Heart of Evil by Heather Graham

Emerging from the bayou like an apparition, Donegal Plantation is known for its unsurpassed dining, captivating atmosphere, haunting legends... and now a corpse swinging from the marble angel that marks its cemetery’s most majestic vault. A corpse discovered in nearly the same situation as that of Marshall Donegal, the patriarch killed in a skirmish just before the Civil War.

 

Desperate for help traditional criminologists could never provide, plantation heiress Ashley Donegal turns to an elite team of paranormal investigators who blend hard forensics with rare - often inexplicable - intuition. Among the “Krewe of Hunters” is an old flame, Jake Mallory, a gifted musician with talent stretching far beyond the realm of the physical, and a few dark ghosts of his own.

 

The evil the team unveils has the power to shake the plantation to its very core. Jake and Ashley are forced to risk everything to unravel secrets that will not stay buried - even in death...

Series: Krewe of Hunters #2 | Publisher: Brilliance Audio | Narrator: Luke Daniels  | Length: 8 hours 18 minutes | Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense  | Source: Purchased  | Rating: 3

When Jake Mallory, Krewe of Hunters member, is called to aid in the investigation of a mysterious death at Donegal Plantation, he soon finds himself investigating both the present crime as well as the Civil War-era death of Marshall Donegal. Not only is he investigating a complicated murder, he’s working alongside his former girlfriend, Ashley Donegal. As the case progresses, secrets from long ago are revealed that puts the team at risk.

 

This is the second book in the Krewe of Hunters series and, like the first book, I ended up reading this after I started in the middle of the series. While the first book had a few issues, this one has definitely found its footing. There is a bit of a pacing issue at the start but it did smooth out rather quickly.

 

Jake is one of my favorite characters in this series and I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see his backstory/transition from musician to a member of the Krewe. I struggled with Ashley at the start. She made a lot of questionable decisions and started to feel like a TSTL character, thankfully, she pivoted and I ended up liking her.

 

Jake and Ashley have a history and it was interesting watching them work together while sorting out their own past issues. While the chemistry was fantastic between them, the romance was on the quicker side, which worked for me as they had a history. One thing I have noticed with this series is that the romance takes a backseat to the mystery.

 

The mystery in this book was an echo of the past so there’s a bit of history thrown in, which I do enjoy in this series, as the team investigates what happened to Marshall Donegal. Throughout the story there’s little snippets from the killer’s POV and, while it gave the book extra layers, I wish the killer’s identity would have been a veiled a bit more as it was easy to figure out the identity by their dialogue.  

 

While it wasn’t as dark as the first book, there’s still a bit of gore in this one. It’s also heavy on the paranormal, which, again, I do enjoy with this series.

 

I did end up listening to this one on audio and I really enjoyed the way Luke Daniels narrates this one.

 

Overall, this one still had a few teething issues but I did enjoy the characters and plot. I don’t think it’s going to be one of my favorites in the series but it’s still a decent paranormal romantic suspense.