648 Followers
920 Following
donealrice

Debbie's Spurts

Just an avid reader. Mostly SF/Fantasy, some hobbies, paranormal, urban fantasy and lighter, fluffier things.

 

Currently reading

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
Samin Nosrat, Wendy MacNaughton
Bring Me Their Hearts
Sara Wolf
House of Earth and Blood
Sarah J. Maas
A Selection of Designs inspired by Iznik & Delft Pottery in Cross Stitch: 16 stunning floral cross stitch designs
Durene Jones
Ain't Love a Witch?
Dakota Cassidy
Progress: 1 %
The Old Witcheroo
Dakota Cassidy
Gemina (The Illuminae Files)
Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
Progress: 100 %
The Dragonbone Chair
Tad Williams
Progress: 14 %

Favorite Book Quotes


"Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake"— Lois McMaster Bujold

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review of "After Dark (Ghost Hunters #1)" by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz)

After Dark - Jayne Castle, Jayne Ann Krentz

Moving review from amazon.

 

Review Text:

 

I am a big fan of the previous Jayne Castle books (Zinnia, Orchid, Amaryrillis, and Charmed) and was delighted to spot a new entry. I very much enjoyed this book and it had a lively paced plot.

 

As a series fan, I found the additional material on other aspects of Harmony's culture and the ruins left by the mysterious aliens enjoyable--a little more into the underside/lower-society. The female lead was well-fleshed out and engaged your intrest/sympathy. The pet dust bunny was a good entry into the flora/fauna/characters inhabiting Harmony.

 

I did really like the book. But I suspect my 4-star rating is very much as a fan of both this series and the author's other novels (writing as Jayne Ann Krentz and Amanda Quick).

 

Despite the good job of continuing the world-building and an initially interesting mystery, the romance portion left a lot to be desired. It took more than two-thirds of the book before the characters even thought of each other romantically other than noticing an attraction. Most of the supporting characters remained just that -- supporting cast thrown into the plot almost as scenery.

 

The mystery didn't really hold any surprises and progressed to a conclusion with very little clues or intuition on the part of the main characters--except for convenient posthumous clues from the first victim delivered under in-case-of-my-death type of notes.

 

Screenshot: