Customer Reviews

The Seance (MIRA)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't think I've read any Heather Graham before; at least I don't recognize any of the titles on the inside cover. I got it mostly because I enjoyed the notion of a séance and a ghost who actually existed and tried to help. I always feel that ghosts get too much "bad press."

The plot is well constructed. In fact the entire work is very expertly crafted. The author is very obviously skilled and experienced--even without a list of her books on the inside to prove it! While I can almost always figure out "who dunnit" by the end, I was entirely surprised by the revelation. Usually when that happens--as it did with an Ellery Queen novel, once in English and years later in French--I feel so cheated and manipulated. This author didn't need to do any such thing. Her carefully designed story gave you all you needed to know to figure it out; it was just all so fully entwined with character creation, environment details, atmosphere and romantic episodes that it was difficult to see. Like a good magician, the author uses her verbal slight of hands to mislead, not an unfair plot manipulation introduced at the last moment to help her out.

While the story has some somewhat graphic episodes of sexual activities, I don't think the average reader who enjoys this type of fiction is likely to find it offensive, but those with a precocious young reader in the house might like to decide beforehand whether or not this is acceptable reading material for that individual. If not, it should be kept discretely out of sight.

Good, well crafted fiction.

This book was quick to read and would make an appropriate beach bag book. The paranormal aspect was intereting but the murder mystery was actually not well thought out or explained. It was easy to figure out who the murderer was but it never explained why he became a murderer, I would have rated the book higher if the author had spent a little time explaining that aspect.

Christy (who is Irish) has "the gift". Not to be cliched as in other "gift" books or movies, it really plays a minor role in the story. One ghost (unless you count when the granda dies) and one seance so I was surprised when finished that the book was actually titled "The Seance" when there was such little to do with it. This is more of a whodunit style rather than a supernatural feel. It was a great read however and I can't help but wonder what theme parks she is referring to with all the extra halloween activities (Universal Orlando?) that her relatives work for.

The story basically follows the path of proving an officers (now deceased) innocence after the fact when the "interstate killings" begin to happen again with too much detail close to the original killings for it to be a copycat killer. Enter Jed, the famous author of the "fictional" writing of the interstate killer that really condemmed the fallen officer as the killer when in fact, you guessed it, there's a twist.

Great read, some fantastic characters brought in at the end but not really used as well as they could have been. Adam could have been used allot more in my opinion.

Anyway, that's just my take. A book well worth the read.

db

Christina Hardy is moving back into her grandma's old house--one that holds many memories, good and bad. Unfortunately, the return of a serial killer who is targeting beautiful red-heads (such as Christina), Christina's hidden-until-now predilection to see ghosts and some messing with a Ouija board at her housewarming party opens the door for Christina to become haunted by the cop who was originally accused of the killings and who wants Christina to clear his name.

Jed Braden, former cop turned novel-writer and private investigator, is a distant relation of Christina's. He's looking into the murders, concerned because one of his books was a fictionalized account that went along with everyone's belief that the cop did it--only the cop was killed and now the murders have started again. If it's not a copy-cat, Jed wants to help clear the dead cop and his own conscience for adding to the family's pain. And he's romantically interested in Christina--who with her red hair, is in danger until the killer is caught.

The tale is quite readable and suspenseful. Graham is an old and sure hand at these things. I'm not sure this is one of her best, though, since there was sparks but not much of a relationship, otherwise, between Jed and Christina. But if mystery is what you care about, this one was pretty good. I did figure it out before the end, which is rare for me, but it was still unusual enough to be interesting.

Redheads are being murdered one by one in this haunting chiller by popular author Heather Graham. Christina Hardy meets the accused killer, but there's only one problem: Beau Kidd is dead. The ghost professes his innocence and pleads with her to find the real culprit. Skeptic cop turned PI Jed Braden doesn't want to believe her, not even when Beau's sister hires him for the same purpose. Can he learn the truth before Christina becomes the next victim? Besides the romance between the main characters, this mystery kept me guessing whodunit until the end.

'The Seance' has an interesting premise, but suffers from a lack of depth in its characters, and focus in it's story. Like most 'beach reads' for predominantly female audiences, the shift in tones betwen light and serious throws the story out of whack occasionally. The characters are a bit flat, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of how they all fit in.
There are some interesting 'CSI meets Ghost Whisperer' moments, so it all turns out to be a slightly above-average read.

