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Harbinger P.I. #2
Buried Memory
Whoever said that nothing ever happens in a small town clearly never visited Dearmont, Maine. It’s getting hotter than hell around here. When the dead start crawling out of their graves, you know something’s up.
If there’s one thing I hate more than zombies, it’s having my memories erased by magic. That's a real bummer, right? So when I get a chance to break the spell that’s locked away part of my mind, I take it, even if it means dabbling with ancient Egyptian sorcery.
Big mistake.
Sometimes you shouldn’t go poking at things that are buried.
Because you end up having to deal with an army of the dead.
If there’s one thing I hate more than zombies, it’s having my memories erased by magic. That's a real bummer, right? So when I get a chance to break the spell that’s locked away part of my mind, I take it, even if it means dabbling with ancient Egyptian sorcery.
Big mistake.
Sometimes you shouldn’t go poking at things that are buried.
Because you end up having to deal with an army of the dead.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2016
274 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
March 2, 2018
Buried Memory
Harbinger P.I., Book 2
By: Adam J. Wright
Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
This continues the series right about where book one takes off. There is still someone after our guy, he is making friends with the neighbors, zombies are popping up, lol, he still has his 'team', and it is a load of fun! Enjoying this series!
The narrator is good, keeps things rolling along at a fun pace!
Harbinger P.I., Book 2
By: Adam J. Wright
Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
This continues the series right about where book one takes off. There is still someone after our guy, he is making friends with the neighbors, zombies are popping up, lol, he still has his 'team', and it is a load of fun! Enjoying this series!
The narrator is good, keeps things rolling along at a fun pace!
September 10, 2016
Great read. RTC later. :)
July 1, 2016
I though the second book in Wright's Harbinger P.I. series definitely up the ante after the introduction in book #1. In this one, we had Alec fighting demons inside a flying plane (seriously, that part drove me to the edge of my seat!), armies of the dead, traitors inside Society of Shadow, a deadly Egyptian curse, while uncovering old and buried memories. Yep, Alec was definitely busy in this book...
I had a feeling about Alec's buried memory -- -- but it would be interesting to see WHY it happened, and why those memories needed to be locked in the first place. There was a hint of Alec's power growing and it made me itchy to start book #3 right away. Good thing I already have it with me. As soon as I finished other currently reading titles, I'm jumping for that one.
I had a feeling about Alec's buried memory -- -- but it would be interesting to see WHY it happened, and why those memories needed to be locked in the first place. There was a hint of Alec's power growing and it made me itchy to start book #3 right away. Good thing I already have it with me. As soon as I finished other currently reading titles, I'm jumping for that one.
January 2, 2018
Wonderful followup to Lost Souls, Buried Memory continues the adventures of Alec Harbinger, preternatural investigator, and the unique group he's gathered around himself. New intrigues, new characters, and lots and lots of plot and character development. Mystery wrapped in mystery. My favorite thing.
As usual, Greg Trembley's narration is spot-on, bringing life to memorable characters that are really starting to grow on me. When a book is written in first person, most of the focus is on the main POV character, often to the exclusion of others, but Adam J. Wright manages to flesh out the secondary characters nicely. Felicity on the plane. You rock, girl. And Mallory. Sigh. I didn't see that one coming, but I have one more character to root for.
And I keep picturing Michael as Batman's butler, Alfred, ever quiet, holding a shotgun, and totally unfazed no matter what weird *%$# comes his way.
My only question is: how did they get the streets cleaned up in one night, with no evidence of that thing that happened near the end of the book? And why didn't the reporter write about it? Not giving spoilers, but please send that cleanup crew to my house to take care of the Christmas aftermath. They're super efficient. :)
Now on to book three!
As usual, Greg Trembley's narration is spot-on, bringing life to memorable characters that are really starting to grow on me. When a book is written in first person, most of the focus is on the main POV character, often to the exclusion of others, but Adam J. Wright manages to flesh out the secondary characters nicely. Felicity on the plane. You rock, girl. And Mallory. Sigh. I didn't see that one coming, but I have one more character to root for.
And I keep picturing Michael as Batman's butler, Alfred, ever quiet, holding a shotgun, and totally unfazed no matter what weird *%$# comes his way.
My only question is: how did they get the streets cleaned up in one night, with no evidence of that thing that happened near the end of the book? And why didn't the reporter write about it? Not giving spoilers, but please send that cleanup crew to my house to take care of the Christmas aftermath. They're super efficient. :)
Now on to book three!
November 7, 2017
This was so good, then the multiple line cliffhangers. Still it was really good and one line did end really well. Too short really, too much happening in the time frame, I guess that is the reason for the cliffhangers. Really like Alec and his companions. Lots of unanswered question so I'll be reading on.
May 5, 2016
that ending though.
October 26, 2021
Warnings first: This review will be long and contain spoilers.
Buried Memory is an atrocious mess.
The book begins with Alec being asked by the Deputy Sheriff Amy to investigate reanimating corpses at a local cemetery, and Amy's mother who was affiliated with a cult church and allegedly killed at the hands of another Preternatural Investigator.
The re-animated corpse thing is solved almost immediately, and then Felicity and Alec completely forget about investigating the church and mom because Alec's father summons them to London. Alec spends the majority of this chapter moping and whining to Felicity like an angst ridden teenager about how his father doesn't care about him only to bend to his father's will like the petulant child he apparently is.
