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Showing posts with label Elicia Hyder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elicia Hyder. Show all posts

Friday, July 14, 2017

Book Review: The Detective: A Nathan McNamara Story (The Soul Summoner) by Elicia Hyder

I enjoyed this character in The Soul Summoner and enjoyed this additional background on him.
The Detective: A Nathan McNamara Story (The Soul Summoner)
by Elicia Hyder
File Size: 3191 KB
Print Length: 149 pages
Publisher: Inkwell & Quill, LLC (October 29, 2015)
ASIN: B017DSORBE
Genre: Police Procedures
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0


Robbery, arson, murder...and the one night stand that just won't end.
With eleven missing women to find and six high-profile burglary cases to solve, the last thing Detective Nathan McNamara needs in his life is one more complication. And that’s exactly what his recent one-night stand is becoming—complicated. With his heinous lieutenant breathing down his neck for answers and his accidental girlfriend dropping hints for a commitment, Nathan is realizing that his career and his bachelor status are both on the line.
When the burglary cases suddenly escalate to homicide, Nathan must put everything else aside to stop the killer. But this is easier said than done when the blonde from the bar repeatedly shows up at his doorstep and enlists his own mother against him. Now he’s more convinced than ever that his job hangs in the balance and that the Surgeon General’s warning on the whiskey bottle should include something about women.
***Detective Nathan McNamara is one of the leading men in The Soul Summoner Series. Book One, The Soul Summoner (a full-length novel), focuses on the investigation of the eleven missing girls. Chronologically, this novella happens before the series begins, but it is a standalone and doesn't have to be read in order.***


Review:
I met the very attractive (okay, -- "yummy" is a better description) Detective Nathan McNamara in The Soul Summoner. This short story fills in his history and how he got involved with Shannon, his stalking girlfriend in the next book.

Nate is ducking his unpleasant superior while pursuing the investigation of a rash of robberies. The criminals left a victim at one of the scenes, turning the case into a homicide investigation. Nate is relentless in his efforts despite the negative attitude of his lieutenant. In his spare time Nate is working on a case with eleven missing women. This case is a special burden for him.

I enjoyed Nate’s family background and input. I didn’t enjoy his ‘accidental’ relationship with Shannon. He initially picks her up at a bar and then takes advantage of the open invitation. Shannon follows him to his town, calls his mother to make connections and repeatedly calls him even as he makes it clear he has work to do. Instead of putting a halt to the eager chase he lets her carry on, and I didn’t like that.

I did like how Nate worked the case and I like the direct writing style. Written in first person from Nate’s view gives it a hands-on approach. I think I would have liked to have read this before The Soul Summoner but I still liked it well enough. This does not have the paranormal elements that show up in the rest of the series. I want to continue with book 2, The Siren, and I recommend these be read in order.

I received this title through InstaFreebies. It qualifies for my TBR Challenge.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Book Review: The Soul Summoner by Elicia Hyder

This is a fast-paced, entertaining paranormal. Not ghosts as I mistakenly thought but ‘soul readers’.
The Soul Summoner
by Elicia Hyder
File Size: 881 KB
Print Length: 311 pages
Publication Date: November 4, 2015
ASIN: B015ZS7DSS
Genre: Paranormal Suspense, Psychics
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0


Blessed or cursed with a connection to the souls of others, Sloan Jordan can see the best in people…and the worst. With nothing more than a glance at a photograph, she can judge the living from the dead and the good souls from the evil ones. For twenty-seven years, she's kept her ability a secret, but eleven young women have been murdered in the mountains of North Carolina, and Sloan may be the only hope of finding their killer.

She has just agreed to help Detective Nathan McNamara with the case, when a stranger—who is as alluring as he is terrifying—shows up at her doorstep with a dark past and another puzzling mystery: she can't see his soul at all.

Now Sloan is on the hunt for a deadly psychopath with two irresistible men. One of them would die for her, and the other would kill to keep her safe.


Review:
Sloan has known she was different since grade school but she tried to hide her abilities so she wouldn’t be considered a freak. After all, it is not normal to be able to look at people and know if the person is good or evil, or look at a picture and know if the person is alive or dead. Sloan can also summon people by thinking about them, although she hasn’t really tried to develop that skill.

Sloan works as the Public Information Officer for Buncombe County in North Carolina. When one of the newest detectives, Nathan McNamara, brings a release about a missing person to Sloan she slips by blurting out “he’s dead”. Now Nathan is curious why Sloan said that and what other spooky skills she has.

Nathan coerces Sloan into helping him find a kidnapped child. Then Nathan brings a stack of folders on missing young women who may be victims of a serial killer. Although she tries to resist, Sloan begins to realize that she can use her ‘gift’ to help bring closure to others. Besides, she likes working with Nathan even if he has a girlfriend who happens to be Sloan’s high school nemesis.

Things get even more tense when Sloan and her best friend attend a festival and Sloan spots a man whose ‘soul’ she can’t read. The man shows up at her house that night and Nathan rushes over to protect her. It turns out that Warren, a handsome ex-marine, has a lot in common with Sloan. His ‘gift’ is slightly different and sometimes more lethal. As the two men vie for Sloan’s attention the three begin to work together as pieces of the murder cases begin to fall into a pattern. Can they track the killer before Sloan accidentally summons him and ends up in trouble?

I immediately liked Sloan’s character and the chemistry between her and first Nathan, then Warren. I liked how the author included Sloan’s family and best friend to develop her history and values. The author shares some philosophy of good and evil through the primary characters. The story moves along at a quick pace with mystery, tension and suspense that build to an exciting ending.

I will be picking up more in this series and I am very glad that I have The Detective (a Nathan McNamara’s story) available to read soon. I highly recommend this to readers who like a fast-paced paranormal read.

I had this as a free Kindle book from 2015 plus it was offered this summer as a free book from the Author. It qualifies for my Mount TBR Challenge.

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