Quite a few of us guys tend to shy away even from mysteries which are typed as partial romance tales, but I for one found this highly enjoyable and worth recommending.However, I do have three "nitpicks" to share. I doubt any of them are serious enough to interfere with one's enjoyment, but should be noted.The two or three graphic sex scenes slow down the plot for me...three or so pages describing such a scene seems unnecessary in a paranormal mystery.It seems to me that the author is obviously directing the characters in making various decisions in order to further the plot rather than creating the feeling that the characters themselves are thinking for themselves.And the denouement seems a bit arbitrary as if the writer waited until the last five or so chapters to decide just how to end the story.However, this is a thoroughly entertaining book, a fast read (about six hours for me), and worth your while if you enjoy paranormal mysteries.

This was the first novel I have read in years, and I was pleasantly surprised. The plot was constructed very well, and the characters are life-like. I read the book in about 8 hours, and I highly recommend it!

The Séance
By Heather Graham

To start, I just have to say - what an awesome story! I loved it and had a very hard time putting the book down. Toward the end, I raced through the remaining pages to see how the ending was going to be played out, and was not disappointed in the least!
What would you think or how would you feel if someone, who was suppose to be dead, suddenly appeared before you asking for help? That's what Christina Hardy has to come to terms with. After her Grandmother passes away, she moves into her Grandparent's house. At her housewarming party, an old Ouija board is brought out and the ghost of Beau Kidd, who was believed to be the "Interstate Killer", soon shows himself to Christina. Beau, an officer of the law, was shot and killed one night fifteen years ago, by his partner, while bent over the final victim in the killings. Everyone believed that the murderer had been caught and the killings did indeed stop. Fifteen years later, however, the killings once again start. They are identical to the "Interstate Killings" that had taken place years ago. The police force have to figure out if they have a copycat killer on their hands or if Beau was indeed innocent and not the killer they thought him to be.
Soon, Christina finally acknowledges Beau and the fact that she can indeed see and communicate with his ghost. Throughout this time, a romance begins to blossom between Christina and an old childhood friend, Jed. Jed, however, has no belief in ghosts or anything paranormal. After doing follow-ups on comments that Christina makes about the killings and about Beau himself, he begins to wonder how she came up with such intimate details of the case. Could he really believe that Christina is communicating with a ghost?
As the time ticks away and bodies begin to pile up, Christina's life becomes endangered and time is running out. Will the killer be discovered in time? Or will it be too late?
Full of suspense and the paranormal, The Séance is an excellent read for anyone wanting a great story. With a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, this is a perfect novel. The ending does indeed hold surprises and will bring about great satisfaction. I highly recommend The Séance to everyone and cannot wait to read more by this wonderful and talented author.

Heather Graham is one of those writers who either hits the nail on the head or misses by a mile. This time she hit the nail. I enjoyed the paranormal parts of the novel and I liked the characters. With every book I have read recently haveing an abundance of sensuel encounters, I really enjoyed a book that spent more time on the characters instead of their sex drive.

Christina Hardy has a gift but she has denied it for the last 15 yrs. Fifteen yrs ago her Granda died, he visited her several times after his death but her family discouraged her from thinking too much about it. At his funneral she placed a rose on the coffin of the person being buried across from him. Only three people were at the grave and she felt a sadness, so with a child's impulse she gave the rose. Now her Grandma is dead and she has inherited the home. While moving in she and her friend find an old ouija board and it spells out the name beau Kidd. That was the name on the grave where she placed the rose and now she finds out that he was supposed to be a seriel killer.

Jed Braden is a writer, he was a detective, he made his name by writing the story of this serial killer. He is the cousin of her best friend. He lost his wife to cancer about four yrs ago and still has not quite gotten over it. Coming to her house warming starts the questions and Christina doesn't want to tell him she is seeing the ghost of Beau. Beau tells her he is innocent and wants her help to prove it. Now after all this time the serial killer has started up again and women are dying. Jed begins to believe he was wrong about Beau.

Somehow Beau is connected to Christina and her house, he can only communicate with her, he warns her of danger but he can't warn her heart against Jed. The answers may be cleared up only by a seance. But as always, "the killer is closer than you think." ( ha! ha! )

The story also includes the Harriman Agency from THE VISION, they investigate paranormal happenings. The story is well written and I enjoyed it, I really didn't know who it was until the end. She includes lots of red herrings.