Deep Down by Deborah CoatesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
THEME: Romance, Supernatural, Ghost
RECEIVED: Received from Tor
AUTHORS BLOG: Deborah Coates' Site
BLURB:
Death stalks the haunted, windswept prairie in this chilling sequel to Wide Open
Now that she's solved her sister's murder, Hallie Michaels has left the army and isn't sure what to do next. Her relationship with deputy Boyd Davies is tentative, there's still distance between her and her father, and she needs a job. The good news is, she hasn't seen a ghost in weeks.
All that changes when she gets a call asking her to help an elderly neighbor who is being stalked by black dogs, creatures from the underworld that are harbingers of death. When a black dog appears, Hallie learns, a reaper is sure to follow. And if the dark visions she's suddenly receiving are any indication, it looks like the reaper is now following her.
Meanwhile, strange events herald the arrival of ghosts from Boyd's past, ghosts the young deputy isn't ready to face. Refusing Hallie's help, Boyd takes off to deal with the problem on his own, only to find that he's facing something much larger and more frightening than he'd imagined.
Stalked by a reaper and plagued by dark visions, Hallie finds she must face her fears and travel into Death's own realm to save those she most loves.
Now that she's solved her sister's murder, Hallie Michaels has left the army and isn't sure what to do next. Her relationship with deputy Boyd Davies is tentative, there's still distance between her and her father, and she needs a job. The good news is, she hasn't seen a ghost in weeks.
All that changes when she gets a call asking her to help an elderly neighbor who is being stalked by black dogs, creatures from the underworld that are harbingers of death. When a black dog appears, Hallie learns, a reaper is sure to follow. And if the dark visions she's suddenly receiving are any indication, it looks like the reaper is now following her.
Meanwhile, strange events herald the arrival of ghosts from Boyd's past, ghosts the young deputy isn't ready to face. Refusing Hallie's help, Boyd takes off to deal with the problem on his own, only to find that he's facing something much larger and more frightening than he'd imagined.
Stalked by a reaper and plagued by dark visions, Hallie finds she must face her fears and travel into Death's own realm to save those she most loves.
REVIEW:
Loved this! Deep Down was pretty much just as good as Wide Open, but I felt had more eerie paranormal goodness that I liked it that much more. Hallie is really getting deeper into her supernatural side and the ghost aren’t her only problem this time.
Hallie is done with the Army and is back on her father’s farm trying to figure out her next step. She also is still trying to figure out her relationship with deputy Boyd and find out the story behind this ghost that’s been following him around. But once she finds out the truth, death appears, along with black dogs that follow death and the reapers. Hallie is about to get up close and personal with “real” Death and find out what he wants from her.
Hallie is one of those characters you just connect to right off. In Wide Open she was heart broken and angry after her sisters death, but now all she wants is to move on and protect those closest to her, she is ready to fight back hard. Hallie learns a lot about her gift, she sees things know one else can and that means she can see Harbringers (black dogs) that go wherever death is. Coates really digs in deep with the supernatural this time around, I loved having Hallie work with Maker one of the Harbingers to stop this evil reaper that’s trying to hurt Boyd. I know it may sound strange but Id totally love having my own Harbinger as my back up. Hallie is one tough girl and I think with each book she's just going to keep getting stronger.
Boyd is highly focused on this time around, where in Wide Open he just shows up to help Hallie, this time he’s the one stuck in the middle. His wife’s ghost is following him, bringing along the person who killed her. The problem is the man who killed her isn’t exactly dead or alive and he’s ready to make Boyd’s life miserable by using Hallie. Though Hallie wont back down for anyone and helps Boyd however she can. I liked digging in deep into Boyd’s past; we get to see what kind of man he was before and how much he changed.
Overall Hallie is dealt a lot of questions and she gets help from a very interesting “psychic” through out the book along with Maker. She’s starting to handle all the ghost, death and reaper situations quite well and becoming more comfortable with what she is. At the end she is giving an interesting choice and I’m so curious on how things are going to pan out for her now. Coates once again wrote a story that kept me guessing and not once did I put this book down. I applaud Coates for creating such a strong group of characters, a supernatural world with a touch of humor and eeriness that kept me on my toes. The supernatural characters and world almost feel “real” it gave me chills and I can’t imagine seeing what Hallie sees everyday. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Hallie and Boyd.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a series that you don’t want to miss and Urban Fantasy that will have you on the edge of you seat until the very last word. Fans of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series and Kim Harrisons’ The Hollows series will want to get their hands on this second installment Deep Down by Deborah Coates.
For anyone undecided about whether this was the book for them this review solves the problem. It was thorough and while giving the storyline didn't give anything away. No Spoiler Alert here.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review by a top reviewer.