16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Usually I Love Graham, However..., July 22, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I've been reading Heather Graham novels since I was in high school. I loved her Civil War series of books, and know that she favors writing about her beloved Florida. I haven't read anything new from Graham for awhile, so I was really excited to get my hands on Ghost Shadow. A new Heather Graham book that was also a paranormal romance? Yes please!
So the basic story: Katie O'Hara, owner of Katie-okie, a karaoke business that seems to only play at her uncle's bar and restaurant, attempts to purchase a tourist attraction that has been vacant on the island ever since a woman was found murdered in one of the exhibits. The evening before the purchase goes through, she walks past the building and sees the lights on. Katie, of course, goes to investigate the mysterious lights only to find the co-owner of the building, and the man who many believed murdered the woman years before, David Beckett. After David blocks Katie's purchase of the museum, the two wind up teaming up in order to find out who killed the woman, David's ex-fiance, so many years before.
And, oh yeah, did I mention that Katie can see and talk to ghosts?
Katie's constant companion is Bartholomew - a wise-cracking pirate (oops, PRIVATEER) who is determined to keep Katie safe.
THE GOOD:
Katie's interactions with Bartholomew are hilarious. The ghost learns, though out the book, how to use his ghostly powers in order to do things like turn on the coffee maker, and every interaction with him left me with a smile. Learning a bit about the history of Key West was enjoyable as well, and I found myself researching some of the various historical figures that Graham mentions in the book and learning far more than I've ever learned before about some of the very scary things in Key West.
THE BAD:
The relationship between Katie and David just happens. There's no real buildup to it. One minute they meet (or re-meet), they reminisce a bit, and then they're in bed together, even though they've never been in bed together before. There doesn't really seem to be any chemistry between the two of them, aside from chemistry between the sheets. While I loved the interactions between Katie and Bartholomew, the interactions between her and other ghosts is minimal, as while she may see a ghost here or there, or follow one, she doesn't really interact with them very much throughout the book. And the fact that Katie's ability to talk to ghosts is a secret denied readers the opportunity to explore what could have been a very enjoyable part of the story.
I really, really wanted to like this book. I've always enjoyed Graham's work before. This book, however, just fell flat for me. I found myself skipping through the investigative portions of the book due to them feeling very dull to me, and was hoping for so much more of the ghost-talking than I got. I've read Graham's earlier works over and over again, to the point where the binding gets all creased and cracked and you can tell that the book was well loved. This book, however, will likely remain in pristine condition, unfortunately.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
entertaining paranormal romantic suspense, July 1, 2010
In Key West, photographer David Beckett takes the group on a tour of his family's wax museum. They reach the Count von Cosel exhibit however, in the bed near the Count is not waxy version Elena, but the corpse of David's former fiancée Tanya Barnard. Although everyone suspected David killed her, no evidence proved he did. Still he left town with a cloud hanging over him.
Ten years later, the Barnard homicide remains unsolved as David returns to Key West. With the death of David's octogenarian grandfather last year, businesswoman Katie O'Hara, a ghost whisperer, wants to buy the wax museum; David opposes the sale. He asks his friend Pete and his cousin Liam, both cops, to reopen the cold case. When a second murder occurs with the victim posed in a nearby museum, the Key West police and Katie wonder if the killer just came home from overseas after a decade away.
Ghost Shadow is an entertaining paranormal romantic suspense. The investigation is fun to follow, but remains in the background to the romance. The heroine in spite of communicating with ghosts (Bartholomew the spirit adds humor to the mix) has doubts about Beckett even as she falls in love with him. With a supernatural nod to Hitchcock's Suspicion, fans will enjoy Ghost Shadow.
Harriet Klausner
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love the ghostly shivers, September 24, 2010
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Heather Graham is getting into the paranormal and doing it very well indeed. I have been reading her books under all her AKA's for almost twenty years and have very seldom been less than enthused. I did get to meet her at a convention many years ago and was even more impressed.
The characters and story line are easily followed and understood. There were sub-stories but they were not distracting enough to lose the main plot lines and story. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
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