Member Reviews
This was not for me. The story was kinda slow and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I was hoping for something different
I want to thank Netgalley, Heather Graham and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book.
I liked it but it kinda dragged for me because it was so repetitive and disjointed. which I've never known this author to be like in previous books. That is the reason for the stars. If I went off all books it would be higher because I love her as a author but this one seemed off.
I have heard so many good things about this author, and when I saw that the book focused on the paranormal I thought this would be a good one to try.
Unfortunately, I just didn't connect with this one for some reason. I felt that the characters, whether real or paranormal just didn't speak to me. I'm not sure what it was.
The story itself was ok, and she has a nice writing style. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
I will certainly try another book by her to see if this was just a fluke.
I really liked the pairing of Della and Mason, and their connection to ghosts. The case itself was interesting and the chase kept me interested. The romance was not fleshed out much, but since the case was so good it didn't bother me much.
I was excited to join this blog tour of Heather Graham’s new novel: Whispers at Dusk. This is part of the Romance blog tour but I don’t feel it’s a typical romance- so don’t let that turn you away if you aren’t a romance reader! It is the first in a series about a special group of “hunters” who are seeking killers and who have special powers. They fight vampires. They can talk to the dead. They “know” things. Apparently the “Krewe of Hunters” have been in some of Graham’s other books; this time they are fighting evil in Europe. It’s a paranormal/suspense/mystery mashup with some romance thrown in for good measure. It was a fast and furious read and I think Ms. Grahams’ fans will enjoy this new Blackbird Trilogy!
Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!
Book 1 in a new series, Whispers at Dusk is a great opening. I didn't realize this was a spinoff and I am definitely going to have to go look up the other books. The paranormal element worked so well. I grew to really love the characters and can't wait to read more about them.
Heather Graham starts her Blackbird Trilogy with murders in Europe. FBI recruits Della Hamilton and Mason Carter to the Krewe of Hunters, the special paranormal team, and sends them to Europe as Blackbird, an international team of hunters. Norway is showing one of four murders in which the bodies are left bloodless as if drained by vampires. The agents establish that Della fits the favoured target of the vampire murderer. Who will win?
This spin off from the Krewe of Hunters gets off to a good start with Delia and Mason hunting a serial killer. They are part of a group with special gifts - they are able to communicate with the dead. The duo travel all over Europe and end up in Louisiana hunting this elusive killer who promises his minions immortality by following him. The history included is intriguing, at times the story got bogged down, but was interesting enough to keep reading. I look forward to the next book that features these two characters.
I've been reading Heather Graham's books for a long time so anytime I hear about a new paranormal series she is starting I'm interested. This one definitely lived up to the Krewe of Hunters series which it's a spinoff of. I enjoyed that it had an international setting and that it was a bit more fast paced than some I've read before. I didn't fall in love with Della and Mason as a couple off the bat, but since there will be more than one book focused on them it did give a good starting foundation to their relationship. All in all a solid start to an exciting trilogy.
A decent beginning to a series surrounding the members of the Krewe of Hunters. This one is a little different because an International Task force is created and you get to see cooperation amongst different agencies. The globetrotting team melds well and the two main Krewe members become a nice pair.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. This is the 1st installment of the Blackbird trilogy about a serial killer who drains the blood from his victims, gruesome! The Krewe goes to Europe and tracks down the killers with two investigators Della and Mason as the lead investigators. Fast pace and fun to read. I have them next two in the series. Thanks Heather Graham! You always entertain!
Whispers at Dusk is the first book in the Blackbird Trilogy. It is also the first in an off-shoot series about the Krewe of Hunters going international. It works well as a stand alone, which was good for me since I am way behind on the Krewe series. This trilogy focuses on the set up of Blackbird (the name of the group) and Della and Mason. They are on the hunt for an international serial killer.
I thought this was a solid set-up for a newish series. I liked the idea of the Krewe going outside of the US. It's nice to change up long running series sometimes. As for this over-all story, I did ultimately enjoy it. I liked Della and Mason, although their romance was a bit too quick and easy for me. I would have liked it to drag out a little longer before they hooked up. My biggest issue is all of the info dumping in the book. There were pages and pages of history lessons about each area they went to. It really slowed the story down for me. I won't say this the best I have read by this author, but it's worth trying out.
I have loved the previous books I have read by Heather Graham. This one one just didn’t grab me and keep me intrigued as much as I had hoped it would.
A ok read for a paranormal suspense with a vampire aspect thrown in.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The only thing better than finding a long running series to immerse yourself in is finding a spin-off series to read along with it. 😉 I’ve kind of bounced around with the Krewe of Hunters series, so picking up the Blackbird Trilogy before I’ve even gotten past book 8 in the 38+ book series wasn’t an issue. (For me anyway…)
There’s a whole lot to love about the Krewe of Hunters and it seems that the Blackbird Trilogy isn’t going to be an exception. Taking the Krewe international with Mason and Della opens things up to a whole new realm of possibilities. Of course vampires aren’t real, but someone’s trying really hard to imitate one – with a couple of interesting twists.
The great thing about this trilogy is that the books are coming out back to back so there’s not a long wait for the next book in the series. Secrets in the Dark is coming soon and it’s already ready and waiting on my TBR pile.
