Synopsis:
Sleepy Hollow isn’t so sleepy anymore…
One night, New York FBI agent Aiden Mahoney receives a visitor in a dream–an old friend named Richard Highsmith. The very next day he’s sent to Sleepy Hollow because Richard’s gone missing there.
Maureen–Mo–Deauville now lives in the historic town and works with her dog, Rollo, to search for missing people. She’s actually the one to find Richard?or more precisely his head, stuck on a statue of the legendary Headless Horseman.
Mo and Aiden, a new member of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI’s unit of paranormal investigators, explore both past and present events to figure out who betrayed Richard, who killed him and now wants to kill them, too. As they work together, they discover that they share an unusual trait?the ability to communicate with the dead. They also share an attraction that’s as intense as it is unexpected?if they live long enough to enjoy it!
My review:
The Betrayed is the 14th book in author Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters Series and can absolutely be read as a stand alone. In this installment, Ms. Graham weaves a thrilling mystery with rich, small-town history delivering another novel I wasn’t able to put down.
New York FBI agent Aiden Mahoney is new to the agency’s paranormal division, the Krewe of Hunters, and is just getting used to the idea when, one night, he hears the voice of an old friend in a dream and isn’t sure what to make of it. He won’t have to wonder long because the very next morning, he is sent to the town his friend went missing from to start his investigation. That investigation turns into a murder investigation when his friend’s body is found…in two separate parts. With the investigation in its infancy, he can’t help but notice that the circumstances surrounding the murder are a direct link to the town’s history….the town being Sleepy Hollow. Adding to the overall creepiness to the murder is the fact that it’s so close to Halloween. Aiden definitely has his work cut out for him. Luckily he will have the help of the local police, a few more of his fellow Krewe of Hunters team members and Mo and Rollo. Although if he’s being honest, Mo and Rollo are almost as big a mystery as the murder itself. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but he knows she’s hiding some sort of psychic ability. He knows that because he once hid his ability as well…
Mo knew all too well what would happen if she revealed her ability to see and speak with the dead to the handsome FBI agent. He would never believe her and it was for the best that she keep it to herself. She had her dog, Rollo, and together they would help with this murder like they had with many other cases. But there was something about him that Mo couldn’t quite put her finger on…it was almost as though he had some sort of ability as well. Maybe she could get him to open up to her? After all, they would be working together until this horrible crime had been solved. She just hoped they could catch the killer before anyone else got hurt.
The murders gripping Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown are gruesome and utterly unnerving. Aiden can’t believe his old friend has been murdered and Mo can’t believe it could be someone from her very own town. With time ticking and not too many clues, the pressure is on both Aiden and Mo to get to the bottom of this mystery. Can they do it without the number of victims increasing?
Again, I have to say that one of my favorite things about Ms. Graham’s writing is her ability to weave a town’s real history with a fictional mystery. It’s a beautiful balance that adds something special to each book she writes. I loved the setting of this particular installment, Sleepy Hollow, and that is was so close to Halloween. I don’t think it is possible to find a better place and time to set a murder mystery in. The other thrilling aspect was that the murderer is using that rich and creepy history to add an even more twisted facet to the story. I had chills too many times to count while reading it and I love that in a story!
Of course, the characters were also fabulous. Aiden is all business and I loved watching him try to figure Mo out. Mo and Rollo were equally terrific to read. They were both bound and determined to solve this crime and they ended up worked beautifully together…and that lead to a mutual attraction as well, which was yet another reason to love this story.
Now, I have to say, I was totally shocked when the murdered was revealed. The build up was so well done and few things are better than that “aha” moment. Simply fantastic!
Thank you, Ms. Graham, for another suspenseful and history filled read!
Four Loves
Book links:
About the author:
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels and has been published in more than 20 languages. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and the mother of five, she enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well, from locations such as Cairo, Egypt, to her own backyard, the Florida Keys. Reading is still the pastime she still loves best, and she is a member of many writing groups. She’s a winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, and also the founder of The Slush Pile Players, an author band and theatrical group.
Heather annually hosts the Writers for New Orleans conference to benefit both the city, which is near and dear to her heart, and various other causes, and she hosts a ball each year at the RT Booklovers Convention to benefit pediatric AIDS foundations.
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I love it when an author keeps me guessing right to the very end! And this mystery sounds super creepy too!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.