Dark Light

Dark Light by Jayne Castle

Reporter Sierra McIntyre's stories on Crystal City's ghost hunters—and their mysterious guild—have earned her tabloid a bit of respect. And they've allowed her to clothe her dust bunny companion Elvis in rock-and-roll style. It helps that she has mega-rez intuition to fall back on...

Especially when she interviews Ghost Hunter Guild Boss John Fontana about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters. She doesn't want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her senses—and Elvis—give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organization, Fontana proposes...marriage. And though it's purely a business arrangement, there is nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them...

--Dark Light by Jayne Castle, Copyright ©August 2008 by Jayne Ann Krentz, published by Jove Books

My Review

Sierra McIntyre has always been the family misfit. In a family full of overachievers who set their goals early in life and pursued them almost single-mindedly, Sierra drifted, trying out this career and that, until she finally seemed to find her calling in journalism. Only problem was, she worked for The Curtain, a Crystal City tabloid. Her stories were good, though, and they were getting noticed by everyone in the city, including the new Ghost Hunter Guild boss, John Fontana. Especially her stories on the “burned out” Ghost Hunters who were being kidnapped by aliens.

Fontana grants Sierra an interview and the attraction that flared between them was immediate. But Fontana has more pressing matters, namely protecting Sierra from those who would wish to stop her investigation…permanently. Within minutes of their introduction, Fontana is proposing marriage, and Sierra surprises herself by accepting.

Being a Guild Boss’ wife does afford Sierra a level of protection, and she has a new partner in her investigation, namely her husband. Together, with the help of her dust bunny, Elvis (bedecked in rhinestoned white cape and sunglasses), they work to uncover the mysterious aliens suspected of kidnapping the Hunters

Both Sierra and Fontana come into their Marriage of Convenience with secrets. Fontana is a bit of a rarity on Harmony—his father was in a Covenant Marriage to another woman when he was born, making him an illegitimate child, and it’s something he fears her family will hold against him. Sierra, unlike the majority of those on Harmony, does not use amber to focus her psi abilities. Her intuition is a natural-born thing, which makes her an oddity amongst the general population.

Plus there’s her connection to an intriguing secret psychic society here on Earth…

When I decided to re-read/listen to the entire Harmony series (at least, those books I have…I’m missing the very first two), I didn’t realize I would run into one little … well, “problem” really isn’t the word for it. Anyone who has read or re-read a series (any series), back to back to back (to back to back to back) realizes that they really get tired of reading the back story over and over (and over and over and over and over) again. Each story in this series was written to stand alone, which means the origin of the planet, how we humans came to populate it, the alien ruins created out of luminous green quartz and the effect it has on the population, etc, must be explained over and over (etc.) again. So I’m a bit tired of the repetitive back story at this point, but there are just two more stories to go--Obsidian Prey which is next and Midnight Crystal, which also happens to be the third book in the Dreamlight series. See how it all ties together? No? Well, that’s because you’re not in my mind and trust me, you don’t want to be there. Navigating through that maze is like navigating the Harmony Catacombs. Without your tuned amber, you’re lost forever.

I give this story THREE STARS.