Rating: 
Summary: MiddleSchoolLevel
Review: I will never pick up a book by this author again. If one can typify a 'female' writing style, it would be Hecht (although the author purports to be male). Overly descriptive of places, clothing, psychological states. Does she love him/does she not quandries. Why should we care? Less tension than your typical teenaged romance. I expected to, perhaps, learn a bit of voodoo/hoodoo lore. Nada! If it were the first book of it's sort that I had read, perhaps it would be fine - 'nice' might be the better word, but for anyone who has lived a bit and had some small contact with the 'unexplained' world, this is BORING. Get the feeling, by the author's style, that she/he is trying to attract a movie deal - being rich on visuals and lacking in depth. Gimmee a break.
Rating:
Summary: MiddleSchoolLevel
Review: I will never pick up a book by this author again. If one can typify a 'female' writing style, it would be Hecht (although the author purports to be male). Overly descriptive of places, clothing, psychological states. Does she love him/does she not quandries. Why should we care? Less tension than your typical teenaged romance. I expected to, perhaps, learn a bit of voodoo/hoodoo lore. Nada! If it were the first book of it's sort that I had read, perhaps it would be fine - 'nice' might be the better word, but for anyone who has lived a bit and had some small contact with the 'unexplained' world, this is BORING. Get the feeling, by the author's style, that she/he is trying to attract a movie deal - being rich on visuals and lacking in depth. Gimmee a break.
Rating: 
Summary: a great read, not just for haunted house lovers
Review: i'm very impressed. :-) hecht writes well (great rhythmic flow, not surprising considering he's also an accomplished musician), plots well (reminded me a bit of the magus in terms of layers unfolding), researches well (a very vivid portrayal of new orleans), creates complex engaging characters (cree just draws you in, like people/ghosts she encounters draw her in, joyce is a hoot, etc.), and provides substantial scary/emotional reader payoffs (an early scene in the "haunted house" is truly horrifying, cree's self-discoveries are very moving, etc.). there's so much to like about this novel, but just two flaws (for me): 1) hecht can do "scary" as well as anyone i've read, but he doesn't do it enough in the book; i wanted more. 2) i found the ending a bit flat and disappointing. if you like ghost stories and/or psychological mysteries, definitely read it. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Empathic ghost buster opens new series
Review: Parapsychologist Cree Black is a ghost buster - an empath who gets to know her ghosts and thereby frees them from earthly bondage. It's a dangerous empathy though. She so closely sympathizes with people - and their deaths - that she can take on their characteristics. This series opener takes Cree to New Orleans and the 150-year-old Beauforte House. Lila Beauforte's attempt to live in her ancestral home ended so badly that her family fears for her sanity. They - a venerable old family gone to seed - humor her terrors to the extent of hiring Cree to exorcise the ghost they don't believe in. But all too soon Cree begins unearthing violent secrets (through a combination of ghost work and detecting) and real ghosts and the family circles its wagons against her. All but Lila, who has kept the true horror of the house to herself. Hecht keeps the pace brisk, juxtaposing suspense with investigatory digging and parapsychology, which culminates in a violent climax and cathartic resolution. The series set-up is intriguing - a balance between the scientific (Cree's technological partner is on another case in this book) and the supernatural - and Cree is likeable despite an irritating tendency to angst and depression due to her husband's death nine years before. This pall becomes wearing and unfortunately pads a story which doesn't need padding. With romance, detective work, ghosts, murder, mayhem, sordid secrets and history to juggle, Hecht has more than enough substance. Good ghost detectives are hard to come by so let's hope Cree gets over it in her next adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: read this before land of echoes
Review: super interesting. a bit of new orleans mystery - a good read or listen if you like ghosts - paranormal stories. Cree and her associates are wonderful, Joyce and Edgar - and her new interest Paul!
Rating:
Summary: Beyond fabulous--truly a supernatural delight!
Review: © 2003 by Diana Guerrero (allianceofwriters.com)
"Ghost Buster" and detective Cree Black is facing mysterious and sometimes terrifying forces in the beautiful and haunting setting of New Orleans. Daniel Hecht has woven a wonderful novel blended with suspense, psycho-babble, and the paranormal. I was glued to the book and unwilling to put it down. Full of sensory detail--this is spine tingling. This is my first read of Hecht but I am eager for the next Cree Black adventure. Buy it for yourself and anyone else you know that loves a great detective or ghost story!
| 
