Marnie Baranuik Files Series, Book 1 Touched / A. J. Aalto / 582 pages

Marnie Baranuik is a rare dual-talented forensic psychic. She has the ability to feel the emotions of others, and read impressions left behind on objects.  She also has a doctorate in preternatural or supernatural biology, a working knowledge of the dark arts, and is considered without peer in the psychic community. But after her first big FBI case ended with a bullet in one shoulder and a chip on the other, a broken heart and a serial killer in the wind, she decides that working with the FBI just isn’t for her and retires. Then the FBI's preternatural crimes comes knocking on her door at her remote mountain lodge for her insight on a local case, goodbye quiet retirement.  She is promptly besieged by a stab-happy starlet, a rampaging ghoul, and a vampire-hunting jackass in tight Wranglers. Not to mention that vampire-hunter is one of the detectives and is the man who broke her heart. They’d had a brief affair while they worked the case that Marnie got shot on, he didn’t visit her in the hospital, and then she found out while in the hospital that he has a fiance.Narrated by Amy McFadden 18h 9 min.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, book 7 Midnight Crystal / Jayne Castle / 417 pages

Seventh book in Jayne Castle’s  (Jayne Ann Krentz) Harmony series (Also the third book in her Dreamlight Trilogy ), set on the futuristic alien world of Harmony. Adam Winters is the new head of the local Ghost Hunter Guild and on top of having to clean house of all the corrupt people in his guild, he has to deal with his family’s curse.  Once every few generations someone in his family gets the curse and if they don’t find the midnight crystal lamp, a special artifact that his Arcane ancestor made, and find someone with the psychic abilities to use the lamp and then use it on them, they eventually go insane. His family had the lamp and then it was stolen now Adam needs to find it and someone who can use it before he goes insane.  But he also needs the lamp for other reasons. He made an extraordinary find in the alien catacombs, he found a maze that he thinks leads to the power source that lights not just the ruins above in the cities but also the catacombs below. Only something felt wrong with the source and before he could find out more he and his team had to evacuate and one of his team members, his sister, has fallen into a coma and hasn’t woken.  Adam thinks the key to the maze and waking his sister is the midnight crystal lamp. Marlowe Jones is a descendant of the Adam’s family’s rival Arcane family, she’s just what Adam needs: a psychic private investigator to help him find the lamp and she has the psychic abilities he needs to use the lamp, now he just needs to figure out if he can trust her.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, book 6 Obsidian Prey / Jayne Castle / 384 pages

Sixth book in Jayne Castle’s  (Jayne Ann Krentz) Harmony series, set on the futuristic alien world of Harmony.  Lyra Dore is an amber tuner, she tunes all kinds of amber and crystals for her customers to channel their psychic abilities though and she is also an independent prospector, that goes down into the alien catacombs beneath the surface to try to find new discoveries and her own cache of amber.  When she makes her own discovery it gets stolen from her by Amber Inc a big family owned corporation. Cruz Sweetwater CEO of Amer Inc, although when Lyra met him, he was going by a different name, seduced her, made her fall in love with him and when she trusted him with her discovery he stole it with his connections for his family’s company, then left her and broke her heart.  Now he’s back and needs her help. The gate to the cave of rare amethyst amber that she had found has closed, five members of the excavation team are trapped inside and only someone who can work with amethyst amber can open it and to date the only one who can is Lyra. But even more dangerous things are occurring, it looks like someone tried to deliberately close the gate and trap people inside, there is a missing artifact from the excavation and someone from Sweetwater’s team was murdered to steal it.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 5 Dark Light / Jayne Castle / 390 pages

Fifth book in Jayne Castle’s (Jayne Ann Krentz) Harmony series, set on the futuristic alien world of Harmony.Reporter Sierra McIntyre's has a reputation writing stories on the Crystal City's ghost hunters, and their mysterious guild, which have earned her tabloid some respect. Her amazing gut instincts have helped her, although she doesn’t have regular para psychic gifts her intuition is definitely not normal, when Sierra gets a feeling about something it’s rarely ever wrong. But when she gets an exclusive interview with the Ghost Hunter Guild Boss John Fontana to talk about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters Sierra doesn’t know what to think.  She doesn’t want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her senses and her pet dust bunny, Elvis are telling her to. Fontana knows that something dark is going on in his guild and to uncover the conspiracy within his own organisation and to protect Sierra because her life may be in danger after digging for info on this story, Fontana proposes a marriage between them.  While their marriage of convenience is purely a business arrangement there is nothing pure about the hot attraction that is blossoming between the two of them.

