What do you think?
Rate this book
Ghost Hunters #1
After Dark
Life is tough these days for Lydia Smith, licensed para-archaeologist. Seriously stressed-out from a nasty incident in an alien tomb, she is obliged to work part-time in Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, a very low-budget museum. She has a plan to get her career back on track, but it isn’t going well. Stuff keeps happening.
Take the dead body that she discovered in one of the sarcophagus exhibits. Who needed that? Finding out that her new client, Emmett London, is one of the most dangerous men in the city isn’t helping matters either. And that’s just today’s list of setbacks. Here in the shadows of the Dead City of Old Cadence, things don’t really heat up until After Dark.
Take the dead body that she discovered in one of the sarcophagus exhibits. Who needed that? Finding out that her new client, Emmett London, is one of the most dangerous men in the city isn’t helping matters either. And that’s just today’s list of setbacks. Here in the shadows of the Dead City of Old Cadence, things don’t really heat up until After Dark.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
846 people are currently reading
6830 people want to read
About the author
Jayne Castle
54 books2,158 followersThe author of over 40 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.
She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.
Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.
Pseudonyms:
Jayne Ann Krentz
Amanda Quick
Stephanie James
Jayne Bentley
Jayne Taylor
Amanda Glass
She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.
Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.
Pseudonyms:
Jayne Ann Krentz
Amanda Quick
Stephanie James
Jayne Bentley
Jayne Taylor
Amanda Glass
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 460 reviews
April 24, 2017
Welcome to a whole new world that the earthlings traveled to for some reason. Then, oh noes, they got stuck there because the door-of-convenience (because if it's a mystery we don't have to explain how it defies all science to exist) closes. Now, all of the settlers, who decided to leave this nuisance planet we live on with all of our comfortable housing, plentiful food supplies, and the answer to all life's questions the internet, to go and live on some alien planet where they could scrape and struggle to survive with NO internet to go home to at night, are stuck.
Oh, I hope we sent this guy. Freaking mimes..
It's now 200 years later and the humans who live on this planet have developed psychic abilities for some reason. These abilities vary from person to person because... why not? There were apparently aliens on this planet before we came around and.. well, I'm not exactly accusing the earthlings of killing off the indigenous people... but, if history is any indication..... I'm just sayin'. Also, is it technically correct for the humans to be calling the older civilization's artifacts "alien"? Because they were actually from the planet. The humans are technically the aliens here. But, I don't want to split hairs...too much.
Okay already! I said I'm NOT going to split hares!
Speaking of which, there is one majorly awesome new thing in this book that I really really want called Dust Bunnies. Yeah, I know, I technically have some. But, these are adorable little bunnies who eat pretzels, warn you of danger, and can kill anything that comes into its path. I need dis!
Don't be fooled by his cuteness. He WILL destroy your enemies.
Are there other Dust Bunnies on this planet? Is it a common pet? I have no idea. There is no reference to any other animals, insects, or marine life. Also, I don't know if there are oceans. Or mountains. Okay, so there isn't a lot of detail about the planet itself, other than the fact that it seems to have a LOT of rocks. Like quartz - apparently a crapload of stuff is built out of quartz. And, amber. For some reason, amber heightens everyone's psychic abilities so they are all wearing more of this stuff than Elvis wore rhinestones. I just picture a population of people with tacky jewelry covering all of their body parts.
No, no. It looks great. Really great.
So, I guess I should get to the actual story. We have Lydia, who is a para-archaeologist. The meaning of this is a little foggy to me. She goes into ruins and fights some sort of magical psychic energy with her own in order to clear out the dig sites. Then, there is Emmit, who is a ghost hunter. This means he can create or destroy ghosts. These ghosts are NOT the dead who have come back to haunt people for daring to move into their old house. These ghosts are psychic energy. So, yeah. LOTS of psychic stuff and words like resonance and dissonance used A LOT. But, the good news is that there are really not any giant info-dumps on the world. We get to figure that out on our own. (Come back info-dumps! All is forgiven!!)
This was me trying to figure out this world.
Two things are going on with Lydia and Emmit. First, they are a mystery solving duo. And, secondly, they are hooking up. Neither of these storylines are moving very fast. The plotting in general is pretty slow. I think this is because the author wrote two books on this couple before moving on to other couples. She needed to make things stretch out a bit. But, she didn't use that extra time to answer any of the 5,000 questions that popped into my head about this planet.
Okay, fine! This planet is magic, I guess.
Now, maybe this was the author's evil plan all along, but I really feel the need to continue reading this series so I can figure out what the hell is going on. Seriously, what do they eat? Did they bring food-animals over from Earth? Is there a moon? Oh, Oh!! Two moons! That would be cool! What about cell phone coverage? Is my phone going to be "roaming" when I'm there? Cuz that's pricey. And, do I need a plug adapter, or will my appliances plug into the existing holes?
We haven't even figured this one out on our home planet. Good luck on the stone giant!
Oh, I hope we sent this guy. Freaking mimes..
