Death in Reel Time by Brynn Bonner

This review is from an uncorrected proof for a book to be published March 11, 2014.  I will add a picture when I can find one.


When genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier begin working on the genealogy of their friend Olivia Clement they knew that would be looking into the mystery of her father's disappearance in the 1940s.  What comes as a surprise is that they are soon also trying to help solve the murder of Olivia's son-in-law. The even bigger surprise is that the two mysteries, some 60+ years apart, have so very much in common

Jabril by D. B. Reynolds

Jabril is the second book in the Vampires in America series by D. B. Reynolds and I strongly recommend that this book be bought at the same time as the first especially if your primary focus is the romance portion of the story.

The story of Cynthia "Cyn" Leighton and Raphael the vampire lord of the North American western territories continues.  However, with their relationship dead in the water, Cyn, a private investigator who frequently works with/for vampires takes a case offered by Jabril the lord of the southern United States territories.  She soon discovers that, while Raphael was sometimes ruthless but honorable, Jabril is everything that is loathsome and questions if finding the human girl who has runaway from his household for him is the right thing to do

Retreating to Raphael's territories with a young vampire in tow and determined to help the runaway though definitely not return her to Jabril, Cyn reluctantly finds her life becoming entwined in Raphael's household and with Raphael once again.

This book continues to be a romance between Cyn and Raphael and a good one at that but also has a strong urban fantasy plot.  The world building involving the vampires and their place in society continues apace and the story outside of the romance is well plotted and satisfying and should appeal to urban fantasy readers who don't necessarily enjoy romance novels.  As with the first book a warning for violence outside of the norm in romance novels must be tendered.

Raphael by D. B. Reynolds

Raphael by D. B. Reynolds is the first of two books comprising a romance novel between Raphael the vampire Lord of the Western Territories and Cynthia "Cyn" Leighton a private investigator in Malibu.  Raphael hires Cyn to find a female vampire who was kidnapped from his estate while he was not in residence.  Since she was kidnapped by humans, with the help of a vampire traitor, he reasons that a human has a better chance of dealing with the human side of the matter.  Not to give too much away, that doesn't go precisely as he planned.

Though this is very much a romance novel with sparks flying between the two main protagonists almost immediately it has strong undertones of a dark and rather violent urban fantasy.  Cyn does not come across like a typical romance heroine and you probably want to think more along the lines of Mercy Thompson than Harlequin.

Though the mystery of the kidnapping is rather predictable it isn't dissatisfying and the romance is rocky but well written.  However, for me, the best parts of the story are the urban fantasy elements which are well designed and have descent world building setting up the culture and political structure for later novels in the Vampires in America series.  Those starting this series should be warned that if you are looking for a vampire romance novel this one is very, very violent and the romance portion of the story isn't resolved until the next book in the series.

Ghost Walk by Heather Graham

This is my second book for the year and the second one by Heather Graham and if anything I enjoyed this even more than the first.

It is the story of Nikki DuMonde who gives ghosts tours in New Orleans and whose friend comes to her in the early morning hours at the same time she is being killed in another part of the city.  Though Nikki has had feelings about things in the past she has never seen ghosts before and now she is seeing them all the time.  She finds it very disconcerting and her best friend thinks she's losing it and more-or-less forces her to see a psychiatrist.

Enter Brent Blackhawk who is used to seeing ghosts and has been sent by his boss to solve the mystery of a dead FBI agent whom Nikki had had a chance encounter with.  After Brent becomes convinced that Nikki is the key to solving this mystery the two join forces and Brent helps Nikki with her unexpected and not very welcome gift.

Once again the mystery in this is very dissatisfying.  It is the backdrop of the story but doesn't read like a mystery novel and leaves me feeling as if I missed something.  The stories of both the people and ghosts however more than make up for this and some of the stories about the ghosts or told on the ghost tours are almost like short stories all their own and are quite fun to read.  The obvious romance is reasonably enjoyable as well.  For a light read this is a descent book as long as you are looking for more of a ghost story and less of a mystery novel.

The Dead Room by Heather Graham

Heather Graham seems to write paranormal romantic mysteries and The Dead Room is no exception though it comes with a bit of a unique twist at the end which won't be spoiled here.  I will say that it caught me totally by surprise.

The story is about Leslie MacIntyre an archeologist who works on sites in urban areas of the United States.  She has recently survived an explosion that killed her fiance and is just now returning to work in the same area where he was killed and she was injured.  Though always good at finding bones the explosion has left her with ability to see and talk to ghosts which proves to be quite helpful in her line of work though does make some of the finds a bit hard to explain.

Upon returning to the area she meets Joe, her fiance's cousin and near look-alike, who happens to be a private investigator searching for women who have gone missing in the area.  Gradually Joe and Leslie start to work together which makes Leslie's life much more complicated and more dangerous.


The mystery is interesting though not one of the best and as a mystery reader the way the story is presented left me feeling dissatisfied.  I have a preference for stories that leave me thinking that if I'd recognized and followed all the clues I could have solved the mystery but that doesn't work in this book.

The paranormal aspects were much, much better especially those not related to the overall mystery.  The ghosts are fascinating pieces of human interest who tell short stories of their lives and deaths.  This was the best part of the story and made me look forward to reading more of Ms. Graham's books.

The romantic aspect was there, though a bit unusual, and it fed nicely into the ending.

Overall not the best but certainly not the worst first read for 2014.