Book Review - The Hexed

The Hexed
Krewe of Hunters #13
Heather Graham

Published: July 2014

Harlequin MIRA, mass market pbk, 390p.
ISBN: 978-174356597-1

A place of history, secrets. . . and witchcraft

Devin Lyle has recently returned to the Salem area, but her timing couldn't be worse.  Soon after she moved into the eighteenth-century cabin she inherited from her great-aunt Mina - her 'crazy' great-aunt, who spoke to the dead - a woman was murdered nearby.

Craig 'Rocky' Rockwell is a new member of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI's team of paranormal investigators.  He never got over finding a friend dead in the woods.  Now another body's been foud in those same woods, not far from the home of Devin Lyle.  And Devin has been led to a third body - by a ghost?

Her discovery draws them both deeper into the case and Salem's rich and disturbing history.  Even as the danger mounts, Devin and Rocky begin to fall for each other - something the ghosts of Mina and past witches seem to approve of.  But the two of them need every skill they possess to learn the truth - of Devin's might be the next body in the woods. . .

Ghosts, ghosts and more ghosts!  Throw in some witches, Salem, a couple of bodies and you've got The Hexed in a nutshell.  I'm a sucker for witches and genealogy, so I really enjoyed the history that Heather Graham incorporated in to the storyline.  

The characters in The Hexed were exactly what you'd expect from a Romance book.  You have a pretty girl who meets the handsome, strong and possibly heroic guy.  They get into trouble, fall in love/lust, make out like little bunnies, solve a murder and possibly live happily ever after.  So if you're looking for amazing characters that will break your heart with their realism, then perhaps this isn't the book for you.

However if you are still interested The Hexed follows Devlin, said pretty girl, and our protagonist who has recently moved into her great-aunt's cabin.  There, along with Poe - the raven she inherited -  Devlin writes childrens books.  One day she hears cries for help from the woods surrounding her home.  In true romance fiction style our budding sleuth heads out to see what's happening, only to stumble upon the body of a newly dead woman.  Devlin runs for the road and flags down a car - this car belongs to Rocky, our potentially heroic love interest, who has been sent to find out who is killing the women.  Mystery and chaos ensue.

Apart from our lovers, Devlin and Rocky, there are more than the usual number of secondary characters that don't hesitate to jump into the action.  All are interesting in their own way, and all have links to a murder that took place over 10 years earlier.  Out of all the characters, my favourites would have to be Great-Aunt Mina - yes, she does have a part to play - as well as Poe, the guard Raven who protects Devlin.

On to said mystery angle.  It was well constructed and executed, with suspect all over the place.  They make good grist for misdirection mill by the author, and it worked.  My attention was successfully diverted from the identity of the real killer - I definitely didn't see it coming.  The identity of the killer came right out of left field.  So congrats to the author in that respect.

I will say that while most of my experience reading The Hexed was positive, there were a few issues that really niggled.  The first is that there is no real relationship between Devlin and Rocky.  Just a closeness enforced by a murder investigation.  Amazingly, they managed to hold off jumping into bed until the last third of the book (which is quite refreshing for a change!).   Also - and this is my biggest criticism - that there was no real resolution in regards to the punishment of the killer once he/she/it were caught {trying not to give any spoilers away there ;-D}.  There was no trial, or any other measurable means of justice.  Very annoying to invest in a book and then feel let down at the end.

So in conclusion, while The Hexed is not in the same literary league as War and Peace, or even The Diviners, this book did tick most of the boxes that I look for in regards to a M&B style romance book.  It was fast paced, and the world building let me envisage the characters, and their story easily.  Harlequin MIRA has been publishing some amazing mysteries in the last couple of years and I would recommend that you try them as they aren't all straight up romance with a bit of mystery on the side.  In all I really enjoyed reading The Hexed.  It is a quick read (I finished in under 4 hours) and would be great for travelling.

Until next time,

 

Book Review - Graveminder

Graveminder
Melissa Marr

Published: 2011

William Morrow (HarperCollins Imprint), hardcover, 324p.
ISBN: 978-0-06-182687-0

Three sips to mind the dead . . . 

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each one Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you." 

Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected; beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the land of the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker--in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past--can set things right once the dead begin to walk. 

 Although she is still grieving for Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to in Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse: dark secrets, a centuries-old bargain, a romance that still haunts her, and a frightening new responsibility--to stop a monster and put the dead to rest where they belong.

Graveminder is the first book by Melissar Marr, and also the first book of hers that I've read.   It follows the story of Rebekkah who returns to the strange town of Claysville after the death of grandmother. 

Plot wise, Graveminder had some truly eerie elements.  That creepy quote on the front cover, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you", is not just a random bit of advice.  The dead will truly rise in Claysville if not properly seen to by the Graveminder, a woman who's sole purpose is to mind the dead, and who along with her partner, the Undertaker, keep the dead from rampaging.   However, at the start of this book all we know is that Maylene, the current Graveminder, is dead.  Byron, son of the funeral director, has a long history with Maylene's granddaughters.  When he comes to collect the body, he is shocked that the murder of Maylene isn't being investigated properly.  The body is moved, and the house cleaned within hours.  The mystery surrounding the actions of the Sheriff, and other important people in town, only adds to the sense that something is not quite right in this town.  And it isn't.  Claysville has a compact with Mr. D., and a doorway to the underworld - that just happens to lie under the funeral home.

I did like the characters in this book.  They are engaging and whether you love them or hate them, they have virtues and flaws that make them believable.  Maylene Barrow, what little we do see of her, is a stoic woman who believes in the importance of her role in this town.  I liked her, and felt bad for her having to leave this legacy to Bek.  William Montgomery is secretive and I just wanted to shake him a few times.  He has answers, but he's not going to give them up without a fight.  Rebekkah Barrow is strong, yet there is a part of her that wants to lean on her childhood crush, Byron.  While Byron is as steadfast as ever.  Still in love with Bek, even though the suicide of his girlfriend - and Bek's cousin - Ella scarred them both.  Ella, while not in the book, is revealed to have a part in this story as well.  Daisha, a tormented dead teenager, plays havok with the locals.  Forever hungry.  Powerful. Maylene's daughter, Cissy, is such a bitch that I wanted to slap that smug smirk right off her face.  She expected to inherit the title of Graveminder.  She knows the rules inside and out.  However, being passed over for Bek, a girl who isn't even a blood relative, has pushed this woman to do the unthinkable.

Marr's world building is suitable spooky.  Claysville is a town that nearly no-one leaves... at least not for long, and where people don't get sick, or die from diseases.  Having children is a lottery, and there are way too many cemeteries for a town of it's size.  It's a spooky slice of Americana.  

On to the book itself.  I did love the cover art.  It was suitably creepy - and as I bought this in the lead up to Halloween, it was precicely what I was looking for.  The naked cover itself is quite attractive.  A simple tan and dark brown that is utilized on the dust jacket, and the title on the spine is a simple gold embossed font.  My only criticism of the spine text is that I would have loved them to have used the same typography for the title that was on the dust jacket.  That font is quite eerie when matched to the old sepia toned building.

Overall I would recommend Graveminder to anyone who likes paranormal or ghost stories, and I'll definitely be reading more of Marr in the future.

Until next time,