We learn that Felicity isn't eager to return home as her boyfriend Jason is waiting there with an ultimatum. Either she stops being Alec's assistant and live with him in London, or the relationship ends. We meet Jason at the hospital Felicity winds up in after being injured saving Alec in a demon attack. Jason starts by giving Alec a weak hand shake, followed by threats that don't intimidate the protagonist in the slightest. Next he insults his girlfriend while she's unconscious in the same room, actually uses the phrase "filling her head with crazy ideas," and finally offers Alec money to convince Felicity to give up her dream of being an investigator. The entire scene is cringe simmered to perfection. It's a fifteen year old boy's idea of what makes a man masculine and is done just to make Alec look good. However there are a few critical events in the book that calls into question what he values about Felicity.
Alec to Felicity on page 154:
"You're nothing like Jason. Do you think he would have attacked that demon on the plane? Or would he be cowering in a corner somewhere while it choked the life out of me."
And yet on Page 97 at the end of
the demon attack: "This must be where felicity had found the sword. Maybe she'd been hoping to hide behind the curtain, then found the weapon and decided to fight."
Him saying she's "not the type to hide" to her face in one scene while thinking she would in another makes Alec look two-faced. Combine that with Alec complimenting Felicity's baking skills and lamenting that his office would become messy without her and he starts to look like just as big of a douchebag as Jason. I don't have an issue with male characters who only value women in the bedroom, if that's their character. But I get a very gross feeling when I read a male protagonist who thinks he's some kind of paragon to women only to unintentionally let his mask slip revealing the sleazeball within. The way Alec plays with both Felicity and Mallory emotionally; seemingly trying to cultivate a relationship with both of them at the same time while claiming to care about them earns him quite a few creep points in my opinion.
It's not just Alec, Wright is very unrealistic and contradictory with how his world works and characters behave. The super natural is supposed to be hidden, yet people seem to be very familiar with Preternatural Investigators. Alec strongly expresses his dislike for his father, yet there is nothing in the book to explain the bad blood between them. Amy, the deputy sheriff describes her mother spending an abnormal amount of time at the church she joined at the cost of time with her family. Yet Amy and her father contented themselves to only performing a background check on the pastor instead of actually visiting the church in person like normal people. Felicity says in the book that there's more to a relationship than money, yet her boyfriend is a weak, skinny, jerk. His only good quality being that he's rich. Mallory is constantly flirting with Alec, yet supposedly suffers from sexphobia or some nonsense due to the actions of a serial killer.
My personal favorite occurs on page 193: "There was no point in putting it (a sheathed sword) on my back just yet because it made driving difficult and I intended to drive around town looking for Dumont (the villain). There was no point waiting for him to come to me."
Alec is supposed to have been raised by the Society of Shadows since he was ten in understanding magic and the occult. He knows the villain is a necromancer who plans to raise an army of the dead. Any person with half a brain would have a five second brainstorming session that would go something like this: "Necromancers need corpses. Where would you find a ton of corpses in a town? The cemetery! If I get to the cemetery, perhaps I could ambush him. DUUUH!"
Meanwhile Alec, has the grand strategy of driving around town and I guess hoping he sees Dumont enjoying coffee at the local donut shop. He then gets attacked by zombies and only gets an epiphany to the necromancers location by observing the clothing the zombies are wearing.
It's like the author doesn't care how his world functions, or if his characters act in a believable manner so long as the plot is progressing. This is just bad writing.
Sidebar: I don't like the character Mallory. Her origin story is just plain bad. Her existence is just to tease Alec, and provide D quality fan service for the reader. Oh and prop up one side of the Alec, Felicity, Mallory love triangle how could I forget.
Bottom line, Buried Memory reads like a filler novel. The vast majority of it is characters having conversations that reiterate obvious plot points, Alec whining about his family issues and amnesia, and providing protagonist backstory. The bad guy is mentioned ad nauseam, yet only appears at the very end and defeated very quickly. There's no real mystery for Alec to solve. The book introduces a few new characters namely Alec's father, and a vampire who was pals with Lord Byron and Mary Shelly. *Eye roll. Both characters are very bland and uninteresting.
This when the first book introduced a fairie queen, two werewolves, two witch sisters, and a serial killer with a name that is so bad it had to have been a first draft name that the author just decided to keep. None of these characters make an appearance.
Finally, and I know this is petty, but the book had quite a few grammatical errors. Not every other page, but there were enough to be noticeable. The most egregious being when the author introduces two peripheral characters in the same scene who have the same name. It honestly just felt like a book written by someone who didn't care.
Buried Memory is an atrocious mess.
The book begins with Alec being asked by the Deputy Sheriff Amy to investigate reanimating corpses at a local cemetery, and Amy's mother who was affiliated with a cult church and allegedly killed at the hands of another Preternatural Investigator.
The re-animated corpse thing is solved almost immediately, and then Felicity and Alec completely forget about investigating the church and mom because Alec's father summons them to London. Alec spends the majority of this chapter moping and whining to Felicity like an angst ridden teenager about how his father doesn't care about him only to bend to his father's will like the petulant child he apparently is.
