Phantom Evil review

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham is the first in the Krewe of Hunters series set in New Orleans about a quasi-governmental unit that investigates the paranormal and is set up by Adam Harrison, a character who also appears in the Harrison Investigation series.

I have to admit that I didn't love Jackson, the "hero" of this book. Despite his experience with the paranormal, he treated Angela and the others on his team as if they were lunatics for believing in the paranormal. He also shot down every idea Angela came up with for the first half of the book. In turn, Angela treated Jackson as if he could never be or do anything wrong. It was a little irritating.

The plot was fantastic - it kept me guessing right up to the end as to who was guilty. The appearances of the various ghosts was creepy (in a good way) and always a little disturbing and unexpected. I enjoyed that "relationship" between Angela and the ghosts in the house.

The various suspects were all really well written - shady enough to make you suspicious but with just enough explanation to make them understandable and not obviously evil or guilty. The other members of the Krewe were great as well. The banter and interactions with the various members was fun and easygoing without being contrived in any way.

While I didn't love this book at the beginning and didn't warm up to Jackson until the middle of the book, I ended up enjoying it a great deal. The plot and guessing about what would happen made up for my lack of love toward the two main characters and by the end I really wanted to read more about the other members of the Krewe.

Phantom Evil was published by Mira books in 2011 and is followed by Heart of Evil.

Synopsis

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he's gathered know a little of the otherworldly--each has honed a psychic talent of their own. Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can't tell if Adam's demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he's well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson's careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam's call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house--once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives...and their immortal souls.