Phantom Evil

By Heather Graham

A secret government unit is formed. The six members know a little of the otherworldly each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English–part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates.

To counterbalance Jackson's careful scepticism, he's been paired with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age.

In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their livesand their immortal souls.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jan 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781460804087

Heather Graham

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She's a winner of the RWA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers' Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The house on Dauphine

Mommy.

She had dozed, Regina Holloway thought. Sheer exhaustion from the work she engaged in at the house on Dauphine Street. Sheer exhaustion had finally allowed her to drift off to sleep. The word, the whisper, was something she had conjured in her mind; she had been so desperate to hear it spoken again.

Waking, not opening her eyes, she listened to what was real. The sound of musicians down the street, and the spattering of applause that followed their jazz numbers. The deep, sad heartbeat of the saxophone. The distant noise of the mule-driven carriages that took tourists around the historic French Quarter. Sometimes, the sound of laughter.

She breathed in the smell of pine cleaner, which they had been using on the house. Beneath it—drifting in from the open French doors that led to the courtyard of the beautiful home—was the sweet scent of the magnolia trees that grew against the rear wall. They’d finally gotten their home in the French Quarter, with its subtle and underlying hint of strange days gone by.

Some said that it was haunted by those days, by that history, certainly not always so pleasant. This house had been, after all, owned by Madden C. Newton, the killer who had terrorized many a victim in the years following the Civil War. The tour group carriages rolled by with tales of ghosts and ghastly visions seen by previous owners. But neither she nor David believed in ghosts, and the house had been a steal. Now, of course, she longed with her whole heart to believe in ghosts. If they existed, she might see her Jacob again.

But ghosts were not real.

The house was a house. Brick, wood, mortar, lath, plaster and paint. She and David had both grown up on the other side of town; they had dreamed of owning such a house. They had, however, never dreamed that they would live in it alone.

Yes, she knew what was real, and what wasn’t. She was learning to live without the painkillers that had gotten her through the first months after Jacob had been lost. The painkillers had given her several strange visions, but none of them ghostly.

Mommy.

But she heard the word, and she heard it clearly. She opened her eyes, and a scream froze in her throat.

A little boy stood there. A little boy just about Jacob’s age, seven. He was dressed in Victorian-era breeches, a little vest and frock coat, knickers and boots.

And an ax blade cut into his skull, the shaft protruding from it. A trail of blood seeped down the sides of his face.

Mommy, it hurts. It hurts so badly. Help me, Mommy, he said, looking at her with wide, blue, trusting eyes.

She so desperately wanted to scream. She had seen her son in dreams, but this wasn’t her son. She knew the stories about the house, knew about the murders that had taken place here just after the Civil War….

Yes, she knew, but at the worst of times, she hadn’t had such strange and horrible visions.

He wasn’t real.

Sounds emitted from her at last. Not screams. Just sounds. Sounds of terror, like the nonsense chatter of an infant. She wanted to scream.

Mommy, please. Mommy, I need you.

It wasn’t Jacob, and it wasn’t Jacob’s voice. And Jacob had been killed in a car accident six months ago; a drunk driver had nearly killed them all, veering over three lanes on I-10 late at night.

Jacob had died at the hospital, in her arms. He had been buried at Lafayette Cemetery, dressed in his baseball uniform, which he had loved so dearly. She wasn’t hearing her son’s voice.

Just his words.

Mommy, it hurts. It hurts so badly. Help me, Mommy.

Jacob’s words, those he had spoken when she had held him at the hospital, just seconds before the internal bleeding had taken his sweet, young life.

This was not Jacob.

No.

She closed her eyes, unable to scream. She prayed that David would come home, Senator David Holloway. Her husband, handsome, even, lucid, rational, wonderful, ever there for her in their shared grief. David could hold her, and she would find strength. He was due home. Dusk had come. Dusk, and yet, there had still been pink-and-yellow streaks remaining in the sky, casting light upon the dust motes that had danced in the room. Dust motes that became the image of a murdered child.

He would go away. He wasn’t real. He was the result of the local lore about the house, that was all.

Mommy, please, I need you. Please, just hold my hand.

She opened her eyes. He hadn’t gone away. He was standing there, anguished eyes on her, reproach and confusion in them. The boy was wondering how she could ignore him, stare at him with such horror in her own expression.

Mommy?

You’re not…not there, she whispered.

Mommy, don’t leave me! I’m scared. I’m so scared. Take my hand, hold it, please, I’m so scared! he said.

And then, the little boy reached out. She recoiled inwardly, sheets of icy fear sweeping through her with the rage of a storm. And then…

She felt the little hand. That little hand, reaching for hers. It was warm, it was vital, and it seemed so alive.

The fingers squeezed hers. She squeezed back.

I need you, Mommy, he said.

She didn’t scream. She managed words. It’s all right, she said.

Suddenly the twilight became infused with dust motes that sailed on pink-and-yellow ribbons of light, a palette fueled by the dying of the day. Soon, the harsh neon lights of night would take over on Bourbon Street, and the rock bands would reign over the plaintive drumbeat of jazz. Soon, David would come home, and she would hear some psychobabble about her imagining the ghost of a long-dead child to take the place of Jacob.

No one could take her son’s place.

But suddenly she wasn’t frightened. She needed to reassure a child.

It’s all right, she said again.

It’s going to be dark. See, outside, in the courtyard, it’s going to be dark, the little boy said.

There are lights everywhere. In the courtyard, on the gates, Regina said. I’ll turn on the room light. I won’t leave you in darkness.

She sat up, still feeling the cling of that little hand. She walked to the French doors; it was spring, and the air was so fresh and beautiful, as if newly washed, and the scent of flowers was in the air. The inhabitants of the Quarter loved to twine vines and set flowers out on their patios and balconies. For a moment, Regina inhaled deeply.