Arcane Society Series, Book 1 Second Sight / Amanda Quick / 390 pages

Also by the author Jayne Castle / Janye Ann Krentz. Venetia Milton is a photographer and her family is having financial problems ever since her father died and one of his retainers ran away with all his money.  Venetia’s of an age to be considered on her way to spinsterhood when she gets once and a lifetime job for the Arcane House, a secret society, in which she was hired to photograph some artifacts from an old alchemist’s collection.  Gabriel Jones, her employer has this strange mystery about him that draws Venetia to him, and although she might be destined for spinsterhood it doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy some time with Gabriel while in the remote Arcane House away from society, and so she sets up to seduce Gabriel for a night not to forget.  Only as the job is coming to a close the house is attacked and when Gabriel gets Venetia out safe she doesn’t know what’s happened to him. The paper announces his death and in honor of him she takes is last name when the money his job provided allows her family to move to London and open her own gallery. It’s safer and more respectable to be a widow photographer than a spinster.  Only Venetia’s fake husband has come back from the dead and is now affecting her life in London. Gabriel Jones had faked his death to draw out the attackers from that night at Arcane house and now the attackers might come after Venetia thinking she really is his wife.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 4 Silver Master / Jayne Castle / 320 pages

Fourth book in Jayne Castle’s (Jayne Ann Krentz) Harmony series, set on the futuristic alien world of Harmony. Celinda Ingram is a psychically gifted woman who can read people’s auras which makes her abilities more rare than most on Harmony.  While she has kept her abilities secret they make her job as a matchmaker a lot easier. Her own personal love life she hasn’t been as successful until she meets Davis Oakes a PI and security expert with unusual talents of his own, the sparks between them fly.  When Celinda buys a stolen item as a toy for her dust bunny from an antique shop by accident she meets Davis the PI hired by the ghost hunter guild boss to get it back, and Celinda is willing to just give it to him, however her dust bunny has other ideas and hides it before the exchange can happen. Now they have to work together to get it back before the man who hired the thief (and then killed him) can get it and do something with the unusual alien artifact. Now if only Celinda could get Davis to trust her on a more personal level, but he’s been burned in the past and doesn’t trust matchmakers due to this.

Celta's HeartMates Series, Book 1 HeartMate / Robin D. Owens / 352 pages

Set on the futuristic world of Celta the population is psychically gifted. Rand T’ash has a gift for precious metals and stones and he has looked forward to the day he would finally meet his heartmate (soulmate) and could begin rebuilding his family.  When he was six years old his family was assassinated by rival nobles, he grew up in the slums plotting his revenge and when he finally got it he and his family name were reinstated among the nobles. He now runs his own jewelry shop making all kinds of items forging them himself in his smith, the stones in and on the items psychically resonate with people in many different ways.  When he was younger he created the perfect heartgift for his heartmate, a necklace, that would draw her to him and today the divination stones he cast, to tell him the future, tell him that today is that day. But before she can accept the gift it is stolen and without it legally he can’t claim her as his heartmate. To make matters worse the divination stones also say that danger surrounds her.  Now T’ash needs to find his soulmate, the heartmate gift, the thief who stole it, and what danger might be coming after his heartmate. On top of that a friend he owes a favor to for helping him get revenge for his family calls in his debt.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 3 Ghost Hunter / Jayne Castle / 335 pages

Third book in Jayne Castle’s (Jayne Ann Krentz) Harmony series, set on the futuristic, alien world of Harmony. Elly St. Claire recently broke off her engagement to Cooper Boone, a powerful ghost hunter and Guild Boss when she realized he didn’t love her the way she loved him, and when he caused Guild secrets to nearly ruin her career at the college. She resigned from her job and moved from her small town home to the big metropolis of Cadence City to get away from all the Guild politics that her family and ex are involved in.  Now working as botanist, she owns her own shop. She hoped Cooper might chase after her and prove her wrong. Cooper thought that all Elly needed was a little time and space but he starts to realize that she might not ever come back when he goes to Candence City for a job on the down low for the Guild and he sees how well she’s doing he’s gonna have to show her how much he loves her and how wrong she was to break off their engagement. Cooper and Elly have to help each other when Elly’s friend goes missing in the underground city and she needs his help to find her and Cooper realizes that what happened to her friend might be connected to his job.