We learn that Felicity isn't eager to return home as her boyfriend Jason is waiting there with an ultimatum. Either she stops being Alec's assistant and live with him in London, or the relationship ends. We meet Jason at the hospital Felicity winds up in after being injured saving Alec in a demon attack. Jason starts by giving Alec a weak hand shake, followed by threats that don't intimidate the protagonist in the slightest. Next he insults his girlfriend while she's unconscious in the same room, actually uses the phrase "filling her head with crazy ideas," and finally offers Alec money to convince Felicity to give up her dream of being an investigator. The entire scene is cringe simmered to perfection. It's a fifteen year old boy's idea of what makes a man masculine and is done just to make Alec look good. However there are a few critical events in the book that calls into question what he values about Felicity.
Alec to Felicity on page 154:
"You're nothing like Jason. Do you think he would have attacked that demon on the plane? Or would he be cowering in a corner somewhere while it choked the life out of me."
And yet on Page 97 at the end of
the demon attack: "This must be where felicity had found the sword. Maybe she'd been hoping to hide behind the curtain, then found the weapon and decided to fight."
Him saying she's "not the type to hide" to her face in one scene while thinking she would in another makes Alec look two-faced. Combine that with Alec complimenting Felicity's baking skills and lamenting that his office would become messy without her and he starts to look like just as big of a douchebag as Jason. I don't have an issue with male characters who only value women in the bedroom, if that's their character. But I get a very gross feeling when I read a male protagonist who thinks he's some kind of paragon to women only to unintentionally let his mask slip revealing the sleazeball within. The way Alec plays with both Felicity and Mallory emotionally; seemingly trying to cultivate a relationship with both of them at the same time while claiming to care about them earns him quite a few creep points in my opinion.
It's not just Alec, Wright is very unrealistic and contradictory with how his world works and characters behave. The super natural is supposed to be hidden, yet people seem to be very familiar with Preternatural Investigators. Alec strongly expresses his dislike for his father, yet there is nothing in the book to explain the bad blood between them. Amy, the deputy sheriff describes her mother spending an abnormal amount of time at the church she joined at the cost of time with her family. Yet Amy and her father contented themselves to only performing a background check on the pastor instead of actually visiting the church in person like normal people. Felicity says in the book that there's more to a relationship than money, yet her boyfriend is a weak, skinny, jerk. His only good quality being that he's rich. Mallory is constantly flirting with Alec, yet supposedly suffers from sexphobia or some nonsense due to the actions of a serial killer.
My personal favorite occurs on page 193: "There was no point in putting it (a sheathed sword) on my back just yet because it made driving difficult and I intended to drive around town looking for Dumont (the villain). There was no point waiting for him to come to me."
Alec is supposed to have been raised by the Society of Shadows since he was ten in understanding magic and the occult. He knows the villain is a necromancer who plans to raise an army of the dead. Any person with half a brain would have a five second brainstorming session that would go something like this: "Necromancers need corpses. Where would you find a ton of corpses in a town? The cemetery! If I get to the cemetery, perhaps I could ambush him. DUUUH!"
Meanwhile Alec, has the grand strategy of driving around town and I guess hoping he sees Dumont enjoying coffee at the local donut shop. He then gets attacked by zombies and only gets an epiphany to the necromancers location by observing the clothing the zombies are wearing.
It's like the author doesn't care how his world functions, or if his characters act in a believable manner so long as the plot is progressing. This is just bad writing.
Sidebar: I don't like the character Mallory. Her origin story is just plain bad. Her existence is just to tease Alec, and provide D quality fan service for the reader. Oh and prop up one side of the Alec, Felicity, Mallory love triangle how could I forget.
Bottom line, Buried Memory reads like a filler novel. The vast majority of it is characters having conversations that reiterate obvious plot points, Alec whining about his family issues and amnesia, and providing protagonist backstory. The bad guy is mentioned ad nauseam, yet only appears at the very end and defeated very quickly. There's no real mystery for Alec to solve. The book introduces a few new characters namely Alec's father, and a vampire who was pals with Lord Byron and Mary Shelly. *Eye roll. Both characters are very bland and uninteresting.
This when the first book introduced a fairie queen, two werewolves, two witch sisters, and a serial killer with a name that is so bad it had to have been a first draft name that the author just decided to keep. None of these characters make an appearance.
Finally, and I know this is petty, but the book had quite a few grammatical errors. Not every other page, but there were enough to be noticeable. The most egregious being when the author introduces two peripheral characters in the same scene who have the same name. It honestly just felt like a book written by someone who didn't care.
January 10, 2019
Solid book two. Enjoyable story and characters.
This book marks my 3000th book marked as read on Goodreads. Pretty damn good milestone.
This book marks my 3000th book marked as read on Goodreads. Pretty damn good milestone.
June 14, 2018
Actual rating 2.75 stars.
This only felt like a mild improvement from the first novel. I wasn’t so much into the camp sexist machinations of our protagonist Alec. While I enjoyed the paranormal angle and his solving of mysterious cases, the machismo and constant attractive women swirling around him, eager to do his bidding had the feminist in me grinding my teeth.
The second half of the book was much better – it was so focused on the action, the author had no chance to waste on bravado and cliché. I don’t mind a bit of campy b-grade horror, but I really wanted something a little more original. I was going to say in the review for the debut that it reminded me of Charlene Harris of Sookie Stackhouse fame (but I have not read those novels and feel like it would be an insult) and again, I got that niggle, how there was an interwoven plot of mystical creatures and battles to be won.
The arc with Alec’s assistant, Felicity, was cool. As too, the plot twist with his ‘flirtation-friend’ Mallory – both formidable women in their own right, but I feel like the author does not give them the space to really shine. ‘Buried Memory’ is still steeped in that Private Eye 1950’s era of a tough, wisecracking gumshoe who gets all the dames.
