Customer Reviews

Whispers (Berkley Sensation)

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

 

 

Successful novelist Reilly Alexander has tried to move on and forget the past, but he's now back in Diablo Springs, Arizona, his hometown and the scene of all his troubles. Although he never planned on returning home, he is intrigued by the psychic claims of an eccentric woman and finds himself strangely drawn back to this place. Many believe Diablo Springs is haunted by its original settlers, but for Reilly the ghosts are much closer to home.

Having left her hometown seventeen years ago, Gracie Beck is also unexpectedly called back to Diablo Springs after her daughter is in a mysterious car accident and her grandmother dies on the same night. She finds her daughter safe, and although she'd love to leave and never look back, her grandmother's hotel, now her responsibility, is full of paying guests. One of those guests turns out to be Reilly, a former high school crush which ended horribly wrong. Although there is bad blood between them, Reilly and Gracie are still attracted. Even if they can resolve the issues of their past, there are bigger troubles ahead. There is something sinister happening in this small town! Will the sins of the past haunt them forever? Can they break the curse of Diablo Springs and begin again?

Combining contemporary and historical settings, Whispers is a well crafted paranormal romance. Ms. Grady knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat, scared out of your pants, and yet still wanting more! I found both Gracie and Reilly to be interesting people, but wished to learn more of their story. With numerous characters and interwoven plots, their romance was sometimes lost in the shuffle. I had a hard time accepting Gracie's forgiveness of Reilly, and their intimacy felt rushed. However, these are all minor issues and didn't ultimately get in the way of my enjoyment. As with her previous book Echos, Ms. Grady got my heart pounding and my mind engaged. Ms. Grady truly has a way with words and knows how to build suspense. Whispers drew me in and I couldn't put the story down.

Cheryl
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I have been looking forward to reading "Whispers" since the day I turned the last page of "Echoes". After reading "Echoes" I wondered if Erin Grady was as gifted a writer as she appeared to be. Now the reviews are in. Grady has proven that she's the real thing and her readers are the true winners.

I finished "Whispers" in just two nights. It was worth my sleep deprivation to finish this extraordinardy blend of historical fiction, paranormal romance, and modern suspense. Despite my aversion to the paranormal I found myself believing every beautifully written word of this tale. I was drawn the town of Diablo Springs and to the characters, past and present, that populated the skillfully interwoven stories of Ella and Gracie, Sawyer and Reilly, Athena and Chloe.

My only regret is that I now have to wait for Grady's next book.

Wow, this was my first taste of Ms Grady, but definitly not my last. Whispers - A haunting tale of generational curses. Erin Grady presents her story in a unique way of telling the past tense in first person, and the present tense in third person. She weaves together a tale of lost love, steamy romance, and generational conflicts all with a supernatural twist. I love how she brought all her characters to life by her descriptive prose and modern analogies. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Also recommended: Lisa Miscione, Carla Neggers, and Cynthia Gerard.

Ms Grady has a way with her characters that lets us into their hearts and souls. I felt connected to Gracie from the minute I met her and wanted her to triumph through the clouds of long ago betrayal, mystery and evil. I enjoyed the way the author joined the past and the present in a story that always had me wondering what the next page would bring to the women of Diablo Spring.

Gracie Beck's past is shrouded in mystery and painful memories.

Reilly Alexander's past was one of torment, and its something he doesn't wish to remember.

Both of them have one thing in common- they left Diablo Springs with no intention of ever going back.

Until now ...

But circumstances out of their control draw them back, and together they inadvertently unravel an ancient mystery, stifle a curse and find undying love.

Erin Grady takes us on a journey where past and present collide, where Ghosts, Curses, and outside forces rule the lives of those from Diablo Springs without them knowing it.

This book takes us on a chilling journey, which takes many twists and turns and will keep you guessing and turning pages!

A wonderful read!!! I give this book **** stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To learn more about Erin Grady and her books, please go to: www.eringrady.com

Once again, we are taken by the expert hand of an award-winning storyteller who spins a tale of love, loss, betrayal and murder so intense it defies the obliteration of time and death. Erin Grady not only imbues WHISPERS with dynamic characters and parallel storylines that enrich each other but creates such a haunting setting with Diablo Springs, that the almost-ghost-town becomes a character in its own right-one that's vivid and unforgettable in its stark, dramatic and lonely portrayal that serves as the perfect backdrop to a riveting story of paranormal suspense.

Lives in the past and present intersect in Diablo Springs. Gracie Beck has returned to solve a family mystery and curse, just as Reilly Alexander re-enters her life. Seventeen years have passed since they saw one another, and now, to break that old curse, the issues between them have to be settled. Long ago, two other lovers met a tragic end, and that fact has haunted Gracie's family ever since. Now, the time has come for that to be changed.

** Seesawing back and forth between the two times and first and third person POV, this comes off as an uneven, disjointed effort. Reilly seems to be an interesting character, but is lost in a flat world. **

Amanda Killgore

In Los Angeles elderly Chloe LaMonte came to writer Reilly Alexander's book signing to inform the former Badlands musician that she was his guide to his destiny. The next thing he knows she mentions Carolina Beck's spirit calling to her to bring Reilly home. In spite of being skeptical Reilly returns to his hometown, Diablo Springs, Arizona.

In San Diego Eddie Rodriguez visits Gracie Beck. Since they have not seen one another in years Gracie is surprised, but Eddie tells her that her grandma has just died and that her high school honor student daughter Analise was in a car accident with a boy named Brendan in Diablo Springs, Gracie's hometown. Bewildered as well as upset Gracie goes home to find her daughter okay and that she has inherited the family owned Diablo Hotel and curse that she believes brought her and Analise here as it has haunted her relatives since 1890. Gracie plans to end the curse so it cannot harm Analise. When she and Reilly see one another for the first time in seventeen years even Analise can see the attraction between them.

This is a terrific contemporary romance with mystery and paranormal spins that actually plays out on two parallel time lines with the present being the primary plot, but 1890 serving as a key subplot. The story line is character driven as the key cast members seem genuine including the psychic seemingly whispering with ghosts. Fans will treasure this strong tale that is a one sitting read to simply learn the link between today and yesterday and whether each era's lead couple survives the challenges.

Harriet Klausner

Diablo Springs was once a boomtown of gamblers, outlaws and miners. It had become a tourist town at the turn of the century. Prior to that, it had been a place the Apaches had used for sacred ceremonies. First, the natural hot springs dried up, then so did the town. Now it was just shifting sands which whisper only of torment and loss. It's the place were Gracie was raised, but she never called it home. When she left that place, she never looked back.

The book jacket warns: If you listen hard enough, you will hear their whispered warnings. Gracie was lured back when she inherited the Hotel form her grandmother Ella. There is a curse on that place which had haunted her family for a century. She uncovers secrets better left below the surface. She left because of a man, but now he too has returned. This is one of those hot romances like Rosemary Rogers used to write. At least, parts of it are very descriptive. Some things are just meant to be, irregardless of how they turn out. Sometimes, we have to face up to our demons and ghosts to get them out of our system.