Charmed / Jayne Ann Krentz / 352 pages

Anthology from authors Jayne Castle/Jayne Ann Krentz, Lori Foster, Julie Beard, and Eileen Wilks.  

Bridal Jitters by Jayne Castle; Set on the futuristic world of Harmony, with a love story between Sam Gage a ghost hunter and Virginia Burch an illusion tangler the merging of their businesses, marriage of convenience and their adventures down in the alien catacombs. Man in the Mirror by Julie Beard; Katie Montgomery goes back in time through a mirror, and becomes involved with one of King Arthur’s knights. Tangled Dreams by Lori Foster; Two ghosts instigate a passionate encounter between a shy young lady and her dream man, a sexy bartender. Pandora’s Bottle by Eileen Wilks; Dora Kitlock goes away on what she thought was a weekend getaway with her boyfriend John Raven where he might propose to her.  Only to find out that his family has a dark secret that every male generation has to deal with.  Now she will be forced to make a choice between John and his mysterious doppelganger Jack.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 13 Illusion Town / Jayne Castle / 351 pages

A paranormal romance set on a futuristic alien world. Hannah West wakes up in Illusion Town married to a man she barely knows, and she has no memory of the marriage of convenience ceremony that they had had. For that matter, neither does Elias Coppersmith, her new husband. All either can remember is that they were being chased by some very dangerous people.  With her dubious background and abilities, she could have done much worse than a competent mining heir, not that his money is what’s on her mind. But as they spend their honeymoon retracing their footsteps, it leads Hannah and Elias into the twisting underground catacombs, where secrets from both their pasts will come to light.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 9 The Lost Night / Jayne Castle / 354 pages

A paranormal romance set in a futuristic world on an alien planet. Rachel Blake has the ability to detect auras of dangerous psychic criminals, after trying to work at a medical facility interviewing test-ies for a new drug trial, the stress causes Rachel to quit.  Now she’s falling back on Plan-B, operating a bookstore and café left to her by her aunts on the peaceful and quiet Rainshadow Island. But there were reasons why she left Rainshadow Island in the first place. She lost a whole night where she had wandered into the Preserve and she can’t remember what happened.  Now coming back there’s someone new in town, Harry Sebastian, the descendant of a notorious pirate, arrives to investigate the strange developments that are happening in the Preserve, that is privately owned by his family. And he needs Rachel’s special talents to help him track down the criminals that have been going into the Preserve and have stolen something that Harry’s ancestor left protected in the forest.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 2 After Glow / Jayne Castle / 343 pages

Sequel to After Dark,  Lydia Smith is still working at the second-rate museum, Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors, trying to restore her career in para-archaeology and now dating the most dangerous man in town, Emmett London. And when she thinks she might finally be getting things on the right track, she stumbles over a dead body…. again. She discovers that her lover has a secret past that could get him killed and there's trouble brewing underground in the Dead City.

Harmony Ghost Hunter Series, Book 1 After Dark / Jayne Ann Krentz / 340 pages

Paranormal romance set on an alien planet in a futuristic world.  Lydia Smith is a licensed para-archaeologist and after nasty incident down in an alien tomb, she is let-go (aka: fired) from her prestigious job working at the university on the grounds that her powers might now be “fragile and volatile.” Now she no longer trusts ghost hunters knowing it to be their fault the accident happened even if she can’t remember anything from the event and she’s working part-time in Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, a very low-budget museum trying to get her career back on track, but it isn’t going very well. Stuff keeps happening. Like the dead body of her friend, she discovers in one of the sarcophagus exhibits while interviewing a potential client, Emmett London, one of the most dangerous men in the city, and as she later learns an ex-ghost hunter.

A Deadly Web: a Bishop Files Novel/Kay Hooper/295 pgs.

Psychics are missing:one day they're going about their daily business, the next day they are gone without a trace. John Brodie is a Guardian; he is tasked with protecting psychics from a deadly enemy. Tasha Solomon is a particularly gifted psychic, unaware of the enemy stalking her. John Brodie becomes her protector, and together they hope to discover who the enemy is, and why psychics are going missing. It's a fast paced, roller coaster ride of a novel--a good addition to an entertaining series.

Perfect Poison / Amanda Quick 352 p. 20th century challenge

Perfect Poison / Amanda Quick 352 p.