Whispers at Dusk is the first book in the Blackbird Trilogy, but it is a spinoff from Heather Graham's Crewe of Hunters' series. In this book we meet two new recruits to this elite FBI group, Agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter. Both of them can see and talk to the dead, if they want to be seen. Blackbird is an international group that works all over the world. In this case they are off to Europe where four bodies have been found completely drained of blood. Apparently there is someone out there who thinks he is a vampire and he needs to be caught before any more bodies show up. The Crewe heads to Lillehammer, Norway where the most recent body was found. As Della and Mason investigate, they find a group that think they will receive immortality if they drink blood. Della wants to become bait for this group, but Mason has already lost one partner. Can they catch this group and their leader while remaining safe and keeping them from killing anyone else?
Whispers at dusk is a mixture of genres. You have some paranormal, a mystery, crime, suspense and a bit of a romance between Della and Mason simmering under the surface. There is also a chase and thriller aspect, which made this story fun, quick moving and tense at times. I loved meeting Della in the prologue and getting her background as to how and why she became a member of the Crew of Hunters. She was a smart, tenacious and strong agent with her special skill of talking to the dead giving her the edge. Mason is the same, but he also has that macho element of taking care of Della. He lost his previous partner and blames himself, so he doesn't want it to happen again. I never really connected to Mason, though, as I didn't feel I got to know him, and his overprotective macho streak bothered me just a bit. I really enjoyed the various ghosts that popped in and out of the story. They wanted to help and prevent anymore deaths, which I thought a bit different. The search was interesting and took them on a merry chase from Norway to the UK and back to the US. The crime mystery is well paced and kept me listening intently. There weren't a lot of clues for me to follow, as many came from Della and her conversations with the ghosts, so I just sat back and enjoyed the action as it was presented. As the trust between Della and Mason grew, their relationship became more than partners. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes in the next two books. Overall, this was a fun story, with a nice pace. Although I enjoyed it, there was just something that kept me from loving it. It is a good start to the trilogy and I am looking forward to seeing what is next from the Blackbird International Group.
2.5 stars read.
I'm a big fan of Heather Graham books but I'm afraid I'm not a fan of this one.
What I like:
- Vampires legends and folklores, I love stories about vampires from different countries, it's pretty fascinating, so I really enjoyed that part.
- Love Della and Mason, cute couple, perfect for each other, even though I felt no spark at the beginning, but the more I read the more I like this couple.
What I don't like:
- repetitive. So many things told over and over again, it's really bothering me.
- the mystery. It's jumpy and choppy and again repetitive and it's not as creepy as I expected, it has a good premise, but I got lost interest in the middle, I missed the suspense and heart racing moments, it felt not that dangerous.
- Della, I'm sorry but she's irritating sometimes, kinda annoying.
Recommended: If you're intrigued with paranormal suspense with a dash of vampire, try this one, maybe you will like it more than I do.
WHISPERS AT DUSK by Heather Graham gives mystery readers everything they could want and more.
Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction
https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=82777
This is book 1 in a new series, The Blackbird Trilogy. It is a spinoff from her Krewe of Hunters series. When you can speak to the dead (ghosts) you become a very special asset to the FBI and International Police hunting for paranormal serial murderers. Della and Mason become partners in the newly formed special division, Blackbird. Their first case is finding a killer who drains the bodies of blood. As the team moves across Europe and the US they get help from a variety of dead. An unusual storyline that grabbed my interest and had me make a note to look for book 2.
I just finished Whispers at Dusk by Heather Graham. This mystery had elements to appeal to a variety of readers- supernatural and ghost elements, vampires, and FBI/cop characters. It was a fast paced story that keep me reading. There were a lot of characters which sometimes made things a little confusing while reading.
I’ve had Heather Graham books on my TBR for quite awhile, so I’m glad I read this one. I’m not usually a big fan of the supernatural genre, so this wasn’t a favorite for me. But definitely a good possibility for those who are!
Thanks #NetGalley for the ARC!
In the first book of the Blackbird trilogy, the Krewe of Hunters is now international. FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter are sent to Norway when four bodies drained of blood are found with pinpricks in their necks and DNA in the wounds. A group believes that drinking blood is the secret to immortality, and the pair are going to have to get close to them to solve the case, even though Mason has already lost one partner.
We get Della's background as a teen with a glimmer of skill, then jump into her meeting Mason. Both can talk to ghosts, which gets them on the Krewe radar. Evidence left behind seems to belong to dead men, perpetuating the vampire myths that the victim bodies seem to suggest. With a Viking age archaeological dig nearby and enough people around drinking blood for kicks, they have their hands full looking for the master vampire killing the young women. This master has thought of most avenues our heroes and their allies look for clues or people, and has been a step ahead of them the entire way.
The sentences are jumpy and choppy, even in the slower moments, and the characters lay it all out immediately in conversation. It surprised me because I thought we'd have to work at getting to know them, and that felt stilted in the beginning. Are you going to tell your supervisor that you're afraid of failure? Yet Mason does it in chapter one. The entire book is written in this kind of style so that easily makes this not my favorite of Heather Graham's books. This one is definitely more of a murder mystery than a romance, but it is the start of a spinoff series so they'll probably get together later. In a way, that's almost comforting; with the horrific nature of these crimes, they don't get sidetracked Hollywood style but continue working with different agencies in different countries to get to the bottom of it.