One thing did puzzle me though – given it is a detective novel, shouldn’t he solve some cases? He did in the first novel.... but in ‘Buried Memory’ when the Deputy asked him to look into the church that her dead mother had gotten involved with before her demise... well, after he palmed it off (as I find he tends to do a lot) was simply completely forgotten. Where was the plot of this story going? Instead we got an entirely different direction. I got a little steamed actually. There wasn’t even mention of it at the end of the book like it would be continued in the next instalment ‘Dark Magic.’
I’m starting to find, even though I feel the stories a little gauche, they are still engaging and highly entertaining in a ‘Vampire Diaries’ kind of way. I have a morbid fascination to find out what happens next – but I wouldn’t quite call it a guilty pleasure. I really feel if this collection of novels had a good content edit and a more feminine viewpoint inserted into the narrative they would be stellar reads.
Wright can construct a great action scene, build tension and pace, and manage to give you an unpleasant shiver over something unknown in the dark. So he has a lot of elements going for him and this collection of novels. Plus they are all around the 200 page mark in length, so easy to read in half a day. Not a great investment to get a fun, nostalgic kick.
So, I’d only recommend to those who love paranormal detective novels with plenty of machismo and campy fun. It’s totally like a b-grade horror noir film on the pages, and not to be taken too seriously. With all the nit-picking I’ve done to this series, the books are engaging, entertaining and highly addictive.
Here’s to seeing what kind of trouble Alec Harbinger P.I. gets into next...
This only felt like a mild improvement from the first novel. I wasn’t so much into the camp sexist machinations of our protagonist Alec. While I enjoyed the paranormal angle and his solving of mysterious cases, the machismo and constant attractive women swirling around him, eager to do his bidding had the feminist in me grinding my teeth.
The second half of the book was much better – it was so focused on the action, the author had no chance to waste on bravado and cliché. I don’t mind a bit of campy b-grade horror, but I really wanted something a little more original. I was going to say in the review for the debut that it reminded me of Charlene Harris of Sookie Stackhouse fame (but I have not read those novels and feel like it would be an insult) and again, I got that niggle, how there was an interwoven plot of mystical creatures and battles to be won.
The arc with Alec’s assistant, Felicity, was cool. As too, the plot twist with his ‘flirtation-friend’ Mallory – both formidable women in their own right, but I feel like the author does not give them the space to really shine. ‘Buried Memory’ is still steeped in that Private Eye 1950’s era of a tough, wisecracking gumshoe who gets all the dames.
One thing did puzzle me though – given it is a detective novel, shouldn’t he solve some cases? He did in the first novel.... but in ‘Buried Memory’ when the Deputy asked him to look into the church that her dead mother had gotten involved with before her demise... well, after he palmed it off (as I find he tends to do a lot) was simply completely forgotten. Where was the plot of this story going? Instead we got an entirely different direction. I got a little steamed actually. There wasn’t even mention of it at the end of the book like it would be continued in the next instalment ‘Dark Magic.’
I’m starting to find, even though I feel the stories a little gauche, they are still engaging and highly entertaining in a ‘Vampire Diaries’ kind of way. I have a morbid fascination to find out what happens next – but I wouldn’t quite call it a guilty pleasure. I really feel if this collection of novels had a good content edit and a more feminine viewpoint inserted into the narrative they would be stellar reads.
Wright can construct a great action scene, build tension and pace, and manage to give you an unpleasant shiver over something unknown in the dark. So he has a lot of elements going for him and this collection of novels. Plus they are all around the 200 page mark in length, so easy to read in half a day. Not a great investment to get a fun, nostalgic kick.
So, I’d only recommend to those who love paranormal detective novels with plenty of machismo and campy fun. It’s totally like a b-grade horror noir film on the pages, and not to be taken too seriously. With all the nit-picking I’ve done to this series, the books are engaging, entertaining and highly addictive.
Here’s to seeing what kind of trouble Alec Harbinger P.I. gets into next...
April 27, 2025
Usually when I re-read/re-try a series, my rating creep up to 4 stars... but not with this one... I really feel like I rated these correctly the first time... mostly because the rushed character relationships are throwing me for a loop... these are novellas that lack space to let relationships breathe... and also the series is playing on a tight time schedule with short gaps between books instead of long ones, so these characters haven't known each other very long...
June 4, 2016
4.5 stars this time around.
Much like with the first book, I will say that this was a super quick read and I still kind of feel like it could be expanded upon a bit, maybe with a few red herrings or other plot twist devices. But I am really enjoying the story and I feel like there is a bit more depth to the world now and that will continue further into the series.
Much like with the first book, I will say that this was a super quick read and I still kind of feel like it could be expanded upon a bit, maybe with a few red herrings or other plot twist devices. But I am really enjoying the story and I feel like there is a bit more depth to the world now and that will continue further into the series.
May 26, 2019
I went back for a second helping of Adam J. Wright’s urban fantasy series, Harbinger P.I. and was not disappointed. Buried Memory is certainly an appropriate title that links all of the strands of the story’s plot. It’s about Alec’s buried memories and the physical representation of buried memories—the dead interred in their graves. While I will do my best not to spoil too much, be warned that you need to read this series in order. If you like urban fantasy novels that feature private investigators, give this series a try. The first book in the series is Lost Soul, and you can read my review here. As of this writing, both Lost Soul and Buried Memory are available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, so if you’re on a budget but have this subscription, you can “read for free”.