Yes, she was desperate. In so much pain. They would say that she was seeking a companion to make up for Jacob, not replace him. That sounded insane. She would never make up a little child with an ax sticking out of his head.

I love the courtyard, Mommy, he said, leading her.

Yes, it’s so pretty, she said. Hysteria started to rise in her again. She was thirty-five years old, and now she had an imaginary friend.

He looked at her again, leaning against the railing. Suddenly, it seemed that the light hit the child’s great blue eyes strangely. There was a look of cunning in those eyes.

She thought she heard something behind her. She turned and frowned with confusion.

And then shock.

She was dimly aware of being pushed.

She was fully aware of falling.

Her scream tore from her lips at last, until it was cut off abruptly.

Skull shattered, neck broken, Regina lay dead with her eyes wide open.

CHAPTER ONE

Jackson Crow sat staring at the pile of dossiers before him. This was his first meeting with the man on the other side of the desk: Adam Harrison, white haired, dignified, slim and a taste for designer suits. The office was modest, nicely appointed, but far from opulent. Plate-glass windows looked over row houses in Alexandria, Virginia, and other companies with shared space in the building had names such as Brickell and Sons, Attorneys-at-Law, Chase Real Estate and B. K. Blake, Criminal Investigation.

Adam had just handed him the folders. Jackson, do you have any idea of why you’re here?

He’d returned to his old Behavioral Sciences Unit in D.C. to discover that he was being given a new assignment. His leave of absence, it seemed, was somehow permanent.

His last assignment, despite the excellent work done by him and his colleagues, had ended with three of them being dead. Yet if it hadn’t been for his intuition, two other fellow agents might have died as well. Local police had not responded to the call sent out, and there was no way to blame himself.

Naturally, he did.

Maybe the empathy of his superiors had caused them to give him a new assignment, in a different place—behind a desk.

He’d heard things about Adam Harrison. He’d worked solo over the years—and for the government where the government could not act officially. Adam went in where others did not.

It wasn’t because of extreme danger. Rather, it might be considered that he went in because of extreme weirdness.

No, he said simply.

First, let me assure you, you are not being let go. You will still be working for Uncle Sam, Adam told him. The assignments will come from me, but you’ll be heading up the team. A new team.

A cushy job somewhere behind a desk that didn’t involve serial killers, kidnapping or bodies discovered beneath concrete.

Jackson wasn’t sure how he felt; numb, perhaps.

Take a look at this.

He hadn’t had a chance to look at the files yet, but Adam now handed him a month-old New Orleans newspaper bearing the headline Wife of Senator David Holloway Dies from Fall into Courtyard.

He looked up at Adam.

Read the full article, Adam suggested.

He read silently.

Regina Holloway, the wife of beloved state Senator David Holloway, died yesterday in a fall from a balcony at their recently purchased French Quarter mansion on Dauphine Street. Six months ago, the Holloways lost their only son, Jacob, in an accident on I-10. While there is speculation that Regina cast herself over the balcony, David Holloway has strenuously denied such a possibility; his wife was doing well and coming to terms with their loss; they were planning on building a family again.

The police and the coroner’s office have yet to issue an official cause of death. The house, one of the grand old Spanish homes in the Quarter, was once the killing ground of the infamous Madden C. Newton, the carpet-bagger responsible for the torture slayings of at least twenty people. Less than ten years ago, a teenager who had broken into the then-empty house also perished in a fall; the coroner’s office ruled his death accidental. The alleged drug dealer had raced into the vacant house to elude police.

An uneasy feeling swept over Jackson, but he calmly set the newspaper back on the desk and looked at Adam Harrison.

That’s a tragic story, he said. It sounds likely that the poor woman did commit suicide, and the senator is in denial. I’m afraid I’ve seen other instances in which a woman could not accept the loss of her child.

Many people are insistent that the house is haunted, Adam said.

And that a ghost committed this murder? Jackson asked. He leaned forward in his chair. I’m not at all sure I believe in ghosts, Adam. And if they did exist, wouldn’t they be things of mist and imagination? Hardly capable of tossing a woman over a balcony.

The senator has friends in high places, though he’s still only a state senator. He absolutely insists that his wife did not commit suicide, Adam said.

Does he suspect murder? Jackson asked.

The house was locked, no lower windows were open, and the gate to the courtyard was locked as well.

Someone could have crawled over the wall or gotten through the gate, Jackson suggested.

Adam nodded. That’s possible, of course. But no witnesses have come forward in the past month to suggest that such a thing might have happened. The death was determined to be a suicide fairly quickly. Are you familiar with the city of New Orleans, the French Quarter or Vieux Carré, specifically?

An ironic smile curled Jackson’s features. Land of vampires, ghosts, voodoo and fantasy. But some of the world’s best cooking, and some truly great music, too.

All right then. You work in behavioral science. Don’t you agree that people’s beliefs can create actions and reactions?

Yes, of course. Son of Sam… Berkowitz believed that howling dogs were demons commanding him to kill. Or, it was a damn good defense.

Always a skeptic, Adam said. And yet you’re not really, are you? Now, Adam smiled.

I am a skeptic, yes. Am I open to possibility? Yes, Jackson said carefully.

You know, both of your parents were amazing believers, Adam reminded him. Jackson hesitated.

Yes, they had been believers, both of them, always believing in a higher power, and it didn’t matter what path someone took to that power. Jeremiah Crow had been born a member of the Cheyenne Nation, although his ancestry had been so mixed God alone knew exactly what it was. He had loved the spiritualism of his People, and his mother had loved it as well. Nominally Anglican, his mother had once told him that religion wasn’t bad; it was meant to be very good. Men corrupted religion; and a man’s religious choice didn’t matter in the least if it was his path to decency and remembering his fellow man.

But his maternal grandmother had come from the Highlands of Scotland, and her tales of witches and pixies and ghosts had filled his childhood. Maybe that’s why it had been while he was in the Highlands, and not on his Native American dream quest, that he had found himself in a position to question life and death and eternity, and all that fell in between.

You’re here because you are the perfect man for this team, Jackson, Adam said. You’re not going to refuse to investigate what seems like the impossible, but you’re also not going to assume a ghost is the culprit.

All right. So you want me to go to New Orleans and find out exactly why this woman died? You do realize there’s a good chance that, no matter what the husband wants to believe, she committed suicide.

"Here’s the thing, Jackson, most people will believe that she committed suicide. It is the most obvious answer. But I want the truth. Senator Holloway has given his passion to many critical committees in our country. He has made things happen often when the rest of the country sits around twiddling its collective thumbs. He is a man who can weigh the economy and the environment, and come up with solutions. He wants the truth. He’s young in politics, barely forty, and if he doesn’t bury himself in grief, he will continue to serve the American people with something our politicians have lacked heavily in the past fifty years—complete integrity. People in Washington need him, and I’m asking that you lead the group."

If it’s my assignment, I’ll take it on, Jackson paused. But…do I really need a unit?

I believe so. I’m giving you a group to dispel or perhaps prove the existence of ghosts in the house. They all have their expertise as investigators as well.

He was quiet, and Adam continued, When several members of your last unit were killed, you got to the ranch house quickly enough to save Lawson and Donatello. No one knew where the Pick-Man was killing his victims. No one knew that he had arranged for your agents to be at the ranch house.

Jackson felt his jaw lock, and despite the time he had taken for leave, he swallowed hard. They’d lost good agents. Among them Sally Jennings, forty-five, experienced, and yet vulnerable no matter how many years of service she had seen.

He’d felt that he’d seen Sally; dreamed that he’d seen her, standing there at the house.

And it had been that dream that had brought him to the ranch house, and there he had discovered that she had been the first to die.

I shot the Pick-Man, he said. He’s dead.

That was the only chance Lawson and Donatello had, since, had he seen you before you warned him and fired to kill, he’d have put that pick through Donatello’s chest, Adam said. Trust me, I’ve watched you for years, Jackson. I actually knew your parents.

That was surprising.

Adam might well have known about the event when Jackson had been riding near Stirling, Scotland, and been thrown. His friends had gone on, thinking that he had left them; that he’d won the race and the bet. He’d encountered a stranger after, one who had saved his life. And then….

It had been long ago.

And yet, hell. He’d spent his life debunking ghost stories and dreams like the one he’d had. Finding the truth behind them. Proving that the plantation in Virginia was haunted by a cousin of the owner who wanted him out of the estate. Proving that there were no ghosts prowling the Rocky Mountains, that a human being named Andy Sitwell was the Pick-Man, even if he supposedly believed that the ghost of an old gold-seeking mountaineer was causing him to commit murder.

Six months had passed since he had shot and killed the Pick-Man. Six months in which he had tried to mourn the loss of his coworkers. He’d been back to Scotland to visit his mother’s family, and he’d spent a month with his father’s family—helping them organize their new casinos and hotels.

But he was ready to get back into the kind of work for which he knew he had a talent. Digging. Following clues. Whether it meant studying history, people, beliefs or a trail of blood. He was good at it.

He had the mind for it, and the mind for the kind of unit Adam Harrison was putting together.

I’m open to possibilities, he said to Adam. Possibilities—there are a lot of people out there manipulating spiritualism and making a lot of money off the concept of ghosts.

Adam smiled. That’s true, and I actually like your skepticism. As far as believing in ghosts, well, I do, he said. But that’s not important. I’ve got you scheduled for a flight into Louis Armstrong International Airport at nine tomorrow morning. Is that sufficient time to allow you to get your situation here in order?

His situation here?

The apartment in Crystal City had little in it. All right, a damn decent entertainment center because he loved music and old movies. A closet of adequate and workable clothing. Pictures of the family and friends he had lost.

He nodded. Sure. What about these? He lifted the file folders, the dossiers on his new unit. When do I meet the crew?

They’ll arrive tomorrow and Wednesday, Adam said. You’ve got the dossiers; read up on them first. I figured you might want the house all to yourself for a few hours. Angela arrives first—she’ll get in tomorrow evening around six. You’ll know who they all are when they arrive if you’ve done the reading. Adam stood, a clear sign that the interview had come to an end. Thank you for taking this on, he said.

Did I actually have a choice? he asked with a rueful grin.

Adam returned the grin. Jackson was never really going to know.

He started out of the office. Adam called him back.

You know, you have a gift for this, Jackson. And you can really take on anything you want.

Jackson wasn’t sure what that meant, either. I’ll do my best, he promised.

I know you will. And I know that we’ll all know what really happened in that house on Dauphine.

X-Files. The thought came to Jackson’s mind as he finished with Adam Harrison.

He went down to his car, still wondering exactly what it was he was getting into.

Yeah, it was sounding like the X-Files. Or Ghost-files.

And he was going to have Ghost-file helpers. Great.

In his car, he glanced through the dossiers, scanning the main, introductory page of each. Angela Hawkins, Whitney Tremont, Jake Mallory, Jenna Duffy and Will Chan. The first woman, at least, was coming from a Virginia police force. Whitney Tremont had started out life in the French Quarter; she had a Creole background and had recently done the camera work for a paranormal cable-television show. Jake Mallory—musician, but a man who had been heavily involved in searches after the summer of storms, and been called in as well during kidnapping cases and disappearances. Then there was Jenna Duffy. A registered nurse from Ireland. Well, they’d be covered in case of any poltergeist attacks. And Will Chan—the man had worked in theater, and as a magician.

It was one hell of a strange team.

Whatever, Jackson figured; it was time he went back to work. There was one thing he’d discovered to be correct—the truth was always out there, you just had to find it.

The house seemed to hold court on the corner. It sat on Dauphine, one block in back of Bourbon and three or four blocks in from Esplanade. The location was prime—just distant enough to keep the noise down in the wee hours of the morning when the music on Bourbon Street pulsed like an earthly drum, and still close enough to the wonders of the city.

The actual shape was like a horseshoe; a massive wooden gate gave entry to the courtyard, while the main entrance on Dauphine offered a sweeping curve of stairs to the front downstairs porch and a double-door entry that was historic and fantastic in its carvings.

Jackson turned the key in the lock. As he stepped in, the alarm began to chirp and he quickly keyed in the code he had been given.

"Straight out of Gone with the Wind, Jackson murmured aloud as he surveyed the house. Tara meets city streets." The front room here served as an elegant reception area, perhaps even a ballroom at one point in time. He could almost see Southern belles in their elegant gowns swirling around, led by handsome men in frock coats. A piano sat to the far end near an enormous hearth with tiled backing and a marble mantel. A second, identical fireplace was at the other end of the wall. Midroom was the grand, curving staircase.

What furniture remained was covered in dust sheets.

The hallway on the second floor led to the right and left as he headed up.

He moved on around an ell and came to a long hallway of bedrooms. Here. At the end.

This was the room.

He turned on the light. It seemed to be completely benign, a pretty room, one that had already been prepared for occupancy—or that had been occupied. A beautiful four-poster canopy bed sat on a Persian rug, covered in white. Handsome deco dressing tables sat to either side of the room, and large French doors, draped in white chintz and lace, opened out to the balcony that wrapped around the house as it faced the courtyard. Would he feel anything? He did not.

He walked over to the French doors and threw them open, stepping out on the balcony.

The courtyard below explained why a house that came with such a tragic history could still win over buyer after buyer. It was paved with brick, and in the center, typical of New Orleans, was a fountain and sculpture. A beautiful crane spread its metal wings above the bowl and the water splashed melodically below it into a large basin.

There was a car park to the side, and elegant little wrought-iron tables, shaded by colorful umbrellas, sat across from them. He realized that the kitchen and dining room were behind the round tables, and that food could easily be passed out from the kitchen through a pass-over counter area. He wasn’t sure that had been part of the original house. He was going to have to study the blueprints again.

The only thing that marred the beauty stretched before him was the chalk mark down on the bricks where Regina Holloway had lain after she had fallen.

And died.

The blood stain had been cleaned, and yet it seemed to remain.

The courtyard was closed in by the house itself, and by a nine-foot brick wall, and the double wooden gate, large enough to let a car in. But the gate was locked, and it had a key-in pad the same as the main entrances to the house. Senator Holloway had never been a fool; the alarm had gone in the second his signature had been dry on purchase papers. All this Jackson knew because he had read the police reports on the suicide.

He noted, though, that it would be almost impossible to reach the wall from the end of the house. There was a good four feet between the end of the balcony and the wall; a statue of Poseidon with a trident was positioned there, so it would be a pleasant fall if one were to attempt a leap—and not make it. But, again—not impossible.

Just so damn improbable.

Maybe it was a good case for his first back in the working world; it was incredibly sad to think about the death of Regina Holloway, but he could hardly begin to imagine the loss she must have felt. He’d seen it before. Parents weren’t supposed to outlive their children. Any loss of a child was unbearable.

He heard the doorbell ringing and grimaced, thinking that the house had definitely been built at a time when the third floor housed a number of servants; the main entrance was a good distance from this wing. But he was expecting Detective Andy Devereaux, so he left the balcony and the room, pausing one minute in the doorway. Still, he felt nothing. The room was just a room. He hurried on back to the front door.

Andy Devereaux was a tall man, light mahogany in color, with powder-blue eyes that testified to his mixed heritage, if the attractive shading of his skin did not. He was bald, clean-shaven, fit and trim and tall. He wore a baseball cap to protect his pate, jeans and a tailored shirt beneath a casual, zip-up jacket. He offered Jackson a firm handshake when they met.

Detective Andrew Devereaux, Andy, to my friends, he said briefly.

Jackson—first name, not last—and that’s what I am to my friends, Jackson told him. Thanks so much for meeting me here.

Devereaux nodded grimly. Hey, I’d do anything I could for the senator and his family. It’s a crying shame about Regina. A sweeter woman never drew breath.

Come on in, and just give me the lay of the land, will you? I got as far as Regina’s master bedroom at the end of the horseshoe, Jackson told him.

Devereaux stepped into the house, removing the Saints cap that had shielded his eyes and sticking it into his jacket pocket after unzipping it. When the jacket front moved, Jackson could see that the man was on duty—and armed.

You know the history of the house, right? Andy asked him.

Basically, the ‘ghost’ stories began back after the Civil War. And, apparently, there have been a number of suicides, or murders made to look like suicides, since then, Jackson said.

Yep. You’d never know it, though, standing in this parlor, Andy said. "Rich folks keep buying the place. It’s usually a good deal. One time, it went higher than a kite—folks were trying to buy places like this, chock-full of stories. Though before Senator Holloway bought the house, it had been empty for several years. Before that, it was bought

Reviews for Phantom Evil

[tvnerd95 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly good:

I love it when a book pleasantly surprises and this book did it. I enjoyed all the characters in the team of Krewe Hunters and also enjoyed the mystery and how the author brought it all together in the end. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one and I am glad the author focused on both the paranormal and human side of the world are team gets involved in.

The mystery is great and had plenty twists along the way to keep the listener wondering just how convoluted and tied together all the characters are. I loved the diversity of the team members and they each brought something special into the story.

My one complaint was I wanted to learn my about each member of the team and this book was mainly focused on Jackson and Angela. I am hoping to learn more about each team member as the series continues.

The narrator was really good and I was excited to get back to the story each time. Look forward to the next book in the series.

[liz.mabry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's not great literature. It's a bit formulaic. But man, it's addictive. Like Pixy Stix.

[carl_alves_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Phantom Evil is the first book in the Krewe of Hunters series, a group led by skeptic Jackson Crowe that consists of individuals from different backgrounds who have some level of paranormal ability. In this novel, a state senator from Louisiana requests their services after his wife is killed in a house inhabited by ghosts—at least the senator wants to prove there are ghosts and that his wife didn’t commit suicide. Angela, the former cop who has an ability to see the dead, immediately makes a connection with the ghosts of the house, many of whom were killed by a serial killer from the post-Civil War era.There were things I liked about this novel. I liked the mix of characters that composed the Krewe of Hunters. I liked the setup to the story and the mystery that they had to solve. Where the novel really falls short is in believability. The believability issues have nothing to do with the paranormal elements. It’s the real world aspects of it that make it fall apart. Namely, the cast of characters surrounding the senator, their actions, motivations, and the fact that the news media in Louisiana or the police could not even get a sniff of some of the things that they were doing strike me as being a bit ridiculous. I could only stretch my suspension of disbelief so far. As things unfolded, I had a hard time staying in the story because it was too hard to swallow.Carl Alves - author of Battle of the Soul

[kimsmyth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked this book up thinking it was more of a sci-fi than a "romance" as it was categorized by the library. The story was fast moving and easy to follow with some interesting twists and turns. However, I was very disappointed by the final chapters with a "tell all by the bad guys as they threaten the beloved main character with death". I think the book would have been better served to let the narrative tell the story rather than a confessional tell all at the end.

[dunnfunkat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in the Krewe of Hunters series. A new team has been chosen to investigate a death in New Orleans. All members of the new team are interesting. At first, I wasn't that fond of Jackson who heads up the new team but he grew on me. The others are interesting and each brings a different skill to the team.The characters involved a senator, his dead wife, his staff, a church cult, dead children, a evil dead murderer, and his victims. The story is mostly in a Victorian home in New Orleans. I didn't figure this out so it was interesting.

[bookjunkie777 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading this mystery especially since it also had a paranormal side. The characters and storyline are well developed with multiple twists and turns. The budding love story between the two leading characters did seem to be a bit under-developed and the sex scenes were not as sensual as they could have been....but overall it is a good story.

[krystalsbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in a series but I have read several of the others. Great writing exciting storyline.

[dragonlibrary8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My thoughts:This was an edge of the seat thriller, ghost story with a romance on the side! The characters are wonderful and the setting is fantastic. I fell in love with the characters in the first few pages and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The author takes the reader through the wringer with the emotional rollercoaster that is this story. This is a story of good vs. evil, life vs. death, real vs. unreal, natural vs. supernatural and the power of goodness and love. If you enjoy ghost stories, love stories, mysteries, or thrillers - this is a must read!!!New Orleans is the perfect setting for a ghost story and the author takes full advantage of that fact, using religion, folklore, and legend to add their own edge to her wonderfully written tale. The descriptions of the city and the people are colorful, imaginative, and complete. You feel as though you are right there with them as part of the team. The plot is thick and twisted - which is what we are all looking for in a great thriller/mystery. The author keeps you guessing and then second-guessing what you think you know and what you think you have figured out for certain. The characters are carefully created and realistic. Each appears to have been developed with the others in mind so that they work together seamlessly. The storyline is character driven and both the characters and the story have been meticulously maintained throughout the book.

[weeziesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When the New Orleans police department brings together an odd assortment of characters to stay in an old house where a murder occurred strange events occur. This paranormal historical romance story is structured around Jackson a part-Cheyenne FBI agent who becomes the leader of this team of misfits who are to investigate and solve the murder of a key political leader's wife. Was it ghosts, suicide or flesh and blood that led to the senators wife's murder? Relationships between the team members and contact with a church of questionable beliefs cause Jackson and the team to question the role and purpose of those supporting the senator. The story was not believable and the characters, although somewhat entertaining were not believable and not just because it was a ghost story. This was a 2.5 to 3 mystery novel without depth or suspense.

[yvonne.sevignykaiser · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Picked this up from the library was on a Paranormal Book Club Read though I would check it out although I could not make the meeting for this group. I enjoyed the New Orleans setting and the background story on the house once owned by a serial killer after the civil war. Pretty well have an idea of who did the crime but you are intrigued by the city that is filled with ghost stories and the unknown. I could have done with out the roll in the hay towards the latter half of the book. But this is a beach type fluff read a little swarthy sex is to be expected.

[booklovingmommy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Heather Graham is one of my favorite adult paranormal authors! I think her books are spooky and fun to read and Phantom Evil is no exception!Jackson Crow is recruited by Adam Harrison (whom you will recognize if you've ever read any of Graham's other series) to head up a unique team after losing members from his old team. Jackson is not sure if this is a promotion or a demotion but decides to go along with it and heads to New Orleans to meet his new team and try to solve the question of whether a Senator's wife committed suicide or was murdered.Once in New Orleans, Jackson meets Andy, the detective in charge of the case. While at the police department, another team member, Angela arrives. Jackson returns to the Senator's house to find Angela digging up the bones to a body in the basement. From there, the story speeds up as the other members of the team arrive and the whole team discovers that they each have some talent of speaking with or seeing the dead.The house has it's own sordid history of murder and tragedy. The Senator wants to know whether his wife, distraught after the loss of their only child, jumped to her death or whether ghosts killed her. There were many avenues and characters to check out and that had me guessing until the very end!The romance between Angela and Jackson was pretty predictable (especially if you are familiar with Graham) but was still fun and sexy. In fact, by the end of this series, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole team was paired up into couples.I loved the setting! New Orleans is obviously a perfect place for a haunted story and the author does an amazing job in describing the city so you feel that you are right in the middle of things. The characters are well developed as well and while some of the parts seem a little over the top, well...it is about ghosts right? I really enjoyed this fast read! I think it was well developed and loved that it kept you guessing until the very end. I will be picking up the other two in this series for sure!

[debbieaheaton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Heather Graham's novel of paranormal romantic suspense, Jackson Crow, a former member of the government's Behavioral Science Unit in Washington, D.C., leads a covert group investigation into a reportedly haunted New Orleans mansion. When Regina Holloway, wife of a popular Louisiana state senator takes a fatal fall from the balcony of the home, her death is officially listed as a suicide. Others believe that ghosts were to blame. Angela Hawkins, a Virginia police officer with the ability to detect paranormal activity, partners with Jackson professionally and romantically as she assists his team in discovering the truth behind Regina's death. Graham expertly blends a chilling history of the mansion's former residents with eerie phenomena, once again demostrating why she stands at the top of the romantic suspense category.

[celticlady53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel by Heather Graham, in my opinion this book is one of her better ones. I think that Heather is one of those writers who can do it all. She can write suspense, murder, romance and the paranormal. The theme of this book is the death of a senator's wife in New Orleans. The Senator and his wife are both upset over the death of their young son but the wife more so. When she is discovered lying on the ground outside her window, everyone thinks that she committed suicide, except her husband. He calls in a paranormal investigator, Adam Harrison who assembles the best in paranormal investigators. A group of people who each have an exceptional physic ability. I liked the story for its ghostly implications. The characters each brought their own talents and of course issues to the investigations. What happens next is a taut tale of greed, lust, love and murder. The team's lives hang in the balance as the team race's to solve the death of the senator's wife and also the haunted history of the house.I am sure this book will appeal to fans of Heather Grahams and anyone who loves the paranormal.

[mckait · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

From the description of this book, I was expecting a funread. New Orleans, ghosts and CSI should add up to something.Sad to say the book fell flat for me from the beginning.Regina Holloway fell to her death, shortly after the deathof her young son in an accident. These things occur after sheand her husband, a state senator, move into a house with a reputationfor being haunted. The police conclude she committed suicide, asthere is no evidence of a crime. A special team is called in byher influential husband, to prove otherwise.Now, think Ghost Hunters International, and Criminal Minds.These shows were clearly the inspiration for the characterson the team put together to investigate.I had the impression that the author used a guide bookfor this beautiful city and picked out some of the highspots,and made sure to mention them. Often.The characters had no substance. There wasn't even enough thereto dislike. The sentence structure was so choppy, so uneven thatit was literally difficult to read.I was not looking for great literature in this book, but I waslooking for a fun weekend read. Instead, I found frustrationand irritation with the stumbling story.Run Away.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The wife of Louisiana State Senator David Holloway, Regina falls from the balcony of their mansion to her death. The New Orleans Police Department investigates and concludes Regina committed suicide as she still grieved the loss of her son Jacob due to a DUI several months ago.

Adam Harrison sends his special investigative team to New Orleans to look into the Holloway death. The unit is led by Jackson Crow, who used to work for the Fed's Behavioral Sciences Unit. He, his team of five, and paranormal pragmatic Virginia police officer Angela Hawkins who can detect the supernatural arrive at the Holloway mansion in the French Quarters. Their mission is to determine whether the supernatural was involved in the woman's fall. Soon they revise the objective to just staying alive.

Ghosts are hard to put down on paper and still give you that haunting chill like seeing it on screen. Graham pulls it off and not without her typical humor and wit. I found myself turning each page wondering if it was ghost or human who did the deed.

[dearheart_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Much beloved Senator Holloway asks for help to determine if his wife might have been killed by ghosts instead of committing suicide, as ruled by the cops by jumping off of a second story balcony in their well known haunted New Orleans home. Jackson Crow, a man with his own paranormal experiences that he tries to deny, is asked to lead a new federal team to investigate the closed case. While he requires proof that the paranormal exists outside of an imaginative mind, the group soon comes to realize that not only ghosts, but a very evil presence is in the home. But can a ghost push someone off a balcony? The mystery also investigates humans who could be responsible.All members of the new team have experience or abilities to help in the investigation. Angela Hawkins is a cop that can see the dead. Jake has computer hacker skills but also has an easy time finding out information by infiltrating groups. Jenna is a nurse that had experience with at least one ghost. Will is an illusionist, so he knows how to spot a hoax. Whitney has done paranormal filming, but most importantly her great-grandmother is a voodoo priestess who gives the team a lot of information. And we don’t find out until practically the end of the book that Jackson’s ability is to make other people’s abilities stronger.This is my first book by this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought the mystery itself was pretty good. The ghost and evil presence aspect was interesting and lots of twists with the humans investigated. There is a romance between Jackson and Angela that felt somewhat forced at the beginning, but does get better as the story evolves. But some of the story felt contrived. One avenue to check out seemed to come out of left field, as if a portion of the story had been edited and we’re now missing something that would have led to the idea. Jackson and Angela are the first two team members to meet, and there’s some friction between them for perhaps the first 24 hours. But all of the other members who come on board are happy to be there and they’re one big happy family as soon as they meet. Really? If this is the first book in a new series, hopefully the team members will seem more realistic in future books. We really don’t know much about most of them at this point.Reviewed for Vine Voice

[bookdivasreads · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Do you believe in ghosts? Maybe you believe that evil, pure evil can transcend human life. Both beliefs are at the core of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham. A new team of paranormal investigators, lead by a profiler from the FBI, is sent to New Orleans to investigate the suspicious death of the wife of a state senator. In addition to confronting ghosts and the evil that is inhabiting a local house, these investigators stumble upon corrupt politicians (say it isn't so), a cult masquerading as a church (oh no), and a racist hate group. I forgot to mention that a local voodoo priestess provides probable insight into the beliefs of the deceased. I also forgot to mention that two of the investigators fall head-over-heels in lust after only 2 days, but I digress. I know it sounds like I didn't like this book but it was a decent read even with all of the cliches. I personally think it would have been just as good without the lust fest (I couldn't really call it a romance) between two of the investigators, but that's just my opinion. All things considered Phantom Evil makes for a pretty good weekend or vacation read.

