Grave Illusions [Paperback]

Lina Gardiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2007

New York City is in the grasp of a deadly, unseen enemy. At least unseen by normal society. Lieutenant Jess Vandermire, New York City police officer, is uniquely specialized to recognize and fight this threat. It's her job to forge a black ops team, an assortment of men and women who wouldn't be considered for the job under normal circumstances. But these aren't normal circumstances. The team has to be tough and, if need be, expendable. Jess understands what she's fighting and what's at stake. For her, it's all about retribution until ex-cop John Brittain is recruited to her team. Suddenly, her priorities aren't quite so easily definable. John Brittain has a chip on his shoulder and is as tough as they come. But is he ready for the whole truth? That combating "super" vampires whose primal need for blood and the addictive drug "Sunshine" is only the beginning of their problems? And when Jess tells him the truth about herself, will he stay and fight or will he turn against her and not only threaten their lives but destroy the fragile relationship developing between them?

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: ImaJinn Books (February 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933417951
• ISBN-13: 978-1933417950
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,801,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lina Gardiner, author of the award winning Jess Vandermire Vampire Hunter Series has writing in her blood. Living in New Brunswick, Canada, a hotspot for legendary ghosts and tall tales of odd happenings has probably added to her love of a good mystery. That, and the stories her grandfather told in the "parlor" when their grandmother wasn't paying attention, added to her love of storytelling, and the wonders of imagination.

Awards:
Prism Award - Best First Book
Daphne DuMaurier - Paranormal-Time Travel-Futuristic - Winner

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Kind of Read, January 11, 2009

By 

Pam from Texas - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Grave Illusions (Paperback)

Jess Vangermire is in charge of a secret specialized police force. It is her job to fight vampires and keep their presence a secret from society. She hand picks her men herself and usually has to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get the type of men needed for the job. Not so when she offers John Brittain a job. Fired from the police force for accidentally killing his partner, he is consumed with guilt and spends his time drinking when he isn't driving a cab. Jess recognizes a man with integrity and moral fiber when she meets him and gets to know him. She comes to have feelings for him, which is dangerous for her. The reason? She is a vampire! She knows no human man will want her when her secret is revealed.

Lina Gardiner's Grave Illusions had excellent flow and had me turning the pages until I finished it. I love books that do that. All too often I read books that have slow parts that I want to get past so I can get back to the good parts. This book didn't have action on every page, though there was plenty of that. Instead, the action was interspersed with characterization, which is important to me. The better I know the characters, the better I like the books. If you are looking for action on every page with lots of blood and gore, this book isn't for you.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Grave Problems, March 15, 2011

By 

Tracy "One Good Book Deserves Another" (Fort Myers, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grave Illusions (Jess Vandermire, Vampire Hunter) (Kindle Edition)

The life of ex-cop John Brittain is circling the drain since getting tossed off the force two years ago for the suspicious death of his partner. Since then he's been driving a cab and drinking too much, lost his wife and is living in near squalor in a questionable part of town. Even worse is his lack of concern for how far he's fallen. Then one night he slips out of the bar and is approached by a gorgeous leather-clad woman who presses him up against the wall and turns him on, propositions him, then disappears when he turns her down. If that wasn't a far enough step outside the norm of his miserable life of late, his former captain calls and asks him to come see him. Britt doesn't have the first clue what that's all about, nor does he have an inkling of just how much his life is about to change.

She'd been watching him for weeks, following him and aware of the others who were also on his tail. Coming face to face with him in that alley off the bar just proved to Jess that she wanted Britt on her team. Well, she wanted him for more than that but that's all she would allow herself. And after fifty years as a vampire, Jess had gotten very good at schooling her most unwanted - and unholy - desires.

The vampires in the city were joining together and acting in ways that Jess had never seen before. It was up to her to assemble and train more hunters and put a stop to the growing number of casualties. And given the interest the vampires have shown in Britt, she may have found the key to the whole mess. Convincing the man to join her cause without explaining what she or that cause is, though, may not be so easy. With the lives of her team, her baby brother, and the humans of the city on the line, the ease of the task has nothing to do with Jess' grim determination to get it done.

Though I liked the idea of the concept for the plot of this series debut, several issues prevented me from being able to enjoy it. The narrative plodded a bit, and seemed dry and stilted. I never really got a clear picture of the world of the series beyond the basics and I wish there had been more attention to detail offered in the creation of the mythos of vampires within it. There seemed to be some conflicting information and a lot of vague references, some religion-based, without many absolutes or thorough explanation.

The characters also suffered from a lack of definition. I had a hard time connecting to them because of that, and that caused the romantic subplot to fall short for me. Britt was the most three dimensional and clearly defined of the bunch, I thought, with his past and many of his motivations and aspirations covered in detail...but as the series is named after Jess I found that odd. The main character in this book doesn't seem to be the one in which the series is centered around. I don't think it would have felt quite so disparate had Jess been given more page time and her past been more thoroughly described. A few more scenes slanted from her perspective would have helped, too.

Unfortunately, those weren't the only issues I had with this book. For a story that is supposed to contain an investigation with a crack detective and a vampire, way too many pieces of the investigation were ill defined, fit together poorly, were based on wild assumptions with no supporting evidence, or were handed to the characters from nameless third party sources. Other parts made no sense and/or conflicted with logic and previously established information. The police procedural aspects of the plot failed for me on that level.

Actually, too many things failed for me in this book. There were just too many plot holes, contradictions, illogical progressions, and character issues, and the end was riddled with supposed twists that I just felt were random and bizarre. I wanted so much to like Grave Illusions (Jess Vandermire, Vampire Hunter), but ended up struggling to finish it. I'm sorry to say I doubt I'll be continuing this series.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, July 6, 2007

By 

Linda Hall - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grave Illusions (Paperback)

I have to admit, I'm not a vampire connoisseur. I don't read a lot of vampire books, have never read Anne Rice and generally like my fiction to be 'real'. Having said that, I picked up GRAVE ILLUSIONS and totally devoured it. It's one of those books that once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down. Excellent character development and good story. Good work, Lina! I hope to read many more Jess Vandermire books.