It's now 200 years later and the humans who live on this planet have developed psychic abilities for some reason. These abilities vary from person to person because... why not? There were apparently aliens on this planet before we came around and.. well, I'm not exactly accusing the earthlings of killing off the indigenous people... but, if history is any indication..... I'm just sayin'. Also, is it technically correct for the humans to be calling the older civilization's artifacts "alien"? Because they were actually from the planet. The humans are technically the aliens here. But, I don't want to split hairs...too much.
Okay already! I said I'm NOT going to split hares!
Speaking of which, there is one majorly awesome new thing in this book that I really really want called Dust Bunnies. Yeah, I know, I technically have some. But, these are adorable little bunnies who eat pretzels, warn you of danger, and can kill anything that comes into its path. I need dis!
Don't be fooled by his cuteness. He WILL destroy your enemies.
Are there other Dust Bunnies on this planet? Is it a common pet? I have no idea. There is no reference to any other animals, insects, or marine life. Also, I don't know if there are oceans. Or mountains. Okay, so there isn't a lot of detail about the planet itself, other than the fact that it seems to have a LOT of rocks. Like quartz - apparently a crapload of stuff is built out of quartz. And, amber. For some reason, amber heightens everyone's psychic abilities so they are all wearing more of this stuff than Elvis wore rhinestones. I just picture a population of people with tacky jewelry covering all of their body parts.
No, no. It looks great. Really great.
So, I guess I should get to the actual story. We have Lydia, who is a para-archaeologist. The meaning of this is a little foggy to me. She goes into ruins and fights some sort of magical psychic energy with her own in order to clear out the dig sites. Then, there is Emmit, who is a ghost hunter. This means he can create or destroy ghosts. These ghosts are NOT the dead who have come back to haunt people for daring to move into their old house. These ghosts are psychic energy. So, yeah. LOTS of psychic stuff and words like resonance and dissonance used A LOT. But, the good news is that there are really not any giant info-dumps on the world. We get to figure that out on our own. (Come back info-dumps! All is forgiven!!)
This was me trying to figure out this world.
Two things are going on with Lydia and Emmit. First, they are a mystery solving duo. And, secondly, they are hooking up. Neither of these storylines are moving very fast. The plotting in general is pretty slow. I think this is because the author wrote two books on this couple before moving on to other couples. She needed to make things stretch out a bit. But, she didn't use that extra time to answer any of the 5,000 questions that popped into my head about this planet.
Okay, fine! This planet is magic, I guess.
Now, maybe this was the author's evil plan all along, but I really feel the need to continue reading this series so I can figure out what the hell is going on. Seriously, what do they eat? Did they bring food-animals over from Earth? Is there a moon? Oh, Oh!! Two moons! That would be cool! What about cell phone coverage? Is my phone going to be "roaming" when I'm there? Cuz that's pricey. And, do I need a plug adapter, or will my appliances plug into the existing holes?
We haven't even figured this one out on our home planet. Good luck on the stone giant!
January 5, 2016
After Dark is a good start to Harmony series. In this book, Jayne Ann Krentz, writing as Jayne Castle, did a wonderful job creating such an interesting faraway future planet of Harmony.
The story flowed fairly well and smooth. Only in the first few chapters that I found the story was a bit slow-paced, the rest of it was great. Once I read through the first half of the book, I was totally gripped by suspense and a feeling of excitement as the pieces of puzzle began to fall into place bit by bit toward the end. I found myself enjoyed reading this one a lot.
I liked that Emmett and Lydia took time to build up trust and develop their relationship before jumping into bed together. (It seemed like he was going to explode with sexual frustration though! LOL)
My only one complaint about this book was Lydia. I think she's just another one of the author’s typical heroines. She’s smart and independent, but too hard-headed! She could be so annoying sometimes. Fortunately, as the story went on, I gradually warmed up to her, otherwise I might end up giving it only 3 stars.
The story flowed fairly well and smooth. Only in the first few chapters that I found the story was a bit slow-paced, the rest of it was great. Once I read through the first half of the book, I was totally gripped by suspense and a feeling of excitement as the pieces of puzzle began to fall into place bit by bit toward the end. I found myself enjoyed reading this one a lot.
I liked that Emmett and Lydia took time to build up trust and develop their relationship before jumping into bed together. (It seemed like he was going to explode with sexual frustration though! LOL)
My only one complaint about this book was Lydia. I think she's just another one of the author’s typical heroines. She’s smart and independent, but too hard-headed! She could be so annoying sometimes. Fortunately, as the story went on, I gradually warmed up to her, otherwise I might end up giving it only 3 stars.
October 14, 2016
After Dark, the 1st book in Jayne Castle's Harmony Series.
The futurist world of Harmony, a planet inhabited by humans when an energy field opened a gate between Earth. When the spaced shut down, the colonists were left in Harmony to fend for themselves.
Synopsis
Welcome to Harmony--where the rules are a little different.
