Ghost Moon (Bone Island Trilogy, Book 3)

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.

Ghost Night (The Bone Island Trilogy, Book 2)

Heather Graham

Synopsis: A slasher movie turns real when two young actors are brutally murdered on a remote island film set. Their severed heads and arms are posed in macabre homage to a nineteenth-century pirate massacre.

Two years later, survivor Vanessa Loren is drawn back to South Bimini by a documentary being made about the storied region. Filmmaker Sean O'Hara aches to see how the unsolved crime haunts her...and Sean knows more than a little about ghosts.

Lured by visions of a spectral figurehead, Vanessa discovers authentic pirate treasures that only deepen the mystery. Are the murders the work of modern-day marauders, the Bermuda Triangle or a deadly paranormal echo of the island's violent history? As Vanessa and Sean grow closer, the killer prepares to resume the slaughter...unless the dead can intervene.

First line: The sound of the bloodcurdling scream was as startling as the roar of thunder on a cloudless day.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, published by MIRA Books, 2010; 371 pages; bought at a used book store.

My thoughts: I read the first book in this series, GHOST SHADOW, in January, and I enjoyed it so much that Heather Graham immediately made my list of authors whose back list I obsessively began to collect, and I was particularly eager to acquire the other two books in this series. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in GHOST NIGHT.

Sean O'Hara is the brother of the heroine of the first book. And while he and the female lead were likeable enough, I never really connected with either of them or cared about them as much as I did Katie and David in the first book. I was pleased to learn right from the start that Bartholomew, the ghost of a privateer who lived with Katie, had now attached himself to Sean, as Bartholomew was one of my favorite characters in the first book. Sean had never been able to see or hear Bartholomew until after the events at the end of that book. Bartholomew, however, while involved in the storyline, was not on the page nearly as often as in the first book, and was definitely a secondary character this time.

Vanessa and a small group were filming a horror movie on Haunt Island, when the two leads' severed heads were found on the beach. Now, two years later, Sean and David are about to start filming a documentary about the history and local legends of the area when Vanessa appears and begs Sean to hire her onto the crew. She wants to go back to Haunt Island and try to figure out what exactly happened. Vanessa also just happened to be a childhood friend of Katie's. Sean reluctantly lets her convince him to hire her, and to include the mysterious circumstances of the murders on Haunt Island in the documentary.

Maybe I'm not remembering the first book properly, maybe the story drew me in so much that I didn't notice the writing, but the whole tone, the writing, of this second book just seemed...more amateurish for want of a better description. The plot was more convoluted and a little harder for me to keep up with. Maybe the book just needed better editing. For example, I had to read this part twice, and it just irritated me:

“Hey, what's going on?” he asked.

Zoe stared at him without speaking.

“Sean,” she said softly. “You need to be quiet and not raise an alarm.” (pg 359)

She can't stare at him without speaking, and then immediately say something, or, you know, speak.

I wasn't sure how it was going to end, and then the ending didn't feel real plausible to me. And yes, I know, we're talking about pirate ghosts here, so no plausibility to begin with, but still.

The third book is about Liam, and since I did like the first book so much, and I already have the next book, I'll still read it, and still look forward to it. I mean, not every book can be a winner for everybody, right?

Ghost Shadow (The Bone Island Trilogy, Book 1)

HEATHER GRAHAM

Synopsis: There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution...vengeance...to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence.

Katie O'Hara is one who can.

As she's drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée's murder?

Worse – the body count's rising on the Island of Bones, and the dead seem to be reenacting some macabre tableaux from history. The danger is increasing by the moment – especially as Katie finds herself irresistibly drawn to David, who may be responsible for more than just one killing...

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, 351 pages (not counting excerpt in back of book), published by MIRA Books, 2010; purchased at a library book sale.

My thoughts: This is the first book I've read by Heather Graham, and I picked it up at a library sale because the gorgeous purple cover caught my attention. And I see the author's name a lot and know she's fairly popular – I believe my mother is a big fan.

Katie O'Hara sees and talks to ghosts. I was reminded at first of the Jennifer Love Hewitt TV show The Ghost Whisperer, but with less angst. The comparison didn't last long, however, as Katie does not spend her days constantly being visited by spirits who need her help to move on. Some ghosts talk to her, but others she just sees in passing and has no contact with. She doesn't seek them out or attempt to get them to confide in her. They are just there, the way you and I pass strangers on the street. Except for Bartholomew, the ghost of a former privateer who was hanged for a crime he didn’t commit and who “lives”, so to speak with Katie in her home.

Ten years ago David Beckett's ex-fiancee was murdered. He was a main person of interest, but was never found guilty and then moved away. Many Key West residents believe he was guilty, and the story of her unsolved murder is a popular stop on the ghost tours around town. Now David is back, and shortly after his arrival another woman has been murdered in an eerily similar manner. Katie is drawn into the mystery, and drawn to David.

A good suspense yarn set against a back ground of Key West lore with the supernatural element of various ghosts and a love story woven in. I was pretty much in the dark as to the identity of the murderer up until the very end. While I liked David, and Katie's brother Sean, and David's cousin Liam, a police officer, I think Bartholomew was my favorite character. Katie also has a best friend, but her character wasn't very fleshed out or involved as much as the men were, not that I was bothered by that.

I was eager to start looking for the rest of the trilogy, but a little disappointed when I realized the next two books aren't about Katie. The second book, GHOST NIGHT, is about Sean, and the third book, GHOST MOON, is about Liam. And then there's a prequel book, GHOST MEMORIES, which is Bartholomew's story, but is apparently only available as an ebook, dammit.