paperback, Mira Books, 2010.
How
acquired: Who knows. I probably picked it up at a library sale,
but I don't remember.
First
line: The sun was setting, casting a bloodred hue upon the land
and the Merlin house.
My
thoughts: I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy,
GHOST SHADOW,
but was disappointed with the second book,
GHOST NIGHT,
so I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. And while it wasn't as
good as I remember the first book being, it was much better than the
second book. So I guess that's a happy medium.
Like
the second book, the writing sometimes felt a bit amateurish, but I
liked both Liam and Kelsey, despite there not being a lot of depth to
their characters. Kelsey wasn't much different than Vanessa and Katie
before her, other than not (initially) having Katie's gift of seeing
ghosts. I was glad that Bartholomew had now become attached to Liam,
but was disappointed that he still wasn't on the page as much as the
living breathing characters.
The
mystery kept me in the dark. Liam began to suspect one of his own
friends as being the culprit, and I was suspecting right along with
him, and did not figure it out on my own.
The
very ending with Bartholomew was abrupt and rushed, and I wish it had
been drawn out more. He's still my favorite character in the trilogy,
and I'd like to read the prequel book about him, Ghost Memories, but
it's only available as an ebook and I just don't want it badly enough
right now to spend the money. Maybe the next time I have an Amazon
gift certificate.
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