I enjoyed the first Cafferty & Quinn book, it was a fun read while on vacation. Waking the Dead, however, was the opposite of a fun read. Convoluted plot, far too many coincidences, and the ultimate "bad" guys became obvious at the halfway point of the book. I'm a fan of fun brain candy books, this did not qualify. ( )

From Amazon:
They say a painting can have a life of its own… In the case of Ghosts in the Mind by Henry Sebastian Hubert, that's more than just an expression. This painting is reputed to come to life—and to bring death. The artist was a friend of Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, joining them in Switzerland during 1816, "the year without a summer." That was when they all explored themes of horror and depravity in their art…. Now, almost two hundred years later, the painting appears in New Orleans. Wherever it goes, death seems to follow. Danielle Cafferty and Michael Quinn, occasional partners in solving crime, are quickly drawn into the case. They begin to make connections between that summer in Switzerland and this spring in Louisiana. Danni, the owner of an eccentric antiques shop, and Quinn, a private detective, have discovered that they have separate but complementary talents when it comes to investigating unusual situations. Trying to blend their personal relationship with the professional lives they've stumbled into, they learn how much they need each other. Especially as they confront this work of art—and evil. The people in the portrait might be dead, but something seems to wake them and free them to commit bloody crimes. Cafferty and Quinn must discover what that is. And they have to destroy it—before it destroys them.

My Thoughts:
I have recently been blessed with 5 star books and I'm happy to say that this one joins the crowd. The main characters have interesting personalities. They’re very different, yet they match well together. Danni is calm, relaxed, intuitive, in tune with her own spirituality. Quinn is more down-to-earth, a hard-boiled private detective who is as at home at a crime scene as he is in his own home. The whole plot line involving the painting was detailed, and intriguing. anyone that loves Heather Grahams "Krewe of Hunter" series will welcome this 2nd book in the "Cafferty and Quinn" series. ( )

In Graham’s paranormal mystery novel, Danielle Cafferty and Michael Quinn team up again to solve a crime. A famous painting by Henry Sebastian Hubert, distant relative to the local pathologist, is reputed to come to life and kill. And now someone in New Orleans has purchased the priceless work of art.

Cafferty and Quinn begin to piece the history of the painting together. Danni owns a local eccentric antique shop, and Quinn, a private investigator, have long since recognized that they each have separate “gifts” that work well together when it comes to the unexplained. Working together, they seek out this “work of art” knowing it is pure evil. Discovering what brings the painting to life, they must destroy it before it destroys anyone else, including them.

Once again Graham has created an original and well-written story. This is a must read for all Heather Graham fans. ( )

Michael Quinn is a private investigator who works unusual cases. His girlfriend Dani cafferty is an artist and shop owner who also helps inverstigate possessed pieces of art. In this case Dani and Quinn believe an evil painting has come to New Orleans and is murdering people. Their investigation ends up involving a wide array of people. The book was spooky in spots but figuring out who the human helping the painting was very easy to figure out. ( )

4 STARS

This is the second book in A Cafferty and Quinn series. It can stand alone but I like them together. I reread Let the Dead Sleep by Heather Graham. I was only going to look it over. The same characters are back and few new ones. It is a scary book. If you scare easily don't read at night and in foggy weather. The suspense was good about all the bad guys till the end. Was some love scenes that I skipped over. Lots of violence of different murders taking place.

The plot was good, and kept you guessing. A family of five was murdered the day Michael Quinn gets back into town. He is called into it because of what was not found on the scene. A painting from 1816 is m
issing and death follows the painting. It is in New Orleans. They need to find it and stop it some how.

Danielle Cafferty, Michael Quinn and friends all join together to find the painting and stop the killings. They have gathered together an odd bunch. Danni is an artist that owns a antiques shop, Quinn a P.I., Bo Ray & Billy work for Danni, Father Ryan a Catholic Father, Natasha a Voodoo priestess , Ron Hubert ME & Hattie. They even have to leave the country to stop the evil killings in New Orleans.

The characters are so different and work together so well. I hope that their are going to be more of Cafferty and Quinn together in the future.

I like how took some facts about 1816 and worked them into a story in modern New Orleans.
The setting was New Orleans now and Switzerland of 1816 and 2013. Some of the scenes in the castle I would not want to see at all.

Did not want to put the book down. I am glad I did not read at night.

I will read more of Heather Graham's work in the future.

I was given this ebook to read and asked in return to give honest review of it by Netgalley and Harlequin.
03/25/2014 PUB Harlequin Imprint Harlequin MIRA 336 pages ISBN 9780778316121 ( )