Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on
The tale is set in historical Savannah, Georgia at a tavern built in the 1750s known as the Dragonslayer. Gus the owner is a direct descendant of the original innkeeper and his pirate brother Blue Anderson. Abigail his granddaughter who recently graduated from the FBI academy receives a message from her grandfather Gus asking her to come home. When she arrives she discovers her grandfather is dead, and he isn’t the only one. The police dismiss her grandfather’s untimely death as nothing more than a heart attack, and the ghost of Blue appears she emails Jackson Crowe the leader of an elite FBI unit. When Malachi Gordon arrives from the Krewe of Hunters the tale begins to heat up and the story that unfolds was fascinating, suspenseful with just a touch of heat.
Abigail is fresh from the academy and reeling from the loss of her grandfather. She is a strong character, and pieces things together but some of her actions annoyed me. Maybe it was because she was a newbie, or the fact that the suspects were all childhood friends but I never totally connected with her. Malachi Gordon, a former New Orleans police officer turned PI, has a unique ability to talk to ghosts and is assigned this case as a test run after being vetted for a position on the team. I liked Malachi, but didn’t like the way he went off on his own without his partner. The two had an interesting chemistry; he is laid back and she is more “I need facts” with a little snark and this created some tension, banter and heat. It had wonderful moments, but it all kind of fell a little flat for me. I bought into the relationship but just wasn’t wowed by it or searching for my HEA. The suspects and townsfolk were a lively bunch and I loved sorting out who was who.
Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Suspense! The world building was fascinating, had historical accuracy and was dark and entertaining. Wrapped in some paranormal woo-woo I was completely caught up in the case. Graham brought this historical area of Savannah to life and shared details of the original settlement, the tunnels, pirates, small pox and other interesting tidbits. The ghosts gave us a glimpse into the past and Blue aided in solving the murders. While I figured out who the murderer was, I found it all to be quite clever as Graham weaved all of the threads and clues together. The ghosts in the cemetery touched my heart and softened me towards the main characters. The tale offered up some darkness, humor, lively suspects and some clothes tossing! The tale has me itching to visit Savannah, but I will be looking over my shoulder for pirates and ghosts!
Copy received in exchange for unbiased review and originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 6 July, 2013: Finished reading
- 6 July, 2013: Reviewed