While acting as a botanical and poison expert in a murder investigation in Victorian era London, spinster Lucinda Bromley realizes that the poison used came from one of her plants.  She hires Caleb Jones, the investigative member of the Arcane Society and descendant of an alchemist family, to find the murderer and keep her name out of the investigation and out of the press.  She has been thoroughly scandalized in the gossip mongering papers when her fiance is poisoned after drinking tea she poured.  Together, these two paranormals seek the thief who stole the poisonous plant and the brains behind the operation.  Who knew that steamy romance would blossom between the spinster and the dedicated bachelor.

There's more to life than this : healing messages, remarkable stories, and insight about the other side from the Long Island medium / Theresa Caputo / 240 pgs.

Theresa Caputo is the star of the TLC's tv show "Long Island Medium".  She works as a professional Medium who is able to channel and communicate with loved ones that have passed on.  In her book she talks about her childhood, which was very loving and normal, except she had some major anxiety and phobia issues.  After she discovered that she was able to communicate with the dead, she realized that many of her problems were from her being so sensitive to energy field and not because she was "crazy".

The rest of the book she talks about her clients and the information that the spirits had passed on to them.  Most of the stories were rehashed from the episodes on the TV show.  So if you are a fan of the show you will either be delighted that you recognized the story she is talking about, or you'll just be annoyed that there is nothing new.  

Theresa says she only deals with positive spirits and will not acknowledge evil spirits.  The advice in the book is all positive, and she says that when your loved ones pass on they are still with you and are involved in your life.  Whether you believe in her gifts or not, I personally love the way Theresa is able to talk with people who are grieving and is able to get them to laugh and feel a little better.  She is truly a light in this world.

Hostage/Kay Hooper/306 pages

Haven, a private security firm, has sent an operative into the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee to look for an escaped felon. The felon, a mentally unstable bank robber, may have more secrets than just where he hid the ten million dollars he stole. Luther Brinkman, the Haven operative, is saved by Callie Davis, an undercover FBI agent. Together they try to devise a plan on how to deal with their shared target.


Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain, Hollis Templeton and Reese DeMarco are visiting Anna Alexander, a widow looking to contact her husband with the help of mediums. Hollis is trying to learn how to control her powers with Reese's supervision. This training exercise turns into much more.


This is the latest installment of the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit. The body count in this novel is remarkably low compared to the other books, and that's a welcome change. However, this book also lacked the tension and excitement of the other books. All the conflicts were pretty easily handled. It was still enjoyable, but I'm hoping for more in the next one.

Sisterland/Curtis Sittenfeld/400 pages

Daisy and Violet are twins who also are psychic. Up until middle school, the girls are happy to play with each other and one other girl. But in middle school, in order to make friends with the queen bee, Daisy tells the twins' secret and the girls are labeled witches. Fast forward to college where Daisy starts going by a variation of her middle name, Kate, and attends school at Mizzou while Vi goes off to Reed College, although only for 6 weeks. From then on, the girls lead very different lives. Kate gets married and starts a family while Vi capitalizes on her senses by becoming a psychic for hire. Everything is more or less okay until Vi predicts an earthquake and Kate inadvertently supplies a date. Vi becomes a national sensation, and the entire St. Louis region is put on edge waiting to see if the predication comes true. Will there be an earthquake or is that just a metaphor for life-altering changes is one or both of the twins' lives?

Set in St. Louis, Sisterland is a fun read if only because you recognize every place they go. The overall description of the attitudes of the area are pretty insulting, though. Sittenfeld has made a name for herself lately by being critical of the region although she chooses to live here. She refused to have her picture on her first few books because she didn't want to be recognized as famous in her hometown. Apparently, she has gotten over that. The ending of the book is quick and a little unsatisfying, but overall, a good read.

The First Prophet/Kay Hooper/390 pgs.

This is the first in a new Kay Hooper series. As in some of her recent books, Hooper's new series involves psychics. The main character, Sarah Gallagher, is new to her psychic abilities--her ability surfaced when she woke up from a coma. As a "new" psychic, Sarah cannot control her "abilities," and is the target of a mysterious enemy. She teams up with novelist Tucker Mackenzie; initially he is interested in her "psychic" ability, but his interest turns more personal as the story progresses.  There is a mystery and conspiracy involved, which makes for a fast read. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.