Book Review: Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Phantom Evil
Author: Heather Graham
Series: Krewe of Hunters (Book 1)
Publication: MIRA; First Time Paperback edition (July 13, 2020)

Description: Return to where it all started: New Orleans, the birthplace of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI’s elite paranormal investigation unit. Rediscover the first case in book 1 of the New York Times bestselling series, only from Heather Graham.

Though haunted by the recent deaths of two teammates, Jackson Crow knows that it’s the living who commit the most heinous crimes. As a police officer using her sometimes-otherworldly intuition, Angela Hawkins already has her hands full of mystery and bloodshed.

Under the oversight of Adam Harrison, Jackson and Angela will join a newly formed unit of the FBI, with the extraordinary opportunity to use their psychic talents.

And the first assignment calls to them too strongly to resist. In a historic mansion in the French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death. Most think she jumped; some say she was pushed. Yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits inhabiting the house—once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

In this seemingly unsolvable case, only one thing is certain: whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion will cast Jackson and Angela straight into danger.

My Thoughts: This paranormal romantic suspense title begins the long-running Krewe of Hunters series. 

FBI Agent Jackson Crow returns from a leave of absence to find that he is being charged with forming a new unit. The purpose of the unit is to investigate unusual crimes with a possible paranormal twist. Despite a number of possibly paranormal events in his life, Jackson is a skeptic. He much prefers the idea of human killers to ghostly ones. 

Jackson's new team consists for five others. Angela Hawkins is a police officer in Virginia who has a sensitivity to ghosts. Whitney Tremont is a Creole from the French Quarter who has done camera work for a paranormal television series. Jake Mallory is a musician with a gift for finding people. Jenna Duffy is a registered nurse. Will Chan has done theater work as a magician.

There first case takes them to New Orleans to investigate the death of the wife of a State Senator. Mrs. David Holloway died in her French Quarter home by falling off a balcony. The case was ruled a suicide caused by depression after the death of her child. The Senator believes that she was killed by the ghosts who inhabit the house. The ghosts include Madden C Newton, a carpetbagger responsible for the torture killings of at least twenty. 

I enjoyed this story which was originally published in 2011. I liked the combination of paranormal and normal investigations. I liked the wide variety of suspects. I liked getting to know Jackson and Angela who begin a romance in this book. The other members of the team have lesser roles in this one but I'm eager to read their stories in the other books in the series. 

I bought this one January 12, 2024. You can buy your copy here.