The Evil Inside
by Heather GrahamBook 4 of Krewe of Hunters
~ Goodreads ~
Rating: 3.0 Stars
I ended up putting off this review for a lot of reasons after finishing it.
First of all, I really didn’t know what to say about The Evil Inside. It was easier to get into than Sacred Evil, that’s for sure. Using the Salem Witch Trials as a springboard for a paranormal murder mystery gives the premise all sorts of potential. And somehow, Sam Hall was a more readily likable main male character than the other guy--unfortunately, he also doesn’t stray far from the whole “Be an ass ‘cause of reasons” schtick.
I mean, I get that paranormal investigators are not the norm. And I get that it’s hard to take seriously an FBI unit created specifically to investigate unique murders that are hard cases to solve by using paranormal means. But is it necessary for every guy who comes across one of the Krewe members to display arrogant douchery all the time? I mean, between Jude Crosby (from Sacred Evil) and Sam Hall, I feel the need to slap someone. Both men are highly skeptical of the whole paranormal investigations thing as well as highly skeptical that their respective Krewe of Hunters liaison is sensitive to ghostly happenings. Both guys, at one point or another will make snide remarks about said ghostly happenings or ghostly encounters by their respective female other half; however, at the same time, both guys will also insist that said Krewe member use their special paranormal insights to figure something out. And then he will proceed to be mockingly snide once again.
It’s like I’m reading the same book with different character names and a different murder mystery.
Anyway…
The second reason why it took so long to finish writing this review (and many other reviews) was due to being on vacation for a few days. Aside from getting a little bit of reading during spare moments, I did little in the bookish arena. And yes, I had a LOT of catching up to do.
And so… after this unnecessarily drawn out introduction to make my review feel bulkier...
The Story:
History repeats itself once more with deaths, betrayal, lies, and persecution. A gruesome massacre of the Smith family in Lexington House stirs unrest within the community--Lexington House has always stood as a cursed residence with strings of family slayings lying in its wake. But even as the main suspect, Malachi Smith, is being charged with the murder of his entire family, something much darker seems to be at hand.
Defense attorney Samuel Hall and FBI agent Jenna Duffy must team up to help Malachi by finding the real killer of several slayings from the past few months. They both believe that Malachi is innocent of the killings, but with rumors and gossip, and fingers being pointed, it seems almost impossible to find the truth about these murders.
Jenna Duffy and her teammates from the FBI special paranormal investigative unit, the Krewe of Hunters, must utilize their special senses to help find the real culprit even while going head-to-head with stubbornly insistent witnesses and a long history of distrust and lies settling in Salem.
My Thoughts:
Yeah, yeah. Crap summary by Ani. But I couldn’t figure out how else to summarize what I know of this book.
It’s fairly straight-forward: Kid’s family is killed. Kid is accused of murder. Hero and Heroine swoop in to save the day. Re-enactment of Salem Witch Trials abound--people lying and giving false testimony to get rid of rivals or other people they just don’t like. Spooky paranormal stuff happens that tie in with ye’olden Salem Witch Trials. More stuff happens. Romance ensues. Cue Damsel in Distress scene with subsequent rescue. Murder mystery solved. Romance realized. Happily Ever After™.
Yeah… I think I like that summary better.
But anyway… that’s pretty much it for The Evil Inside. As I’d already stated, while this book was easier to get into than Sacred Evil, I couldn’t help feeling that both books felt exactly the same. At least the romances unfolded quite similarly even if Sam and Jenna have more sexy times than Whitney and Jude had had.
Oh yeah, and then there’s the rest of the Krewe who pretty much show up and do nothing, but lend paranormal legitimacy to the investigations.
And again, the references to the Salem Witch Trials kind of feel half-assed. I’m not saying I’m an expert on history or anything, but the few references made almost seem like random elementary school history lesson fact sheets put together.
***
This book is a pre-chosen participant in the following Reading Challenge(s):
This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in September 2015.
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