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A review by tessa_talks_books
Crimson Summer by Heather Graham
5.0
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Crimson Summer by Heather Graham is the second book in a crime thriller series about an apocalypse cult whose leader is bringing the four horsemen of the apocalypse to life. Amy Larson (Florida Law Enforcement) and Hunter Forrest (FBI) had already found and stopped the white horse, but a red horse had been sent to them.
What I Enjoyed:
The suspense keeps the pace fast until the twists and turns kick in. Amy and Hunter fly between Florida, New York, and Chicago to the crime scenes and follow up with witnesses and potential suspects. The movement of the characters, followed by the suspense as more and more clues are discovered, kept my pages flipping. There is never a dull moment, and I love it.
Crimson Summer can be read as a stand-alone, technically, but why would you want to. I love that each book in the series ends in a soft conclusion with a tease and not a true cliffhanger. I am always quick to fuss when books in a series end in cliffhangers because I think it is unnecessary and frustrating, but that is not the case with this series. We automatically know that there are four horsemen, so a cliffhanger would just be redundant.
The whole “4 Horseman of the Apocalypse” overall plot is one that I am thoroughly enjoying. I always found The Four Horseman fascinating and scary in equal measures. Graham’s utilization of it for this series is equally as eerily fascinating and entirely appropriate for an Apocalypse cult to yield. It’s been utilized in many other stories on stage, screen, and print, but none quite as chilling as the sequence of events in this series.
I love that the romance burns bright without being gratuitous. Amy and Hunter are a wonderful couple. I gave the critique with the first book that perhaps they are a bit too perfect, and that hasn’t changed technically, but I did look at it differently in this book than I did in the first. In Crimson Summer, I saw their perfection as more of a light in the darkness. A few scenes between the couple show their passion while still leaving a lot to the imagination so that it never breaks the flow of the suspense. In some ways, the possibility that their pureness of feelings could fall prey to the evil they are fighting just worked to enhance the tension.
Boy, that ending took me by surprise! It is so complex and in a totally different direction than I was looking. I always love when a story surprises me, and this one did not disappoint.
Characters:
This is a plot-driven story, but the characters are so well drawn that it could have easily been a character-driven story. Amy and Hunter are a good team in every way and characters that elicit all the right feelings from the reader.
What I Wish:
My only wish is that the next book comes out sooner rather than later.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a thrilling series that gets better with each installment, Crimson Summer and its predecessor, Danger in Numbers, are two books you won’t want to miss.
Crimson Summer by Heather Graham is the second book in a crime thriller series about an apocalypse cult whose leader is bringing the four horsemen of the apocalypse to life. Amy Larson (Florida Law Enforcement) and Hunter Forrest (FBI) had already found and stopped the white horse, but a red horse had been sent to them.
What I Enjoyed:
The suspense keeps the pace fast until the twists and turns kick in. Amy and Hunter fly between Florida, New York, and Chicago to the crime scenes and follow up with witnesses and potential suspects. The movement of the characters, followed by the suspense as more and more clues are discovered, kept my pages flipping. There is never a dull moment, and I love it.
Crimson Summer can be read as a stand-alone, technically, but why would you want to. I love that each book in the series ends in a soft conclusion with a tease and not a true cliffhanger. I am always quick to fuss when books in a series end in cliffhangers because I think it is unnecessary and frustrating, but that is not the case with this series. We automatically know that there are four horsemen, so a cliffhanger would just be redundant.
The whole “4 Horseman of the Apocalypse” overall plot is one that I am thoroughly enjoying. I always found The Four Horseman fascinating and scary in equal measures. Graham’s utilization of it for this series is equally as eerily fascinating and entirely appropriate for an Apocalypse cult to yield. It’s been utilized in many other stories on stage, screen, and print, but none quite as chilling as the sequence of events in this series.
I love that the romance burns bright without being gratuitous. Amy and Hunter are a wonderful couple. I gave the critique with the first book that perhaps they are a bit too perfect, and that hasn’t changed technically, but I did look at it differently in this book than I did in the first. In Crimson Summer, I saw their perfection as more of a light in the darkness. A few scenes between the couple show their passion while still leaving a lot to the imagination so that it never breaks the flow of the suspense. In some ways, the possibility that their pureness of feelings could fall prey to the evil they are fighting just worked to enhance the tension.
Boy, that ending took me by surprise! It is so complex and in a totally different direction than I was looking. I always love when a story surprises me, and this one did not disappoint.
Characters:
This is a plot-driven story, but the characters are so well drawn that it could have easily been a character-driven story. Amy and Hunter are a good team in every way and characters that elicit all the right feelings from the reader.
What I Wish:
My only wish is that the next book comes out sooner rather than later.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a thrilling series that gets better with each installment, Crimson Summer and its predecessor, Danger in Numbers, are two books you won’t want to miss.