In Too Deep: Book One of the Looking Glass Trilogy (An Arcane Society Novel) [Hardcover]

Jayne Ann Krentz (Author)

Book Description

Series: An Arcane Society Novel | Publication Date: December 28, 2010

The latest Arcane Society novel from New York Times- bestselling author of Running Hot and Fired Up-as she introduces her brand-new Looking Glass trilogy.

Jayne Ann Krentz follows up her highly successful Dreamlight Trilogy- written in collaboration with her two alter egos, Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle-with a brand-new story arc that begins in a secluded coastal town in northern California.

Scargill Cove is the perfect place for Fallon Jones, confirmed recluse and investigator of the paranormal. It's a hot spot, a convergence point for unusually strong currents of energy, which might explain why the town attracts misfits and drifters like moths to a flame. Now someone else has been drawn to the Cove-Isabella Valdez, on the run from some very dangerous men.

When she starts work as Fallon's assistant, Isabella impresses him by organizing his pathologically chaotic office-and doesn't bat an eye at the psychic aspect of his job. She's a kindred spirit, a sanctuary from a world that considers his talents a form of madness. But after a routine case unearths an antique clock infused with dark energy, Fallon and Isabella are dragged into the secret history of Scargill Cove and forced to fight for their lives, as they unravel a cutthroat conspiracy with roots in the Jones family business . . . and Isabella's family tree.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The cops just can't handle psychically powerful criminals who deal in weapons-grade paranormal artifacts. Enter the Jones & Jones detective agency. Known for his solitary habits, investigator Fallon Jones has taken on an assistant, Isabella Valdez, who displays some unusual talents of her own as she helps him dig through an ever-expanding mess of paranormal criminal activity. Krentz's latest Arcane Society novel is loaded with sexual tension between the tough-but-lovable Isabella and the normally dour Fallon, and the story hilariously alternates between inventive, deadly action and the amusingly gossipy smalltown characters in Scargill Cove, Calif., a supernatural nexus. Krentz (aka Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick) never rests on her laurels, carefully crafting a story that works on every level: as a detective novel, a paranormal thriller, and a romance. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* When it comes to finding a logical pattern within chaos, private detective Fallon Jones can’t be beat, but Isabella Valdez has him completely baffled. Not content with just efficiently organizing Fallon’s office, Isabella insists on learning the detective business, too, and she quickly has her own first case, investigating a “haunted” house. Once Isabella senses the house is troubled by more than a ghost, she calls Fallon for backup, and that’s when Fallon realizes his new assistant has not only a few unique talents of her own but also a mysterious past that could come back to haunt them both. In Too Deep, the first in the Looking Glass Trilogy as well as part of Krentz’s ongoing Arcane Society series, is the perfect mixture of paranormal-flavored suspense and sexy romance. Krentz’s flair for creating intriguing, inventive plots; crafting clever dialogue between two perfectly matched protagonists; and subtly infusing her writing with a deliciously tart sense of humor are, as always, simply irresistible. --John Charles

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399157026
• ISBN-13: 978-0399157028
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of over 50 New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

Building on the success of her DREAMLIGHT TRILOGY in 2010, Jayne is now focused on writing the LOOKING GLASS TRILOGY. This series will follow the Quicksilver Mirror (a paranormal artifact) through all three of Jayne's worlds covering a time span of several hundred years.

The first LOOKING GLASS book, IN TOO DEEP, will feature Fallon Jones, a recurring character from Jayne's contemporary ARCANE SOCIETY series of novels.

When she's not writing, Jayne can be found at her favorite social networking site posting messages to her fans.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Slight Change of Pace, December 28, 2010

By 

Maya Nestingen (Minneapolis, MN, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In Too Deep: Book One of the Looking Glass Trilogy (An Arcane Society Novel) (Kindle Edition)

I just finished reading this book, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Fallon Jones has been a secondary character in all of the contemporary Arcane books, it was nice to finally get to spend more time with him, and read his story. I thought that he and Isabelle had a lot of chemistry (an important bit in any romance novel) and that the story moved at a good pace. I also liked the fact that the story moved beyond the whole Arcane vs. Nightshade thing, and that we got to see some of the characters from other books. All in all a good read.

