Sizzle and Burn

November 19, 2007
At the opening of Krentz's disappointing latest featuring the Arcane Society—a covert organization devoted to paranormal research—costume shop owner Raine Tallentyre hears voices: in her deceased aunt's home in Shelbyville, Wash., she discovers and rescues a potential serial killer victim, and locks in on the disturbed killer's vibes. Raine's aunt also heard voices, but was also known as the town nut; Raine thus hesitates in going public. Meanwhile, Zack Jones is a PI hired by the Arcane Society: he gets a visceral sense of crimes with visions, but tracks Raine because of the secret research her father was doing on a special formula that enhances paranormal powers. Raine, meanwhile, has always believed that her father was killed by a member of the Society—one of Zack's relatives in fact—and is wary of Zack's motives. Krentz, who wrote the Arcane Society novel Second Sight
as Amanda Quick, knows how to make sparks fly among the gifted, but this outing feels comparatively flat. The paranormal elements don't coalesce with the boy-meets-girl story. A repetitious dwelling on Raine's past, whereby potential partners were creeped out by her abilities, is a less serious flaw than the way the denouement makes use of them.

December 15, 2007
Gifted with the unnerving psychometric ability to feel past, violent thoughts and feelings of others and hear them as voices in her head, Raine Tallentyre has used her "intuition" to solve crimes but has learned the hard way not to share the whole truth. Zack Jones, a psychic mirror talent and private investigator, contacts her for help in stopping the evil Nightshade cabal in its deadly quest for power, and she encounters a man who actually understands and shares her abilitiesand is drawn into a passionate, heart-stopping, multilayered adventure that takes all of their combined strength to survive. A crazed, witch-burning serial killer, a creative batch of lethal psychics, and exquisitely paired soulmates head the cast of a "sizzlingly" chilling story that takes readers on another incredible journey into the riveting world of the Arcane Society. Krentz ("White Lies") continues her action-packed psychic paranormal series, which includes stories set in both late Victorian England (under her Amanda Quick pseudonym) and modern-day America. She lives in Seattle.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2007
Raine Tallentyre hears voices, which are nowtelling her thatsomeone is being held hostage inthe basement of her aunt Vella's home. Raine's quick thinking saves the young woman's life, and although the local police might be skeptical of her gift, private investigator Zack Jones isn?t, because hesees visions. Zack wants Raine to team up with him and work for the Arcane Society, investigating the disappearance of scientist Dr. Lawrence Quinn, who just happened to be in town the same day Raine's aunt died of ?natural causes.? Raine can?t deny that working closely with Zack would be an excellent way to mix pleasure with business, but she has sometrust issues with the Arcane Society. When she becomes the target of a clever killer, however, she doesn?t need her unique gift to know that working with Zack might be the only way out of danger. Writing with her usual sharpwit, Krentz continues her loosely connected, addictively readable series featuring the Arcane Society withanother brilliantly crafted novel that deftly fuses paranormal-flavored suspense with sizzlingly sexy romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)