After Dark (Ghost Hunters, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jayne Castle (Author) "IF IT HAD not been horribly obvious that Chester Brady was already dead, Lydia Smith might have strangled him herself..." (more)
Key Phrases: dreamstone jar, worked dreamstone, illusion trap energy, Jayne Castle, Dead City, Mercer Wyatt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A race of aliens once lived on the future Earth colony called Harmony, leaving behind them the ruins of a vast, beautiful, and mysterious culture that is still protected by the psychic illusion traps and eerie ghosts that they created. Lydia Smith is an archaeologist who can resonate and dissolve the illusions, and those talents, combined with her lack of finances and questionable professional reputation, make her the obvious hire for Emmett London, who is trying to track down a lost antique and the nephew who stole it. Lydia's first consulting job quickly turns dangerous, however, as corpses, ghosts, and illusion traps start popping up--not to mention the rather unprofessional electricity between her and her first client.

In After Dark, author Jayne Ann Krentz, writing as Jayne Castle, describes a world that delightfully intertwines futuristic ideas like green-glowing marble, psychic amber, and six-legged pets with earthly characters like penny-pinching bosses, absentee landlords, and mafia wives trying to turn into high-society dames. The writing can feel a bit clunky: "The paranormal ability to resonate with amber and use it to focus psychic energy had begun to appear in the human population shortly after the colonists came through the curtain to settle the planet of Harmony," and the final chapters suffer from a similar lack of finesse in the tying up of loose ends, but Krentz's world is fantastical and fascinating, one that will keep you reading and your imagination soaring.--Nancy R.E. O'Brien

Product Description
Life is tough these days for Lydia Smith, licensed para-archaeologist. Seriously stressed-out from a nasty incident in an alien tomb, she is obliged to work in Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, a very low-budget museum. She has a plan to get her career back on track, but it isn’t going well. Stuff keeps happening.

Take the dead body that she discovered in the sarcophagus exhibit. Who needed that? Finding out that her new client, Emmett London, is one of the most dangerous men in the city isn’t helping matters either. And that’s just today’s list of setbacks. Here in the shadows of the Dead City of Old Cadence, things don’t really heat up until After Dark.

“Wonderful futuristic romance.” – BookBrowser --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Jove (September 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 051512902X
• ISBN-13: 978-0515129021
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,905 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 2 in The Ghost Hunters Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unusual bequest was left to her, September 19, 2000

By	C. M. Chen (CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Months ago, Lydia Smith got lost in the catacombs due to an illusion trap. Forty-eight hours of her life were gone as a result and it was a miracle she managed to find her way out. Once she did, however, her career as a para-archaeologist working for the university was over due to the delicate state of her mind. But Lydia knows she's as capable as ever and though, she might be blackballed by the university, she attempts to strike out on her own as a consultant for the private sector. It doesn't seem to be going well when she and her first client stumble across a dead body in one of the sarcophagus in the museum where she works part-time. Emmett London traced his missing cabinet of curiosities to Chester Brady, an associate of Lydia's. When the two find Brady murdered, Lydia and Emmett find themselves racing against the clock in order to discover who, or what, perpetuated his death.

It is testament to Castle's talent as a writer that she managed to create a paranormal world complete with background and history as well as spin out a somewhat interesting plot. There is a great deal of historical richness and creativity to this book that can be gleaned through the details Castle provides. I enjoyed this part of the book immensely. In addition, Emmett London was a cool and controlled hero whom I enjoyed and would have liked to read more of in this book. But clearly, this is Lydia's story. A great deal of the story revolves around her and her history with the university, her history with Chester, and her bitter attitude towards ghost-hunters of which Emmett can include himself. It was hard to warm up to Lydia and even more difficult to buy the romance between the two. I felt that Lydia's petulance was a bit aggravating especially when she interacted with Emmett. Lydia is working for him and yet, she is angered by the fact that he keeps things from her, which, in truth have no bearing on her search for his cabinet. For instance, his being the former leader of the guild of ghost-hunters in his own city is a cause for anger with her when in fact his past has nothing to do with what she was hired to do for him. And though she works for him, she breaches the gap between employee and partner continuously. In addition, the ending of the story leaves the reader wondering whether this is, indeed, the start of a partnership. Lydia and Emmett's relationship is in no way cemented or resolved by the end of the story so it was difficult to think of it as a romance. It seemed more suspenseful. I enjoyed the narrative and I enjoyed the plot and the creativity Castle employed in order to develop it. As a whole my impression of this story was good and if this is a series in the making, I'm sure that it can only improve if these two characters have room to develop.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say? Krentz is the best, September 14, 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When the colonists realized that they could pass through space by passing through the curtain, they migrated to the planet Harmony in a far off galaxy. When that curtain closed, communications with earth ended, leaving the travelers on alone to tame a hostile world.

Two hundred years later, the descendants of the first visitors to Harmony begin to show strong psychic ability. Licensed para-archeologist Lydia Smith crashed and burned when she became lost in a dead city left behind by the planet's former main species. Lydia is forced to work in Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors until she can find a way out of her current predicament. Her first client Emmett London embroils her in a case that tests her abilities and her sanity even as she finds love among the ruins.

Jayne Castle, known for her works as Jayne Ann Krentz, has written a wonderful futuristic romance that will provide much pleasure to her innumerable fans. Harmony has been featured in previous novels so that the audience feels they are returning to an exotic locale previously visited. The lead couple is an exciting pair who helps bring sunshine to AFTER DARK.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice change from your standard romance, February 1, 2002

By	Stacy (St Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

Unlike your standard romance which usually takes place in the past (usually England or Scotland) or out west where the cowboys still roam, this novel takes place on the distant world of Harmony. It is a slightly futuristic world where paranormal abilities are a plus and most of the world's power revolves around stones that hold incredible energy for those who can control it.

It is on this world that we meet Lydia Smith, a former paranormal archeologist whose past has left her "psychically crippled". Although she feels she is perfectly capable of carrying out her duties she has been blacklisted from her profession as unstable. Currently working at a bizarre museum reminiscent of Ripley's Believe It or Not; Lydia is hired by the very wealthy and powerful Emmett London to help him recover a stolen family artifact that was brought with his family from Earth centuries ago. It is during her investigation of the theft that Lydia comes under assault from unknown rogue psychics. Someone is trying to stop her from discovering the location of the antique at all costs.

The characters of AFTER DARK are interesting and entertaining and despite the sometimes awkward writing I found the book downright fun. I like more mystery than sex in my romance books and found just the right combination in this novel. Unfortunately in most romance novels, the relationship often overwhelms the storyline and throws all plot out the window. This plot did get a little complicated at times even for Ms. Castle to keep up with. The techno-speak created for the sci-fi scenario got a little heavy at times, but overall I found it an interesting diversion from the standard romance genre.