So, I honestly believe that Stormi has pulled me into a Heather Graham rabbit hole! We started reading the Krewe of Hunters series last year and she asked if I would be interested in going back and reading the Harrison Investigation series since it is where Krewe first originated and who am I to say no? For the most part I have enjoyed the Graham novels I've read with her and I'm always up for some more backlist titles. And spoiler alert - she even pulled me in to starting a Graham vampire series in February - look at us go! So read on for my thoughts on the first in this new series and then hop over to Stormi's at Storm Reads for hers.
TITLE: Haunted (Harrison Investigations #1)
AUTHOR: Heather Graham
PUBLISHER: MIRA
PUBLISHING DATE: August 25, 2003
PAGES: 425
SOURCE: Library
FROM GOODREADS: Sheriff Matt Stone doesn’t believe in ghosts. But there are those who are convinced his home, a historic Virginia estate that dates back to the Revolutionary War, is haunted. Pressured to get at the truth about some strange happenings at Melody House, he agrees to let Harrison Investigations explore the house. But he isn’t ready for beautiful, intriguing Darcy Tremayne.
As a paranormal investigator, Darcy has learned to believe in the unbelievable. And she’s given Matt fair Sometimes people don’t like the skeletons she finds. She never dreamed that warning would apply to herself. For she’s about to discover that Melody House holds much more than a simple mystery from the distant past. What it holds is a very real and lethal danger, one that will cast her into a struggle against the worlds of both the living and the dead.
When the book opens, we see Darcy as a high schooler and learn a bit of backstory on how she becomes involved with Adam Harrison, including becoming part of one of the first paranormal investigative teams. Darcy is then sent to Melody House upon Adam's request to investigate an alleged haunting. Adam was friends with the new owner, Matt Stone's, grandfather when he owns the home. With Darcy's help and the assistance from a cast of characters living on the Melody House property and running the historic establishment, Adam is set to learn if the location is really haunted or if there is even something more sinister going on.
One thing that's I consistently find interesting about Graham's novels is the blend of paranormal activity and human nefariousness. Graham always provides a great mixture and since I love all thing spooky, even mildly such as with these novels, reading this series required very little thought as I was sure I would enjoy it. However, I have to admit that so far, this is probably my least favorite Graham book and it all boils down to Matt Stone being a jerk. Not only is he skeptical of Darcy and her abilities, but he is also pretty much downright mean and disrespectful to her. And while you might expect some character growth along the way, Matt remained pretty stunted. So, when the ending rolls around, and certain conclusions occur, I was scratching my head questioning a lot of people's choices and decisions.
I will add that I enjoyed the mystery elements of the book and am pleased that we started from the beginning. I hope we eventually learn more about Adam himself as I suspect he is a pretty interesting man with an intriguing backstory of his own. If you enjoy paranormal tales which also focus quite heavily on romance, then this series might be something you enjoy.
MY RATING: 3 PAWS
I don't think I've ever read Heather Graham, but it sounds like she's got a ton of books out. It will be interesting to see if you like the next book. And if Matt's in it, maybe he'll grow a little:-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this but some of the Krewe of Hunters more because I love Luke Daniels. It can be jarring to read some older books that have some pretty misogynistic types from 20 years ago, but Trump has brought out those jerks in force. They don't even feel ashamed when they are public about it.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart