I've been taking advantage of my library's digital collection of audio books and I find myself trying books on audio that wouldn't necessarily be books that would rise to the top of the pile otherwise. I’ve found some really enjoyable stories, some good mysteries and some wonderful readers. Anna Fields, who read this was terrific. Cree Black works as a paranormal investigator living in Seattle. She travels to New Orleans to help a woman sort out what she's seen in the family home where she grew up. Lila Beaufort believes she's seen a ghost, but her family is concerned that she's come unglued and is having a mental break down, they want to hospitalize her and have her undergo medical testing. In researching the family's history Cree is able to piece together Lila's past and discover the reason for the haunting at Beaufort House.Though Cree is a ghost hunter she's very intelligent, logical and methodical about the way she approaches her occupation. Trained as a psychologist she entered the field of parapsychology for personal reasons. She’s very empathetic with her clients and builds a trust that helps empower them to face their fears and their ghosts.I have always liked ghost stories, scary stories and spooky stories. I used to be able to read gory and violent stories but I haven’t been able to in a long time. While certain events are disturbing and violent they aren’t told in graphic detail. What I really enjoyed about this story was the attention to detail and the realism the author employs in telling the tale.Daniel Hecht has created characters that are real and alive, each with their own strengths, vulnerabilities and secrets. The character of Cree Black was compelling, she is dealing with issues of her own that parallel the struggle her client Lila is facing. The relationships between characters were well done, the dialog was realistic and the writing was very detailed and believable.The story was suspenseful and had a satisfying resolution. Cree, her work and her life are interesting enough to make me want to read the next book in this series.I think fans of mysteries and ghost stories will enjoy this.
Having now read the entire trilogy, I decided to go back and write a review on the first book where people are more likely to see it. Since the synopsis already tells a bit about the character and the type of story, I will focus this review on other details.First, I will mention that I started out with the Kindle version of this book and after finding so many typos and mistakes (which really took away from the reading experience), I quickly went and picked up the hardcover at the library.I really liked two-thirds of this series. You can tell the author does his research on whatever subject he's writing about. My brain likes to process words into pictures, so these books were really enjoyable for me. I could see the cities and people like I was watching them on TV. The first book started out a bit slow for me but it ended up being one of those books that kept me up late into the night just because I had to know what happened. I immediately dove into the second book after finishing the first. The second was my favorite of the series. I enjoyed the characters and story more than the first. I was eager to read the third after finishing the second, so much so that I ordered a copy online because none of my local libraries carried it. This is where reviewing on the first book comes into play: the third book is NOTHING like the first two. NOTHING. It could have, and should have been a TOTALLY SEPARATE BOOK. Cree is the only returning character but this "job" has nothing to do with her parapsychology business. There's nothing even paranormal about the third book. She's called in by an old family friend because of her investigative skills, but she's not even really an investigator! I might have enjoyed the third book more if I had not had this feeling of disappointment while reading. I felt it should have fit into the series better. Also, the first two books had an ending where you felt a little better about things, things were accomplished and wrapped up well. The third book had a lot of sadness and anger and just fucked-up-ness that wasn't really resolved in my mind.
What do You think about City Of Masks (2004)?
Cree Black who studies parapsychology is called to New Orleans on a case dealing with a woman Lila who wants to move back into her family home but can't because she says there is a ghost who scares her to much. Lila's family says that she is just going insane and believes that Cree is not needed and should not be doing what she does to lead her on. But Cree feels and sees that Lila is hurting and feels a ghost is haunting and hurting Lila. Lila's psychiatrist Paul goes along with the families feelings and at first wants to not work with Cree but then sees that it may be the best if they work together because the main goal that both of them has is to help Lila get better no matter what or why she is sick or hurting. So much comes about in this story with the history of the house and the murders that had taken place there. Does it or does it not have to do with Lila's ghost know one knows but Cree is determined to put the ghost to death even if it kills her to save Lila.This story was different for me because I have never gotten into ghost stories and things like that. This was not scary in a ooo spooky ghost story telling. It was interesting to learn some things about parapsychology. Even if it meant learning a bunch of new big words. It was a long read but very interesting. It is the first of a three book series which has peeked my interest in possibly reading the others. Daniel Hecht is one I have never heard of and his writing is easy flowing even with all the extra details. But they are necessary for his story telling. A nice read for anyone interested in the other side of ghost stories.
—Amanda
City of Masks follows one member (mostly) from a team of ghost hunters on a trip to New Orleans. A family there has requested her help in ridding their historic home of ghosts that have been haunting one family member in particular.I really enjoyed this book. There was a little mystery and a little history in a fantastic setting. To be fair, I have also been known to watch Ghost Adventures, so this sort of plot has general appeal to me. At times I found the descriptions to be a bit intense and overlong, but overall I found the plot to be intriguing and very much wanted to see what happened next. AND there were parts that were actually quite creepy. FUN!Also, as far as the mystery was concerned, there were enough hints given that you could figure it out on your own, which enhanced the experience for me.It is not a book for everyone, but if the idea of ghosts and spirits piques your interest, it might be worth a read.
—Gina
I **REALLY** wanted to like this book. I tried to like this book. I hate this book and the author. From the description, it's a great story, and as I experienced the audio book, the narrator had a pleasant voice (reminded me a lot of Judy Kaye, who read the Sue Grafton series). But this book apparently was not edited at all. If it were actually edited, we wouldn't hear every single minute detail of the main character's life. I swear, there are lines like "then I put my right foot to the ground, shifted my weight, balanced and picked up my left foot" and so on and so forth. For a fantasy, supernatural, paranormal, ghost and haunted house book - where are the ghosts? I mean, there's a teaser, but then it blathers on to flash backs that have NOTHING to do with the current characters and story line. Or a romantic venue. Actually, so many romantic detours I stopped to make sure it wasn't a paranormal ROMANCE and not written by a female author.I made it through the book because it was an audio and because of the narrator. But this book was an utter waste of time and I"m so grateful I borrowed it from the library rather than wasting even a cent to buy it myself. I would be ashamed to even trade it online.
—Cindi Moss
