Coming Soon Book Review: The Evil Inside (Krewe of Hunters series) by Heather Graham

The Krewe of Hunters is an FBI special unit and paranormal forensics team. Team member Jenna Duffy has been summoned back to Salem by her uncle after two murders, and she arrives just as a teenage boy, Malachi Smith, is arrested, covered in blood, for slaying his family. They lived in the notorious Lexington House, which has a history of violence and a reputation for evil. Defence attorney Sam Hall is in town to try and figure out what to do with his late parents' house. Having been the one to find the boy he feels a connection and agrees to take on his case. Both Jenna and Sam become convinced Malachi is innocent but use very different methods to try and uncover the real killer.

This book is the 4th in the Krewe of Hunters series, but the first I have read. I didn't feel I was missing out having not read the predecing books, possibly because Sam's side of the story is slightly more dominant and the FBI team aren't heavily involved until later in the book. The story is told in the third person from a few viewpoints, allowing the reader a good overview of everything that is going on surrounding the case, and all the efforts being made to uncover the truth.

Sam is set up at the start as a bit of a wealthy playboy but we soon see a softer side. It is almost the other way round with Jenna, who is the dutiful niece at the start but moves into the role of hard-hitting FBI agent later on. I liked both characters, and found the other minor players an interesting bunch. Jenna's ability to see ghosts, or postcognition as she refers to it, added a paranormal element that I really liked, as I'm open-mided about that sort of thing (unlike Sam)

I found the setting, and the history of the house and Salem, a very good backdrop for the story. With nuggets of information about the witch trials, and the different faiths and beliefs of the people of Salem, I felt like I learnt something as I read. I enjoy reading about other religions and faiths so it was a good match for me.

This book hit the spot in a lot of ways, crime - tick, a historical element - tick, religion/faith - tick, a not too out there paranormal element - tick. All good. However although there were moments when members of the team were in peril I never felt the level of tension was as high as I would like and I didn't have that feeling of needing to press on to find out how they would fare. I did really enjoy it and will at some point try and get my hands on the other books in the series.

Format: Advance review copy, e-book. Anticpated release date 30th Aug 2011
My Rating: 4*