Buried Memory picks up about two weeks after the beginning of Lost Soul, and so not much time has passed since the end of book one. First thing you want to know about this book—a lot happens, particularly in the second half of the book. If you like your fiction to be fast-paced with reveals you didn’t really see coming and that leave the main characters in a much different place from where they started the story, you’re going to like this book. Second thing you need to know is that while a lot happens in the book, the first half of the book may seem a little slow and like the plot doesn’t really know where it’s going. Trust me on this. You don’t want to stop reading. Keep going. You will not regret it and your patience and investment in the story will be rewarded.
But let me back up and start from the beginning. The story begins with Amy, the Sheriff’s Deputy, coming to Alec’s office. She wants to hire him to investigate a disturbance at the local cemetery. As she explains the case to Alec, we learn that Amy happens to be the daughter of the Sheriff, Big John Cantrell, who really doesn’t like Alec. Or I should say, doesn’t like him at all. As Amy tells Alec about the problem she needs him to investigate, we learn that Amy’s mother was killed by the preternatural investigator who worked in Dearmont prior to Alec’s arrival. The body of Amy’s mother, along with two other bodies, were somehow disinterred from their graves, and Amy asks Alec to find out what caused this to happen and put a stop to it. Alec takes the case, and quite quickly and easily, he discovers the problem and solves it. To be honest, as I was reading, I thought the case Amy brings to Alec was just the superficial case because of how fast it gets wrapped up, and that the deeper underlying mystery would be to find out more about how Amy’s mother died as well as the preternatural investigator who killed her.* Instead, the case is a pivot toward one of the mysteries established in book one of the series—what really happened to Alec in Paris, how did he know to send a package to himself in Dearmont containing an ancient artifact before he was reassigned to the small town after the Paris fiasco, and what is the purpose of the artifact? Before any of those questions can be answered, Alec is summoned to London and the headquarters for the Society of Shadows by his father. The ensuing action wastes no time in coming full circle, returning Alec to Dearmont and showing exactly how the initial case brought to him by Amy ties into the larger plot of the story. Further still, everything that happens in the second half of the novel complicates Alec’s world, to the point that at the end of the book, he questions if he really knows who he is.
Now to talk about the developments within the supporting cast of characters. In my review of Lost Soul, I wrote about how the relationship between Alec and his father, Thomas Harbinger, would be significant moving forward. I wasn’t wrong. Buried Memory offers an up-close look at the relationship between father and son, and while you get some answers, you’re also going to have a lot more questions about them at the end of the book. Mallory, Alec’s friend and the Final Girl of a mass murderer, makes an appearance in the story and Felicity makes her return. By the end of the book, both supporting characters will have undergone changes to their character, and while I don’t know if I would say they are more fully developed, they are perhaps a little more interesting at the end of book two (though to be fair, I was already intrigued by Mallory; the jury is still out on Felicity). There’s also an easter egg in the book that made me smile and wonder if Wright has a degree in English lit. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but a somewhat obscure author makes an appearance in the story while Alec is in London, and I’m super-curious to find out if this same author will turn up again in future books. If you have read the first book in this series or are wondering about the evolution of the supporting characters, know that you will see your favorites return and that Alec’s world will be further populated by new arrivals that deserve their screen time.
I love reading series fiction and one of the qualities a good series needs to have is that the books in the middle need to keep developing the world of the protagonist and giving him or her opportunities to grow and evolve while facing new challenges. As the second book in the Harbinger, P.I. Series, Buried Memory does its job. Not only do we learn a few more bits and pieces about Alec and his back story, but we also are beginning to have reasons to be invested in and care about the supporting characters (I’m specifically looking at Mallory here, and even Thomas has me wanting to find out more about him and his motives). In other words, this book gave me no reason to want to stop reading the series and every reason to want to continue. What more can I ask for? Only that the third book in this series finds its way to my e-reader post haste.
*Special Note: One note for readers who intend to continue the series. When I finished reading Buried Memory, I thought that the first part of the story involving the death of Mary Cantrell was more of a catalyst, a way to get book two started. I got this impression because of the way Alec is summoned to London and a whole different story begins. Now that I have read book three in the series, Dark Magic, I can see that Buried Memory and Dark Magic are like companion novels, where the outer frame of the novels is the story of Mary Cantrell and the inner frame is the events that take Alec to London and conclude once he returns to Dearmont. I’m adding this note here as a way of letting you know that the events that take place in the first half of Buried Memory are important and you should file them away in your mind because you’ll need them for later.
Buried Memory picks up about two weeks after the beginning of Lost Soul, and so not much time has passed since the end of book one. First thing you want to know about this book—a lot happens, particularly in the second half of the book. If you like your fiction to be fast-paced with reveals you didn’t really see coming and that leave the main characters in a much different place from where they started the story, you’re going to like this book. Second thing you need to know is that while a lot happens in the book, the first half of the book may seem a little slow and like the plot doesn’t really know where it’s going. Trust me on this. You don’t want to stop reading. Keep going. You will not regret it and your patience and investment in the story will be rewarded.
