Narrated by Kirt Graves
This third book in S.E. Harmon’s Spectral Files finds psychic and former FBI agent-turned-cold-case-detective Rain Christiansen confronting a serial killer in order to try to find out where the bodies are buried. Literally. The spookiness factor seems to increase with each book, and Spooky Business is a bit darker in tone than the previous entry in the series – and that’s fine – but I have to say there was one thing near the end that really stretched my credulity, and it seemed to me that Danny (Rain’s boyfriend) spent most of the time on the periphery of the story.
When Rain is asked by his former boss at the FBI to meet with convicted serial killer Thomas Kane, Rain, who is terminally afflicted by insatiable curiosity, agrees to make the four-hour drive to the correctional facility at which he’s being held. It’s immediately clear that Kane has no intention of telling him where he disposed of the remains of his victims; instead he tells Rain that he didn’t kill his wife Delilah Rose and asks him to find out what happened to her after she left him back in the 80s. He also insists he wasn’t responsible for all the murders attributed to him and that four of the twelve were carried out by a copycat – and tells Rain he’s being haunted and wants him to stop it. If Rain does both those things, then he’ll fess up about the bodies.
Rain’s boss at the Brickell Bay PD isn’t too pleased at the idea of his doing favours for the FBI. The PTU (Paranormal Tactical Unit) has been built around Rain’s psychic abilities in order to solve cold cases and there are enough of those for him to work on, without digging up solved cold cases. But she doesn’t shut him down, and Rain gets to work trying to find Delilah Rose. He doesn’t come up with much to start with, but does get in touch with an old college friend of Delilah’s – Valerie Carr – who tells him she hadn’t seen or heard from Delilah in many years, but that she’ll be in touch if she thinks of anything that might be useful.
Later that night in the middle of a storm, Rain is visited by the spirit of a young man who seems to have trapped him in some kind of waking dream. The ghost says his name is Joseph and insists Rain is his boyfriend, Alex; Rain doesn’t know how or why Joseph has brought him to the site of an old fairground – until a few days later, he finds out that Joseph Carr – Valerie’s son – was found dead in the parking lot there, killed by a shot to the back of the head.
S.E. Harmon pulls together a complex and enjoyable story as Rain juggles the hunt for Delilah Rose, with an obsessive spirit, a new cold case and three copycat murders while dealing with troublesome in-laws, his slightly bonkers family – and facing a supernatural threat like nothing he’s faced before.
While, as I said at the beginning, Danny seems to be more of a secondary character in this book, I was pleased to see that he and Rain are continuing to make progress in their relationship. At the end of the last book, Rain moved into Danny’s house – although when this one opens, he still hasn’t finished his unpacking! – and they’re working on being more open with each other. Rain does do a dumb thing when he doesn’t tell Danny about the offer he’s had to return to the FBI, but for the most part they’re solid and happy together in their personal and working lives.
But Rain is the star of the show, and I continue to enjoy his deadpan, snarky voice. He’s come a long way since we first met him, when he wanted nothing more than to ignore his psychic abilities, but although he’s come to accept them, he’s still been pretty resistant to learning anything about them and how to control him. He began to see Dakota Daydream, a nerdy, questionably qualified spiritual therapist in the previous book, but hasn’t really been doing the work or exercises Dakota has told him to do in order to hone and develop his skills. I can’t help feeling, given the things that have happened to him in this series so far, that Rain should probably have taken this a little more seriously before now – for a smart guy, he’s failed to realise the dangers his untrained abilities present to himself and those around him.
There’s one big inconsistency in the plot that pulled me out of the story, which is to do with the character of Joey (aka Joseph Carr), the ghost who is obsessed with Rain. As Rain is investigating his murder, we get a picture of alive-Joey as really good, decent man who spent most of his life helping others – which just doesn’t fit with Joey-the-creepy-as-fuck ghost. And then there’s the ending; it’s super dramatic, but it really strained my credulity – which, given this is a book about a guy who can see and talk to ghosts, is saying something!
The mystery in Spooky Business is intriguing and full of unexpected twists and turns, and I liked the Joey storyline despite the issue I’ve mentioned; Joey’s abilities are properly creepy and the author builds the tension really well, but I would have liked to have seen Rain and Danny working together more. Their scenes together are great – Danny clearly has Rain’s number, their banter is sharp and often very funny, and the sex scenes are nice and steamy, but they’re terrific work-partners, too, and I missed seeing that aspect of their relationship.
Kirt Graves returns to narrate this instalment of the Spectral Files, and as before, he does a fantastic job with his characterisation of Rain. His comic timing in both the bantering exchanges with Danny and Rain’s snarky inner monologues is spot on, and he captures the facets of his quirky personality really well. The deeper tone he uses for Danny provides a good contrast so there’s no chance of mixing them up, and his overall sense of engagement with the material comes across, and conveys the strong emotional connection between Rain and Danny to the listener. The secondary cast is clearly differentiated using a variety of tone and accent, and the performance as a whole is well-paced and suitably expressive.
One last thing. While the standalone plotlines in Spooky Business are wrapped up, I wouldn’t suggest starting here with this series. If you like the sound of it from this review, you’d be best served by going back to book one, P.S. I Spook You to get the background to Rain and Danny’s relationship and the low-down on Rain’s growing abilities.
Spooky Business combines a tense and intriguing story with an enjoyable performance, and I enjoyed listening to it despite its flaws. Recommended.
Caz
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