Wraith (Zoe Martinique, Book 1) [Paperback]

Phaedra Weldon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 5, 2007

First in an excitingly different and new paranormal series. Zo‘ Martinique has turned her unusual ability into a career. When she's traveling, she can't be seen which makes her an ideal professional snoop. Industrial espionage, surveillance, whatever. But one night things get out of hand while she's outof- body. She witnesses a murder and a soul stealing, and discovers she has unwelcome company: Trench- Coat, a ghostly killer who can see and hurt her.

Teaming up with a blue-eyed police detective, she tries to solve the case and improve her love life. She also enlists the support of her psychic mother and the ghostly couple who haunt her house. And with murderers, kidnappers, and a desperate ex-porn star involved, Zo‘ needs all the help she can get.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part paranormal whodunit, part urban fantasy, Weldon's lively debut introduces Zoë Martinique, a professional snoop based in Atlanta, Ga., with the ability to project herself out of body and spy on illicit activities. Things get complicated after Zoë becomes an astral witness to murder, and the killer, who can not only see her but also touch her, leaves her branded with a red hand print and a shock of white hair that just keeps getting thicker. Zoë teams up with sexy cop Daniel Frasier, who thinks infamous televangelist Theodore Rollins is somehow behind the murder, but Zoë's also pretty sure that the dead man's boss, Koba Hirokumi, president of Visitar Inc., knows a lot more than he's telling. Before long, what began as an apparent case of industrial espionage turns into a battle against evil from another dimension. Weldon keeps Zoë and her readers off balance with brisk pacing and brain-wrenching plot twists, drawing the story to a satisfying close while leaving enough loose ends to set up Zoë's next adventure.
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From Booklist

Zoe Martinque is capable of traveling outside her body, literally. After discovering her gift for astral projection during a rape, Zoe channeled her skill into a profitable enterprise, marketing herself as a private investigator with special abilities. But one night while out on a job, she comes across a man being murdered in an office building by a creature in a trench coat that can see her. Terrified, Zoe flees the scene, but not before the thing grabs her, leaving a mark on her wrist. At an anonymous client's behest, Zoe returns to the building the next day to spy on a meeting between the head of the company and Daniel Fraiser, the handsome police officer investigating the death. Drawn to both Daniel and the case, Zoe finds herself determined to pursue the creature in the trench coat, even as it becomes increasingly dangerous for her. With a quick-witted heroine and truly frightening baddies, Weldon offers a fantastic kickoff to what promises to be a vibrant new series. Huntley, Kristine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 378 pages
• Publisher: Ace Trade (June 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441014976
• ISBN-13: 978-0441014972
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,582,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Pensacola, Florida on the day of the Boston Tea Party, in the year the Beatles came to America, Phaedra started writing from a very early age. Her imagination and love of television and movie characters often rewarded her with strange looks at school and the reputation of Geek, a badge she wears proudly.

Phaedra pursued a career in the Graphic Arts industry but never stopped writing. Her first book, WRAITH, published in 2007, kicked off the Zoë Martinique Investigation Series. The Sixth book in the series, DOMINION, released December, 2012. Book Seven, SERAPHIM, is slated for a late 2013 release.

Fans of the series should note the upcoming re-release of GRIMOIRE, the spin-off series with Dags McConnell. Keep up with Phaedra and her work at www.phaedraweldon.com or if you're a Zoë fan at www.zoemartinique.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Oogy September 1, 2007

By Melia Galloway

Format:Paperback

This book looked really interesting so I was excited to read this book. The story and plot of this book did happen to be really engaging and interesting. It was certainly different then all the vampire/werewolf books on the market these days.

However, the writing and characters are simply horrible. The author seemed to try way too hard to bring Zoe off as a funny likeable character but only succeeded in making the character annoying and fake. Zoe is a 28 yr old trying to act like a teen-bopper, but not succeeding. She also seems to take nothing serious even when the situation calls for a serious moment. Furthermore, Zoe has an extremely annoying way of using mental notes pretty much every other page (i.e. Mental Note: Eeeewww). The author also seemed to have a weird thing for using the word Oogy constantly through this book. If that is even a word than I am glad it is never used in everyday life. Sad to say, when Zoe got into trouble I was quite glad she did because her stupidity certainly called for it.

Detective Daniel Frasier is supposed to be a very attractive man (as we are told CONSTANTLY through the book) but is unfortunately a very unrealistic character. As soon as he and Zoe meet, he is spewing facts about the case he is currently working on. What type of competent detective does that with a perfect stranger? No wonder no one wants to be his partner. The second time they meet (which is about 1 hour of accumulated time the characters have known each other) Daniel is kissing Zoe in happiness over her helping him on the case. That just doesn't work.

Overall, the plot and underlining story could of made this a really awesome book and that is the only reason I was even willing to finish this book. However, the author really needs to work on her writing style and characters because that dragged the book down from a possible 5 star to a 2 star read (which is even being generous as it deserves more like 1 ˝ stars).

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Like, who cares? October 23, 2007

By C. Glover

Format:Paperback

This book did not engage me. It lacks the essential ingredient, the "who cares" factor. The author did not create a complete world that I could see intersecting with mine. The story failed to convey a credible threat, fear, or end of the world danger. It did not make me care about any of the main characters. The author had an opportunity to flesh them out but deliberately refused to do so in a tacky attempt to make me want to read the next book in the series. I don't think so.

Most of all, Wheldon (the author) did not explain the story in a way that I could understand. The urban fantasy has to be real enough to be believable. I could not get into Zoë's world, in any dimension. And let me caution you. If you suffer this book to the end you will be severely disappointed. The Epilogue offers an explanation of the case that is messy and unsatisfying. The last page is a terrible set-up for a future book that is not worth waiting to read. If Wheldon continues to write she has got to get better. (No real sex. Not really sexy. No comprehendible violence. Some profanity. Just generally bad.)

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Cliched and Too Annoying to Finish! October 7, 2007

By Tory

Format:Paperback

How many cutsie Betsy-like heroines do we need in the paranormal genre? The Answer: One too many...this one. She likes eating ice cream! Thinks Brad Pitt is hot! She spouts cliched inanities as if this is fresh. This book has potential, but is ruined by the stilted attempts at lightness and wit. The plot is fine, the powers interesting, the supporting characters are good. But this book is as generic as Atlanta itself....as in while trying to give insight to the city the author name drops chain restaurants! That is what is wrong with this book. It substitutes vacant, repetitive -isms for actual content and it ruins this book to the point of making it unreadable.

Don't waste your time, more frustration than its worth.