[jalenv_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Phantom of Evil is the first book in the Krewe of Hunters series, which I read after reading books 13 and 14.It was interesting to see how the first Krewe got together. Jackson Crow, team leader (his tragic back story is in chapter one) is a skeptic who has spent years debunking ghost stories. He;s not happy about being transferred from the Behavioral Sciences Unit to a what he considers an X-Files unit.That's why I chuckled when the state senator who wanted the Krewe to check out his house thought he was getting real-life ghost busters.Jackson is our romantic hero. Our heroine is Angela Hawkins, a cop who has learned to cover up her psychic abilities with logical (or logical-sounding) explanations. Her tragic back story is told in chapter two. We get to learn more details later about both of them later, with plenty of teasers along the way.Senator David Holloway is adamant that his wife, Regina, did not commit suicide. Is he right? Does his house deserve its reputation for being haunted?Ms. Graham tickled my sense of humor when she gave her fictional serial killer, Madden C. Newton, the same first initial and surname as Michael Newton, author of the Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Madden bought the house not long after the American Civil War. He wasn't the kind of serial killer who has a preferred victim type and sticks to it. He was perfectly happy to kill men, women, and children. Unlike the real-life Axeman of New Orleans, Madden was caught and hanged. Could he be haunting his former happy hunting ground?The original Dark Shadows fan in me enjoyed the fact that the Martin DuPre, the senator's aide surnameis one letter away from being the same as Barnabas Collin's beloved Josette DuPres. Deliberate? Coincidence? Angela enters the mansion while Jackson is out. She ticks him off right away by making a sensational discovery before he gets back. (It did involve some damage to the place...) He doesn't approve of what she wants to do later on. (Angela is braver than I am. You would have had to drag me into that room after that second encounter with the ghosts. Forget screaming -- I'd have been trying to bite you so you'd let me go.)The younger members of the Krewe are a nice bunch. Because I've read books 13 & 14, I expect Will Chan, Jake Mallory, Whitney Tremont, and Jenna Duffy to be romantic leads in future books. Good thing I can't remember which guy winds up with which gal.Whitney's great-grandmother, Voodoo priestess Mama Matisse, is a good character. There's a description of her shop in chapter eight. Although she uses the word 'a man' instead of 'a politician,' I agree with her opinion about what she wants to see one doing.There's something the Krewe infers from crime scene photos that make the local police look bad because they should have caught the implication themselves -- unless they were subconsciously refusing to catch it out of deference to the popular senator. Senator Holloway's major opponents are a white supremacist group called the Aryans and a probable cult called the Church of Christ Arisen. If a man really can be known by the enemies he makes, those groups make him look good.The strip club scene in chapter twelve was fun.Warning: there's a major spoiler for Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House in chapter seven, as well as both book and the 1963 movie in chapter eight. (Because Crow says 'the movie,' I'm guessing he either didn't see the 1999 remake or has mercifully forgotten its existence. I'd like to.) The book and original movie are rightly classics. The book is short, but read it carefully -- I couldn't understand why the heroine was so frightened in one scene until I noticed a crucial sentence during one rereading. Unlike the 1999 remake, the 1960 version of The Haunting has very little in the way of special effects. What it implies is chilling. I once showed it to a co-worker's macho 13-year-old who loved horror films. Within 10 minutes he was on the floor by my rocking chair and asking me to open the curtains.If Heather Graham was paying homage to Barbara Michaels' Ammie, Come Home in chapters nine and ten, she has good taste in ghost stories.Was I correct in thinking the author might also be paying homage to Richard Matheson's Hell House? It would be a spoiler to tell you. Hell House was really brutal for its time (1971). Although Mr. Matheson wrote the screenplay for the 1973 movie, The Legend of Hell House, be sure to read the book first. The movie couldn't do more than hint at what goes on in the print version without getting an X rating.Good setting, good haunting, good mystery. Check it out.

[ashleywintters · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After his last case, Jack Crow expects to get a desk job with mainly paperwork pushing responsibilities. Instead, Adam Harrison gives him the task of heading a new unit, with six unique members who are to solve the murder or suicide of a senator’s wife. Jack is a skeptic and yet he has had several unexplainable experiences that have saved him and others.The senator is convinced his wife didn’t commit suicide as the police have determined, though they recently suffered the loss of their young son. Since he is so well liked and connected, his wife’s case is a task for Jack’s new unit. The unit members literally meet on the job, at the house in New Orleans…a house that has supposedly been haunted for decades!Angela Hawkins is one of Jack’s team, who has some special talents, and their attraction is basically instantaneous. Angela is more than Jack’s love interest; she also helps him lead the team through the paranormal and beyond.This is the perfect example of how a paranormal romance should be! Graham takes you through the whole book with just enough romance, suspense and ghosts to keep you up late into the night!Reviewed by Ashley Wintters for Suspense Magazine

[thelibraryhag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Following the devastation of his previous BAU team, Jackson Crow is assigned a new and secret unit to investigate the death of a Louisiana state senator's wife. The catch? The senator is convinced that his wife was killed by a ghost. I enjoyed this book and will be reading more in the series. I am a sucker for anything set in New Orleans and ghosts just add to the fun. It was not the best book on ghost hunting that I have ever read but it was introducing characters and that always slows the first book in a series down. And it could have been a tiny bit scarier. But all in all a fun way to pass a few nights.

[lrobe190 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jackson Crow, a former member of the government's Behavioral Sciences Unit in Washington, D.C., leads a covert group investigating a reputedly haunted New Orleans house. When Regina Holloway, the wife of a popular Louisiana state senator takes a fatal fall from the balcony of the couple's French Quarter mansion, her death is officially ruled a suicide, but could ghosts have been involved? Angela Hawkins, a Virginia police officer with the ability to detect paranormal activity, partners with Jackson professionally and romantically as she assists his team in discovering the truth behind Regina's death. (PW, Amazon.com)Graham writes taught romantic suspense novels, often with a paranormal theme. This one doesn't disappoint. I listened to this one and the reader put me off a bit, but the story was good enough to keep going.

