Bookish Thoughts: The Hexed by Heather Graham

"Help me, Rocky!" ~ Opening Sentence of The Hexed

The Hexed by Heather Graham

Harlequin MIRA, 2014

Crime Fiction (Paranormal, Romance); 400 pgs

My favorite kind of cozy mysteries are those with a paranormal element.  There is just something about adding a bit (okay, sometimes a lot) of supernatural to a story that appeals to me most.  Despite The Hexed being the thirteenth book in the Krewe Hunters series, it is my first.  Fortunately for me, The Hexed is very much a stand alone novel.  There is so little (nothing really) about characters that may have appeared in earlier books, that a reader jumping in now should not feel lost or feel like he or she missed out on a minor continuing story line.

In The Hexed, readers are introduced to Craig "Rocky" Rockwell, an FBI agent who asks to be assigned to the an elite division of the FBI called the Krewe Hunters.  The Krewe Hunters, once a private detection agency, was adopted by the FBI because of their special abilities in dealing with the supernatural, namely ghosts.  Rocky is haunted by the ritualistic murder of a friend when they were teenagers and when another body is found in the same area and in the same manner over a decade later, he requests to be involved in the investigation.

Devin Lyle, once reporter now children's book author, has only recently returned home to Salem, taking up residence in her deceased aunt's home.  One night she hears a cry for help and runs outside into the woods by her house only to find the body of a woman.

Devin is pulled into the investigation of the murders due to her ability to see and talk to ghosts, one of which Rocky and Devin are sure has the key who is behind the murders and why someone would want the women dead.  Add in an eccentric great-aunt who is a ghost, a black raven named Poe, and a budding love story, and you have an entertaining novel.

I really liked the character of Rocky.  He is such a sweetheart, maybe a little too perfect.  I found it interesting how the Krewe team gave him lead upon their arrival to town to help with the murder investigation, especially given how new he was to the unit.  It made sense in some ways, I suppose: this was the area he had grown up in, one of his childhood friend's was the local lead on the case, and he was the first on the scene.  It wasn't something that bothered me at all, just something I noticed.

Devin was no slouch, that's for sure.  She's smart as a whip, especially when it comes to the history of the area.  Sometimes when a civilian character gets involved with a police investigation it seems too unbelievable to buy into, but not so in Devin's case.  At least I did not think so.  In part, keeping her close was to protect her, but she was also the person the ghost from long ago wanted to talk to.

I enjoyed seeing the evolution of Devin and Rocky's relationship, but admit the moment they made their feelings known seemed forced somehow and so sudden.  It wasn't how I imagined either character acting except maybe in their heads.  Still, it was not a bad thing.  Given how stressful the situation was, how dangerous, I should not be completely surprised.

The Hexed was an enjoyable read.  I suspected just about everyone in the book at one point or another of being the killer, but it was not until closer to the end that I had it figured out.  Somewhat.  The investigation was slow going at times, but rightfully so given the amount of research and foot work the characters had to do.  There is a bit of a need to suspend one's disbelief (and I'm not referring to the ghosts) in how Rocky came to some of his conclusions, but it was easy to look past as much fun as I was having reading to see what would happen next.

Will I read more by this author?  Absolutely.  I'm curious to learn more about the other members of the Krewe Hunters team and see what mysteries they encounter.

Rating:  (Good +)

To learn more about Heather Graham, and her books, please visit the author's website.

I hope you will check out what others had to say about The Hexed on the TLC Book Tours route!

Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. E-Copy of the book provided by the publisher.

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