But let me back up and start from the beginning. The story begins with Amy, the Sheriff’s Deputy, coming to Alec’s office. She wants to hire him to investigate a disturbance at the local cemetery. As she explains the case to Alec, we learn that Amy happens to be the daughter of the Sheriff, Big John Cantrell, who really doesn’t like Alec. Or I should say, doesn’t like him at all. As Amy tells Alec about the problem she needs him to investigate, we learn that Amy’s mother was killed by the preternatural investigator who worked in Dearmont prior to Alec’s arrival. The body of Amy’s mother, along with two other bodies, were somehow disinterred from their graves, and Amy asks Alec to find out what caused this to happen and put a stop to it. Alec takes the case, and quite quickly and easily, he discovers the problem and solves it. To be honest, as I was reading, I thought the case Amy brings to Alec was just the superficial case because of how fast it gets wrapped up, and that the deeper underlying mystery would be to find out more about how Amy’s mother died as well as the preternatural investigator who killed her.* Instead, the case is a pivot toward one of the mysteries established in book one of the series—what really happened to Alec in Paris, how did he know to send a package to himself in Dearmont containing an ancient artifact before he was reassigned to the small town after the Paris fiasco, and what is the purpose of the artifact? Before any of those questions can be answered, Alec is summoned to London and the headquarters for the Society of Shadows by his father. The ensuing action wastes no time in coming full circle, returning Alec to Dearmont and showing exactly how the initial case brought to him by Amy ties into the larger plot of the story. Further still, everything that happens in the second half of the novel complicates Alec’s world, to the point that at the end of the book, he questions if he really knows who he is.
Now to talk about the developments within the supporting cast of characters. In my review of Lost Soul, I wrote about how the relationship between Alec and his father, Thomas Harbinger, would be significant moving forward. I wasn’t wrong. Buried Memory offers an up-close look at the relationship between father and son, and while you get some answers, you’re also going to have a lot more questions about them at the end of the book. Mallory, Alec’s friend and the Final Girl of a mass murderer, makes an appearance in the story and Felicity makes her return. By the end of the book, both supporting characters will have undergone changes to their character, and while I don’t know if I would say they are more fully developed, they are perhaps a little more interesting at the end of book two (though to be fair, I was already intrigued by Mallory; the jury is still out on Felicity). There’s also an easter egg in the book that made me smile and wonder if Wright has a degree in English lit. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but a somewhat obscure author makes an appearance in the story while Alec is in London, and I’m super-curious to find out if this same author will turn up again in future books. If you have read the first book in this series or are wondering about the evolution of the supporting characters, know that you will see your favorites return and that Alec’s world will be further populated by new arrivals that deserve their screen time.
I love reading series fiction and one of the qualities a good series needs to have is that the books in the middle need to keep developing the world of the protagonist and giving him or her opportunities to grow and evolve while facing new challenges. As the second book in the Harbinger, P.I. Series, Buried Memory does its job. Not only do we learn a few more bits and pieces about Alec and his back story, but we also are beginning to have reasons to be invested in and care about the supporting characters (I’m specifically looking at Mallory here, and even Thomas has me wanting to find out more about him and his motives). In other words, this book gave me no reason to want to stop reading the series and every reason to want to continue. What more can I ask for? Only that the third book in this series finds its way to my e-reader post haste.
*Special Note: One note for readers who intend to continue the series. When I finished reading Buried Memory, I thought that the first part of the story involving the death of Mary Cantrell was more of a catalyst, a way to get book two started. I got this impression because of the way Alec is summoned to London and a whole different story begins. Now that I have read book three in the series, Dark Magic, I can see that Buried Memory and Dark Magic are like companion novels, where the outer frame of the novels is the story of Mary Cantrell and the inner frame is the events that take Alec to London and conclude once he returns to Dearmont. I’m adding this note here as a way of letting you know that the events that take place in the first half of Buried Memory are important and you should file them away in your mind because you’ll need them for later.
May 22, 2022
After taking the time in the first novel to introduce the small rural town in Maine which appears to be the heart of the series, Wright pulls Harbinger over to England for most of the second novel. There he has to interact with a father who can best be described as a self-centered jerk and despite not liking him, immediately does everything daddy asks every time. It lessened my respect for the private detective who is supposed to be tough and unyielding. Yes, I get it that our interactions with family are often different from our interactions with the world, but when dad calls and says I’m sending the private jet for you tomorrow and hangs up, I think the proper response would be to ignore the arrival of the jet until dad has the courtesy to explain why he needs you to drop everything and fly across the Atlantic to see him.
Overall, this book was focused on Harbinger’s missing memories. It turns out that there are more of them missing then he thought and I suspect that more and more of them are going to pop up as the series progresses.
The best thing about the book was the nine witches who have a gift for prophecy. Prophecy is a challenge for any writer as they need to be vague but interesting. Wright solves this problem by having the nine witches each give little phrases of the prophecy so that it comes out so disjointed that you just want to ignore that they said anything. But it worked for me.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Overall, this book was focused on Harbinger’s missing memories. It turns out that there are more of them missing then he thought and I suspect that more and more of them are going to pop up as the series progresses.
The best thing about the book was the nine witches who have a gift for prophecy. Prophecy is a challenge for any writer as they need to be vague but interesting. Wright solves this problem by having the nine witches each give little phrases of the prophecy so that it comes out so disjointed that you just want to ignore that they said anything. But it worked for me.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
February 26, 2019
Book 2 of the Harbinger Series picks up two weeks after the last book. Our hero is faced with the dreaded decision of saving the world by sacrificing himself. The big mysteries from Book 1 are solved. I liked the fact that the author solved all the issues from book one before introducing new problems. Sometimes novels will drag a story line out too far but this book takes the direct route. It's a bit refreshing to me, but some might be turned off by how quickly the book moves on to new things.
