Heather Graham’s special paranormal unit of the FBI, the Krewe of Hunters, returns in her latest dramatic romantic suspense novel, Haunted Destiny. And, it’s just as atmospheric as her previous ones, with a courageous couple in the lead.
The FBI has tracked a serial killer through the South, a killer dubbed the “Archangel” for his practice of leaving his victims with medallions around their necks, posed in churches. After the latest death, the killer may have made a mistake, killing the boyfriend of one of his victims, the first time the FBI knows he killed a man. Jude McCoy, special agent in the New Orleans office, chases a man from the crime scene on to the cruise ship Destiny, accompanied by Assistant Director Jackson Crow who heads up the Krewe of Hunters. Realizing their suspect is traveling, they inform the Captain and sail with the ship as “executives” of the cruise line.
It isn’t long before McCoy has his eye on Alexi Cromwell who performs in the piano bar. She’s just the type to be followed by the killer. She’s also a strong young woman who sees the ghosts on the ship that has been in service for decades, serving as a hospital ship during World War II. And, she’s the one who introduces Jude to his first ghost on board, a spirit who has first-hand knowledge of the “Archangel”. Together, Jude and Alexi make an attractive team, and it isn’t long before they are interested in more than working together.
Readers will find Haunted Destiny to be another intense, character-driven novel. This time, Graham has trapped two agents, a lovely, intelligent woman, and a host of suspects in the closed world she has created, a ship that becomes isolated at sea by a threatening tropical storm. And, Jude McCoy and Jackson Crow have to rely on their limited knowledge and suspicions because the ship’s situation cuts them off from the computer resources and phone calls that normally supply them with background. It’s a riveting, suspenseful story with ghosts, romance, and murder. Perfect.
Heather Graham’s website is www.TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com
Haunted Destiny by Heather Graham. MIRA. 2016. ISBN 9780778319634 (hardcover), 317p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure – Library book
Back in the day, I used to read Graham's historical romances as soon as they were published. She was one of my favorite romance writers, but somewhere along the line, I lost touch with her; I see she's moved into more of the thriller/suspense and paranormal categories. I'll have to try some of her newer books and see if I enjoy them as much as I did books like LOVE NOT A REBEL.