53 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Multiple mysteries are investigated. Some felt incomplete. Not enough relationship interaction and development., January 3, 2011

By 

Jane (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In Too Deep: Book One of the Looking Glass Trilogy (An Arcane Society Novel) (Hardcover)

BACKGROUND & STORY BRIEF:
Fallon Jones' continuing enemy is Nightshade. When one Nightshade leader is killed, another replaces him. Nightshade consists of several independent groups that make drugs to enhance psychic abilities. Fallon and his partners/buddies had some success against Nightshade groups in prior books with more to come in future books. This book is about other bad guys, with a minor role for Nightshade.

The characters in the Arcane Society books have a wide variety of psychic talents. Fallon sees patterns inside of chaos which helps uncover conspiracies. He can also send power that kills. Isabella finds lost things - people, bodies, objects. In this book, Isabella comes to Fallon and gets a job as his office manager. Together they solve at least four different mysteries/questions. Each mystery has something to do with a mechanical object like a lantern, doll, clock, etc. The objects have different powers, for example to kill or make someone unconscious.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
The story starts off interesting with Isabella on the run and two thugs chasing her. But after that, there is not enough interesting action. Isabella and/or Fallon interact with a bad guy, the bad guy then confesses or tells them what he has been doing, and it is solved. This happened for each mystery. It had the feeling of telling, not showing - because there were long explanations about PAST EVENTS. I didn't get to experience bad guys and good guys doing things and feeling things. Also there was too much dabbling in different places - like the author was grabbing unrelated stories out of the air. By the end, some of the mysteries didn't feel complete. They weren't explained enough.

There was some good action, just not enough. For example Isabella used her power a few times to get out of trouble. I also enjoyed a conversation Isabella had at a cocktail party where she defended Fallon and likened him to Sherlock Holmes.

When I was at 75% of the book, I felt like I was waiting for the story to take off - for things to start happening. It's not that I wanted it to be over, but more like when is it going to get good? A couple of times I was bored when the author went into lengthy technical descriptions about psychic influences, for example: why different geographical areas have different psychic energies.

I hoped for interesting romantic relationship development, which I did not find. There was no back and forth, witty dialogue, or conflicting personalities. No one grew or changed. Isabella just came into Fallon's life and was a good thing for him.

OTHER BOOKS:
I've read 5 Arcane Society books. I enjoyed two of the earlier books: "Running Hot" and "Sizzle and Burn." But the most recent two books "Fired Up" and "In Too Deep" just fizzled for me. I gave 5 stars to two of her non-Arcane Society books: "Trust Me" and "All Night Long." Those two are favorites.

DATA:
Story length: 324 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 5. Setting: current day California and Arizona. Copyright: 2010. Genre: paranormal romantic mystery.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fallon's story is a winner!!, December 29, 2010

By 

M. Bradley "Mimmi" (Bluegrass State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In Too Deep: Book One of the Looking Glass Trilogy (An Arcane Society Novel) (Hardcover)

I've been loving the whole Arcane story line that JAK has taken across her sub genres, w/ her Amanda Quick, JAK & Jayne Castle stories, but there isn't another character that I've waited and anticipated their story more than Fallon Jones. Head of the Arcane Society's Investigative branch, J&J, Fallon Jones needs an assistant ~ but doesn't want to share. Isabella Valdez, a newcomer to Scargill Cove, decides she'll BE his assistant ~ and proceeds to do so, schooling Fallon on what it means to work w/ a partner again. With paranormal talents and secrets of her own, she's a perfect match for the secretive, theorist Fallon Jones ~~ I loved, loved this story! JAK totally lived up to all the promise we've seen coming w/ Fallon. Isabella is a perfect match for him, and their dancing around one another was fun to read ~ and of course, seeing what Nightshade is up to! I loved seeing other Arcane characters, and just enjoyed every min. of this read ~ I couldn't quit until I was done!!