The additional insight into Harbingers young life and seeing him interact with his father brings some depth to the character that wasn't there in book 1. I'm still on the fence with the "Mr. Scary" storyline. And I think that's a dumb name for a villian 😂.
Emily makes a decision between love and a career. In my opinion she makes the wrong choice, but to each their own dreams.
Oh, did I mention there were zombies? Get ready, the dead shall rise in this one.
My only complaint is that the book is too short. 😣
The narrator did an EXCELLENT job with this story. Loved every aspect of his performance.
3 Stars 🌟🌟🌟- Good Book. I like the overall concept and it was delivered well. Most common ranking for a book I enjoyed and look forward to the next.
The additional insight into Harbingers young life and seeing him interact with his father brings some depth to the character that wasn't there in book 1. I'm still on the fence with the "Mr. Scary" storyline. And I think that's a dumb name for a villian 😂.
Emily makes a decision between love and a career. In my opinion she makes the wrong choice, but to each their own dreams.
Oh, did I mention there were zombies? Get ready, the dead shall rise in this one.
My only complaint is that the book is too short. 😣
The narrator did an EXCELLENT job with this story. Loved every aspect of his performance.
3 Stars 🌟🌟🌟- Good Book. I like the overall concept and it was delivered well. Most common ranking for a book I enjoyed and look forward to the next.
May 22, 2020
What pushed me to reading this book was due to it being available to read free through my Kindle Unlimited subscription with Amazon. Of course, reading this through the Kindle App was the medium to which I read this book.
From battling demons on an active plan to seeking more info about his blocked memories of Paris and finding out nefarious plans involving armies of dead, Alec Harbinger was kept very busy this time around. The stakes were much higher than before, which says a lot, given the last time around things were pretty hairy.
As far as sequels go, this one kicked arse. The biggest compliant I typically have about the second book in the series is the disconnect from the first one, whether it be a whole new cast of characters or gobs of time passing without any explanation of what happened in between. That didn't happen here, which already put the book heaps ahead of most. Additionally, it was refreshing to see a good portion of the previous books cast remain in this book. It was good to see more of their personalities and characteristics bloom within this book, as well.
I look forward to diving into the next book. If this book and the previous are any indication, I'll likely have it finished within a few days!
From battling demons on an active plan to seeking more info about his blocked memories of Paris and finding out nefarious plans involving armies of dead, Alec Harbinger was kept very busy this time around. The stakes were much higher than before, which says a lot, given the last time around things were pretty hairy.
As far as sequels go, this one kicked arse. The biggest compliant I typically have about the second book in the series is the disconnect from the first one, whether it be a whole new cast of characters or gobs of time passing without any explanation of what happened in between. That didn't happen here, which already put the book heaps ahead of most. Additionally, it was refreshing to see a good portion of the previous books cast remain in this book. It was good to see more of their personalities and characteristics bloom within this book, as well.
I look forward to diving into the next book. If this book and the previous are any indication, I'll likely have it finished within a few days!
August 27, 2019
I'm going to cheat here and review all 7 books of the series up to this date as one. I read all 7 books in a wonderful and enjoyable binge read of about 5 days and what a fabulous time I had. This cheeky little urban fantasy series crept up on me out of the blue and grabbed my attention. It has all the things that I love most about this genre. A strong but not perfect hero, who has a newly discovered mysterious past and possible developing powers and history. A team of people around him who form a scooby gang :-), wonderful characters who start to feel like friends, with real life drama and situations. There is a hidden world of magic with secret societies, shady motives, and an increasing feeling of not knowing who the good or bad guys are. The books interweave constantly and whilst each book has a start and a finish, there is an interweaving and increasingly complex over reaching plot that had me hooked and reaching for the next. The wait for the next book is agony! Definitely now a fan of this author.
March 19, 2020
In this second book of the series, we go to London and see more of the Society and Harbinger's dad. We learn a little more about what happened in Paris, and deal with some things that started in the first book.
This is pretty typical urban fantasy stuff, but I find it to be well written. The characters all interest me and make me want to know more about them, spend more time with them. There are still a lot of secrets and mysteries, about the Society and about Harbinger himself, but somehow, the author manages not to make me irritable about it (which is how I usually feel when all mysteries and secrets aren't revealed by the end of a book).
The fast pace of the novel keeps me from brooding about how much I don't yet know. It pulls me effortlessly through the events and leaves me eager to start on the next book.
This is pretty typical urban fantasy stuff, but I find it to be well written. The characters all interest me and make me want to know more about them, spend more time with them. There are still a lot of secrets and mysteries, about the Society and about Harbinger himself, but somehow, the author manages not to make me irritable about it (which is how I usually feel when all mysteries and secrets aren't revealed by the end of a book).
The fast pace of the novel keeps me from brooding about how much I don't yet know. It pulls me effortlessly through the events and leaves me eager to start on the next book.
October 18, 2017
Sigh
I don’t want to give this book a 3, but the first one I gave points for it being cute (sweet). It’s like reading a plot line that’s been fleshed out some. It needs more detail, to be richer. And the main character needs more character I guess. He too isn’t rich enough, but just needs to be fleshed out. I wouldn’t change the books, just flesh them out. Yeah, that is a lot of use of the word flesh. The main character needs a stronger voice. I’m still going to read the next one though. It is also really short again but they are on kindle unlimited so maybe it’s more like a serial.
