The Book Diva's Reads

2.5 star read

Sloan Trent is a former big-town cop turned small-town sheriff. He's returned to his familial roots by returning to Lily, Arizona. Nothing much ever happens in Lily until a skull, an old skull, is discovered at the local theater. Given he lives in a town reputed to have more its fair share of ghosts, Sloan contacts his friend Logan Raintree for help. Jane Everett is sent to the small town of Lily as a forensic artist. She quickly finds herself seeing ghosts and receiving messages from the dead. Shortly after her arrival there's a murder, a discovery of a mummified body, another murder, followed by a vicious attack on a member of the theater group, Jane and the family of one of the murder victims. Something is definitely going wrong in the town of Lily, but will Jane and Sloan be able to uncover the truth before more lives are lost?

The Night is Watching is the ninth in the Krewe of Hunters series by Ms. Graham. Although I'm not a big fan of the paranormal genre, I rather enjoyed the ghostly interactions in this story. The atmosphere created by setting the story in a haunted Old West town worked beautifully. Lily appears as a small Old West town that has never really died out. The townsfolk, native-born and transplants from other US cities, have made an effort to keep the Old West charm. The history of the town is woven into the story and creates the right setting for all of the other action. The mystery-suspense aspect is found with the murders, discovery of a mummified body, discovery of the old skull, and the lost gold shipment from the past. The only part of the story that didn't work for me was the "romance" between Jane and Sloan. I bought the sexual attraction, but the "I'm so in love that I'm willing to do anything for you" aspect of their relationship felt a bit forced. But don't let that stop you from grabbing a copy. The Night is Watching is a fast-paced paranormal, mystery-suspense that will keep you guessing until the very end.