Nichole’s Blog

Avenging Angels is the third in the Beaufort & Company series by Mary Stanton.  If you haven’t read this series, you’re seriously missing something.

Ms. Stanton has created a world where angels walk among us.  In her world, a team of angels assists in a profession that isn’t known for its connection to heaven — the legal one, specifically lawyers.

The premise of the series has to do with the idea of purgatory and the levels of Hell.  When someone dies, especially someone who may have been less than completely ethical when alive, they are tried for their sins. 

Bree is getting the hang of her unique clientel and the special abilities of her staff.

In this installment, Bree is trying to determine if Russell O’Rourke’s suicide was, well, suicide.  Both the widow and the originial police officer who investigated the suicide believe O’Rourke was murdered.  Thanks to a psychic connection, Bree believes she has to find the truth.

As I said before, this is the third in the Beaufort and Company series and Ms. Stanton has finished creating her world and building in the backstory.  This series is really living up to all the expectations I had for it.  However, while the story is a stand-alone, readers who haven’t read the first two books (or haven’t read them lately) will be lost and confused.  Do yourself a favor and pick up the first two before grabbing this one.  And you should grab this one. 

Blessings!

Nichole

When I first heard about this book by Kris Neri, I thought “WOW!  Something so similar to my novel, yet so different!!  How cool is that?”

And I was right.  What a great book!

The premise of the story is that Samantha Brennan, a fake psychic, stumbles upon a crime.  She decides that reporting the crime to the FBI would earn her headlines, and more business.  Samantha is resourceful, to say the least. 

Unfortunately for her, however, she meets a real-life goddess in the form of FBI Agent Annabelle Haggerty.  Annabelle can’t share her secret identity with her co-workers and finds a way to use Samantha’s scam for the greater good. 

This book falls right into the type of paranormal books I really enjoy – the type where the World is “realistic” and the characters are just a little different then normal.  Annabelle’s biggest struggle is working within the confines of the FBI bureaucracy.  She wants to make the world a better place by using her talents and gifts, she just doesn’t want to cause more problems for everyone involved.  And that includes other immortals and the mortals she is trying to help.

Ms. Neri told most of the story in first person from Samantha’s point of view.  Occasionally chapters were told from Annabelle’s viewpoint and those were clearly marked.

I really enjoyed this one and it reminded me of my own novel.  I truly hope that High Crimes on the Magical Plane is the first of a series featuring Samantha and Annabelle. 

Blessings!

Nichole

I read the latest Abby and Ophelia novel with a heavy heart.  According to Shirley Daamsgard’s website, it’s the last contracted book in the series. 

Having said that, it was an amazing novel and I am sure that whatever Ms. Daamsgard has in store for us will be just as wonderful.

The Seventh Witch is the seventh in the Abby and Ophelia series.  This one finds the family headed back to the Appalachain Mountains, where Abby grew up.  The family reunion, which includes Tink, Ophelia’s parents, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, is a trying time for just about everyone involved.  Really, who can’t relate to family stress?

Ophelia really grew into her own with this novel.  She was more willing to stand up for herself and her beliefs than she’s been in past stories.  Rather then wait for trouble to find (and throughly side-swipe) her, Ophelia took the inititve to thwart trouble before it hit home.

As the story wrapped up, however, I had a few questions that didn’t seem to be answered.  What happens with Ophelia and Cobra?  How does Tink fair as she enters adulthood?  I’m not sure these questions will ever be answered, but I can always hope that there is another Ophelia and Abby mystery somewhere down the road.

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery with a “witchy” twist, you’ll really enjoy this series.  I hope whatever Ms. Daamsgard has planned in the future follows the same line.

Blessings!

Nichole

I really enjoyed this one.  Carolyn Hart’s novel, Ghost at Work, takes a feisty woman from Heaven and sends her to Oklahoma.  As a Nebraska girl at heart (Go Cornhuskers!), I only had a small issue with the Oklahoma setting.

Bailey Ruth has died and is learning the ropes around Heaven.  She finds a “want ad” for an advocate to return to Earth.  Bailey Ruth decides to apply for the position. 

The supervisor, Wiggins, isn’t sure Bailey Ruth is ready for the job, but time is of the essence and he sends her off.

Bailey Ruth is a very like-able character.  She freely admits that following rules isn’t always her first instinct.  Her heart is in the right place, but trouble seems to follow Bailey Ruth wherever she goes.  In fact, she often acts first and thinks later.

That one personality trait seems to get her in more trouble than any other.  Add to the fact, Bailey Ruth is sent right back to her hometown where the rector’s wife has found a dead body on the porch.  Because of the amount of time that has passed, the rector’s wife is actually a relative of Bailey Ruth’s, adding to her determination to help.

Ghost at Work was an easy read and extremely well written.  Ghost at Work is the first in this series, and Ms. Hart has other series already out there.  If her other works are of the same caliber as this one, I will have to add her other works to my “to be read” pile.

Blessings!

Nichole

Have you ever picked up a book and thought “I might like this, might not.”  Maybe it’s in a genre that’s not your favorite.  Or the back of the book summary sounds good, but there’s just something about the cover that just doesn’t appeal to you.  But when you finish reading it, not only did you enjoy the story, but you suddenly remember you actually really like everything you’ve read by that author?

That’s what happens to me every time I pick up a Heather Graham novel.

I am always leery of her work because it’s filed in the romance section of the store.  At the same time, I’m drawn to her stories because of the fantastic way she weaves the paranormal into the story.  If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m not a huge romance fan.  In fact, if you queried my husband, he’d likely tell you that I don’t have a romantic bone in my body.  Therefore, reading romance isn’t something I normally do.

Having said all that, I really enjoy Heather Graham’s books.  I think the paranormal aspects of the stories overshadow the romance sections.  In other words, there is more to the story then the stereotypical “girl meets boy/girl hates boy/girl needs boy to solve some problem/girl loves boy/they live happily ever after.”

And in Unhallowed Ground, Ms. Graham didn’t disappoint me.

In the book, Sarah McKinley has returned to her St. Augustine, Florida, hometown and has purchased the historic antebellum mansion she’s always loved.  During the renovation process, however, Sarah finds more than she bargained for.

There are skeletons buried in the walls.  Lots of them.

Now, this doesn’t freak Sarah out quite as much as it would me.  You see, this particular mansion did a stint as a funeral home around the time of the Civil War.  As a living history enthusiast, and an archeologist, Sarah understands the process her home must go through to be cleared for her to return.

Meanwhile, private investigator Caleb Anderson is in the area searching for a missing girl — one of two, actually.  Since the missing girls are the same “type,” there is some concern about a serial killer.

Sarah’s and Caleb’s separate investigations cross paths and the two find themselves drawn to each other and the overlaps in their various “mysteries.”

Ms. Graham spins a captivating yarn.  I enjoy the twists and turns she employs and even the romantic tension isn’t strained.  The characters are multi-dimensional and the pacing of the story (as well as the sense of place) are fantastic.  If you enjoy paranormal stories, but are tired with the excess of vampires out there, you’ll enjoy just about anything by Ms. Graham.  Don’t let the “romance” label put you off, there’s just as much mystery in the books as there is romance.

Blessings!

Nichole