I don’t want to give this book a 3, but the first one I gave points for it being cute (sweet). It’s like reading a plot line that’s been fleshed out some. It needs more detail, to be richer. And the main character needs more character I guess. He too isn’t rich enough, but just needs to be fleshed out. I wouldn’t change the books, just flesh them out. Yeah, that is a lot of use of the word flesh. The main character needs a stronger voice. I’m still going to read the next one though. It is also really short again but they are on kindle unlimited so maybe it’s more like a serial.
January 10, 2022
"Buried Memory", second in the Harbinger P.I. series, has the same problem as the first, i.e. too much and too little happening.
The plotline the book starts with is promptly abandoned, no doubt to be re-introduced in another episode.
A secondary plot, concerning Alex's missing memories and ancient deadly objects, takes over.
The author, Adam J. Wright, most likely had a complete series story arc prepared and, as a result, each book reads more like a chapter than a standalone novel.
We get a little more of Alex's back story but Mallory remains two-dimensional (and, come on, Mr. Scary!!!)
It's quite readable but not particularly memorable.
2.5
The plotline the book starts with is promptly abandoned, no doubt to be re-introduced in another episode.
A secondary plot, concerning Alex's missing memories and ancient deadly objects, takes over.
The author, Adam J. Wright, most likely had a complete series story arc prepared and, as a result, each book reads more like a chapter than a standalone novel.
We get a little more of Alex's back story but Mallory remains two-dimensional (and, come on, Mr. Scary!!!)
It's quite readable but not particularly memorable.
2.5
April 26, 2019
A good 2nd installment of the series. There was fleshing out of Felicity and Mallory as well as the Shadow organization. Plenty of plot and action. The demon fight on the airplane was probably my favorite part of the book (and the plane actually goes down, imagine there is damage done during a fight, that doesn't seem to occur in lots of urban fantasy book).
My only complaint is that there might have been a little too much going on in a book of this length. Not everything got addressed. But it did make me eager to read the next book and I'm off to do it.
My only complaint is that there might have been a little too much going on in a book of this length. Not everything got addressed. But it did make me eager to read the next book and I'm off to do it.
January 18, 2019
Fantastic book
I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I want to find out what happens next to Alec . The book is well written and kept me engaged the entire time I was either reading it or listening to it. The narration is well done and I liked the way narrator changed his voice for the different characters. I will admit that I have gotten spoiled being able to switch between reading and listening to the story.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I want to find out what happens next to Alec . The book is well written and kept me engaged the entire time I was either reading it or listening to it. The narration is well done and I liked the way narrator changed his voice for the different characters. I will admit that I have gotten spoiled being able to switch between reading and listening to the story.
February 10, 2019
I don't even know how to begin to feel with this book. I truly don't understand parents who blatantly lie to your face and then expect everything is supposed to be hunky dory. You are supposed to be able to trust family but its plain as day that some shit just doesn't apply in this book. I can't believe what Mallory did knowing the consequences. WTF is up with Harbinger now with glowing hands. Just how powerful is he?
February 14, 2020
Great second book. It picks up right where book 1 left off. There’s just enough overarching story to keep in interesting and wanting more without dragging down the main plot. I also appreciate how the author keeps the overarching story moving along.
I am really enjoying this series and can’t wait to dive into book 3.
I am really enjoying this series and can’t wait to dive into book 3.
November 16, 2016
Solid work, well paced and just the right mix of levity and action
Recommneded for fans of Dresden and the Alex Vera series. The world of Alec Harbinger isn't quite as full or witty as that of Dresden, but there is still plenty to keep you coming back.
Recommneded for fans of Dresden and the Alex Vera series. The world of Alec Harbinger isn't quite as full or witty as that of Dresden, but there is still plenty to keep you coming back.
May 3, 2019
Still good
Second book down. The arcs that are developing are intriguing enough to keep me interested, each book has enough action and wit to maintain my interest. Enjoying them muchly.
As I said the first book, will appeal to fans of Butcher and Herne et al.
Second book down. The arcs that are developing are intriguing enough to keep me interested, each book has enough action and wit to maintain my interest. Enjoying them muchly.
As I said the first book, will appeal to fans of Butcher and Herne et al.
August 18, 2019
I just finished it for the same week and i really enjoyed it. I loved how at first the storylines didn't seem to have anything to do with each other but slowly details were revealed to show how they are all connected.
February 11, 2020
This was slightly better than the first book. I still think the characters are pretty shallow and underdeveloped though we do get a few glimpses of Alec's past. It was too short and there was a lot going on. The ending got me curious so I'm going to give this series another chance.
September 5, 2021
Great read
This series is moving along and I can't put the down. felicity & Harbinger get called back to London but an route in a private plane, it crashes into the Atlantic. You'll have to read the story to find out more information
This series is moving along and I can't put the down. felicity & Harbinger get called back to London but an route in a private plane, it crashes into the Atlantic. You'll have to read the story to find out more information
February 17, 2022
ever deeper the mystery seems
so another layer is peeled back to reveal the truth below the veneer of untruth. sloughing off the dead skin of ignorance to reveal the horror of truth.
so another layer is peeled back to reveal the truth below the veneer of untruth. sloughing off the dead skin of ignorance to reveal the horror of truth.
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