Heather Graham takes readers back into the world of the Krewe of Hunters in Darkest Journey. As a fan of the series, I enjoy the return to the paranormal investigations of an elite group of FBI agents, as well as the romance. And, Graham knows the setting well, Louisiana and the Mississippi River with its connection to the Civil War.
Charlene “Charlie” Moreau is back in her hometown of St. Francisville, Louisiana, acting in a movie. It’s there, when she was in high school, that Ethan Delaney rescued her from a high school pledging in a cemetery just before a serial killer attacked. Now, when Charlie finds a body in the middle of filming, she remembers Ethan is with the Krewe of Hunters, and, with connections, requests that Ethan be put on the case. The two have an uneasy history, but they’ll find that sparks fly once they’re together.
Charlie, like Ethan, can see and hear the dead. It’s a connection that causes complications when one of the dead mentions Charlie’s father, a historian and cruise director on the Journey, a riverboat now owned by the Celtic American line. Charlie’s convinced her father is not a killer, and she’ll do anything she can to protect him.
Graham intertwines local and Civil War history, and Civil War ghosts with the contemporary setting. That works well, and this novel is as atmospheric as the author’s other works. But, this is a weak link in an ongoing series. Charlie herself hides too much, and keeps secrets from the FBI, after she called them in. The story of the Civil War dead rising to protect Charlie seems familiar, as if Graham has used it before. And, the Celtic American line has now appeared in three books with a connection to killers. It’s enough to make a reader not want to go on a cruise.
Seriously? I love the paranormal and romantic aspects of Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books. Darkest Journey just isn’t the best in the series.
Heather Graham’s website is www.TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com
Darkest Journey by Heather Graham. MIRA. 2016. ISBN 9780778330134 (hardcover), 315p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book
I agree, but I will keep reading Heather Graham as long as she keeps writing.
It will be a while before Jackie gets to this one as she is at least two trilogies behind.
I'll keep reading her, too, Gram. I still love the premise.
She has a lot of other books to read. She'll probably feel the same way Gram & I do when she gets to this one, Jeff. But, that doesn't mean it's time to quit reading Heather Graham.