[wakela_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Right after the Civil War ended, Madden C. Newton bought the house and started his savage killing spree. It is said that he killed more people then Jack the Ripper. Long after Madden’s death, people started saying that the house was haunted. More and more people died. Was it just coincidence or was there something sinister going on?Senator Holloway and his wife Regina finally get to move into the house of their dreams. However, it ends up to be a house made of nightmares.I was gripped from the first chapter. She really caught me off guard quite a few times in this book. I never knew what to expect.The characters were really great. I absolutely loved Jackson. He walked a fine line between completely believing in what was happening and being skeptical of everything.If you have read any of Heather’s other paranormal mysteries, then you will definitely love this. She makes you feel as if you are right along with the characters in New Orleans. I could almost hear the jazz musicians playing in the background. In conjunction with the Wakela's World Disclosure Statement, I received a product in order to enable my review. No other compensation has been received. My statements are an honest account of my experience with the brand. The opinions stated here are mine alone.

[cinnamonowl_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book reminded me it has been too long since I have visited New Orleans- the sights, sounds, restaurants described all make me want to go back right this second. As for the book itself, I felt it was just ok.The supernatural plot lines were the best - I felt that they were well written, and told a good story. Everything dealing with the house being haunted, the ghosts, the serial killer Newton- all were well done. I wish the rest of the book had been as good. However, there was just too much going on to be believable. The Aryans, the creepy church, just too much. I also did not like how the main characters, Angela and Jackson, kept referring to their teammates as "kids". Angela and Jack are in their thirties, while the rest of their crew were in their twenties. It drove me crazy, they just were not old enough to refer to them as kids- and it happened alot. It was a small thing that grated on my nerves. I am in my thirties, and have friends in their twenties, and I don't think of them as children.I read this book because I am about to read the second in the series, Heart of Evil, for netGalley, and felt the need to read the first one before I did. I am anxious to compare the two.

[vampiregirl76 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Heather Graham has been on my authors to read list for a long time now. I wish I would have started earlier than I did. Phantom Evil is an excellent story. It's a wonderful mixture of paranormal, romance and mystery. I admit the "secret government unit" almost put me off, but the Krewe is exciting mix of people. I look forward to reading more of the books. I definitely recommend this one. I know some people might be put off by how many books are in the series, but just by reading the first book - I can see it's gonna be worth it.

[dd196406 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love these books by Heather Graham. Her blend of murder mystery and paranormal mystery is so enjoyable. I can't get enough of these.

[irishcontessa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars

Review first posted at Just A Reader book blog.

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham is the first in the Krewe of Hunters series set in New Orleans about a quasi-governmental unit that investigates the paranormal and is set up by Adam Harrison, a character who also appears in the Harrison Investigation series.

I have to admit that I didn't love Jackson, the "hero" of this book. Despite his experience with the paranormal, he treated Angela and the others on his team as if they were lunatics for believing in the paranormal. He also shot down every idea Angela came up with for the first half of the book. In turn, Angela treated Jackson as if he could never be or do anything wrong. It was a little irritating.

The plot was fantastic - it kept me guessing right up to the end as to who was guilty. The appearances of the various ghosts was creepy (in a good way) and always a little disturbing and unexpected. I enjoyed that "relationship" between Angela and the ghosts in the house.

The various suspects were all really well written - shady enough to make you suspicious but with just enough explanation to make them understandable and not obviously evil or guilty. The other members of the Krewe were great as well. The banter and interactions with the various members was fun and easygoing without being contrived in any way.

While I didn't love this book at the beginning and didn't warm up to Jackson until the middle of the book, I ended up enjoying it a great deal. The plot and guessing about what would happen made up for my lack of love toward the two main characters and by the end I really wanted to read more about the other members of the Krewe.

[cldunn-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book in the Krewe of Hunters series. A new team has been chosen to investigate a death in New Orleans. All members of the new team are interesting. At first, I wasn't that fond of Jackson who heads up the new team but he grew on me. The others are interesting and each brings a different skill to the team.The characters involved a senator, his dead wife, his staff, a church cult, dead children, a evil dead murderer, and his victims. The story is mostly in a Victorian home in New Orleans. I didn't figure this out so it was interesting.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Phantom Evil
3 Stars

Synopsis:
A secret unit of six paranormal investigators, each with their own unique skill, is called following the mysterious death of a state senator’s wife. Regina Holloway allegedly fell to her death in a house reportedly haunted by the victims of a post civil war serial killer. As the investigation progresses and the team grows closer both personally and professionally, they must determine whether Regina was the victim of a malevolent ghost or the more insidious machinations of someone closer to home.

Review:
The underlying premise of a haunted house is intriguing and the opening chapters are well written and engaging. Unfortunately, this trend does not continue and the writing becomes excessively descriptive and the dialogue forced. There are also one or two editorial slip-ups that create some confusion. For example, one character’s involvement in a nefarious group is revealed through conversation before the event exposing his connection actually occurs.
The characterization is unrealistic. It is extremely difficult to believe that six individuals from such diverse backgrounds will come together so cohesively in a relatively short period of time with absolutely no friction or conflict – this goes against human nature.
The romantic leads lack both tension and chemistry in their relationship. The hero is completely cold and unsympathetic, and the heroine’s initial dislike for him changes almost immediately into an incomprehensible attraction.
Finally, the conclusion is convoluted, and while some aspects of the mystery are solved others remain unexplained, which leaves the reader with a less that satisfied feeling.
Notwithstanding the above, this is a good ghost-hunting story with some interesting twists and turns. Moreover, readers with a passion for New Orleans history and culture will be entertained by the setting and atmosphere.