Coming Soon: The Uninvited (Krewe of Hunters series) by Heather Graham

This is Book 8 in the Krewe of Hunters series. I only read book 4 (The Evil Inside) in August last year, also as an advance review copy, so I had to go and double check I was right that this was the 8th. And it is, Heather Graham is a machine!

This book is set in a Philadelphia mansion that is a feature of the city's tourist trail. There are plenty of ghost stories attached to the house, and a number of curious deaths in recent decades, but head guide and academic Allison is sceptical. When she finds a colleague dead, having apparently impaled himself on his replica bayonet, she certainly doesn't believe ghosts were involved. When there is another mysterious death and a former visitor falls into a coma rumours are flying that ghost of Butcher Bedford is the culprit but Krewe member Tyler Montague is convinced otherwise. Both Allison and Tyler believe there is an earthly explanation, and the time they spend together begins to change Allison's view of the world of the paranormal, and her initial distaste for the Krewe's involvement evolves into an overwhelming attraction for Tyler. Allison and the team have to work together to get to the bottom of the strange events and prevent more untimely deaths.

Having read two of the books in the series it appears that the members of the Krewe who mainly feature change with each book, so not having read previous stories is no handicap. This book is narrated largely from Allison's point of view and this allows the reader to discover how the Krewe work through her eyes. The writing is fluid and makes for an easy read.

I liked the overarching story in this book and was wondering which of two prime suspects would turn out to be the real villain. The book serves up a good helping of the paranormal combined with a little bit of romance and that's obviously a successful formula for this author. However I definitely preferred The Evil Inside. While I learnt a little history that I didn't already know and enjoyed the descriptions of the mansion it wasn't as thrilling as I'd like and I never really felt any sense of peril threatening the lead protagonists.

This was a good read, and I can imagine reading further books in the series but they won't be heading my To Be Read list.

Format: Kindle, ARC, anticipated release 28th August 2012
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
My Rating: 3*