Life is tough these days for Lydia Smith, licensed para-archaeologist. Seriously stressed-out from a nasty incident in an alien tomb, she is obliged to work part-time in Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors, a very low-budget museum. She has a plan to get her career back on track, but it isn't going well. Stuff keeps happening.
Take the dead body that she discovered in one of the sarcophagus exhibits. Who needed that? Finding out that her new client, Emmett London, is one of the most dangerous men in the city isn't helping matters either. And that's just today's list of setbacks.
Suspense, science fiction, paranormal romance, vanishing alien settlements.........it has it all.
A good introduction to this series.
The futurist world of Harmony, a planet inhabited by humans when an energy field opened a gate between Earth. When the spaced shut down, the colonists were left in Harmony to fend for themselves.
Synopsis
Welcome to Harmony--where the rules are a little different.
Life is tough these days for Lydia Smith, licensed para-archaeologist. Seriously stressed-out from a nasty incident in an alien tomb, she is obliged to work part-time in Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors, a very low-budget museum. She has a plan to get her career back on track, but it isn't going well. Stuff keeps happening.
Take the dead body that she discovered in one of the sarcophagus exhibits. Who needed that? Finding out that her new client, Emmett London, is one of the most dangerous men in the city isn't helping matters either. And that's just today's list of setbacks.
Suspense, science fiction, paranormal romance, vanishing alien settlements.........it has it all.
A good introduction to this series.
May 4, 2016
I really love this book. Of course, I love pretty much everything Jayne Ann Krentz writes, no matter which name she writes it under. But this book holds a special place in my heart. Why? Let me count the reasons:
#1: It's the first of her Jayne Castle futuristic-romance books that I ever owned and read.
#2: It was my introduction to dust bunnies and I will love Fuzz forever and ever. (Oh, and I also really love Lydia and Emmett, both together and separately; I'd steal Emmett from Lydia if I could.)
#3: It's autographed! When I used to live in Seattle, I attended several of Jayne's signings so that I could get a few of my favorites under each of her now-three-main names signed. This was the "Jayne Castle" book I wanted signed and she signed it, "For Jennifer with thanks, Jayne Ann Krentz"! :-)
There were so many scenes and lines in this book that had me smiling as I read them. Most, if not all, of the scenes that included Fuzz can be counted among this number. I also really loved that this story is told from both Lydia's and Emmett's POVs. They each have a rather snarky sense of humor and having the story told by both of them was/is great fun.
I always laugh out loud when reading the scene in the Green Wall Tavern, where Durant follows Lydia into the alley and sees Emmett in action. When Lydia introduces them and says, " 'That's Durant. He says he's in love with me. He wants me to marry him and have his babies.' " And Emmett gives him "a speculative look" and says " 'Is that so?' " Then "Durant gulped and managed to close his mouth. 'No. No. Big misunderstanding.' He flapped his hands in a warding-off gesture. 'Just a passing acquaintance, that's all.' " . . . lol I laugh every time. ;-) (The whole of this scene can be found in Chapter 22, on pages 252-253.)
I've lost count of the number of times I've read this book. I thought I hadn't read it for a few (as in, more than five) years, but reading it this time, in February 2016, I realized that I last read it probably two to three years ago. Either that, or I've read it enough times that the roads are set in my mind and the story just flows along them so smoothly that I don't notice the passage of years between readings. All I do know for sure is that this won't be the last time I read this book. I really love it, after all, and those stories I really love are always clamoring to be reread. ;-)
Oh! I almost forgot to mention one other thing I always do when reading this book. . . I always finish it smiling. :-) Now to read book two, the continuing adventures of Lydia, Emmett, and Fuzz!!! :-)
#1: It's the first of her Jayne Castle futuristic-romance books that I ever owned and read.
#2: It was my introduction to dust bunnies and I will love Fuzz forever and ever. (Oh, and I also really love Lydia and Emmett, both together and separately; I'd steal Emmett from Lydia if I could.)
#3: It's autographed! When I used to live in Seattle, I attended several of Jayne's signings so that I could get a few of my favorites under each of her now-three-main names signed. This was the "Jayne Castle" book I wanted signed and she signed it, "For Jennifer with thanks, Jayne Ann Krentz"! :-)
There were so many scenes and lines in this book that had me smiling as I read them. Most, if not all, of the scenes that included Fuzz can be counted among this number. I also really loved that this story is told from both Lydia's and Emmett's POVs. They each have a rather snarky sense of humor and having the story told by both of them was/is great fun.
I always laugh out loud when reading the scene in the Green Wall Tavern, where Durant follows Lydia into the alley and sees Emmett in action. When Lydia introduces them and says, " 'That's Durant. He says he's in love with me. He wants me to marry him and have his babies.' " And Emmett gives him "a speculative look" and says " 'Is that so?' " Then "Durant gulped and managed to close his mouth. 'No. No. Big misunderstanding.' He flapped his hands in a warding-off gesture. 'Just a passing acquaintance, that's all.' " . . . lol I laugh every time. ;-) (The whole of this scene can be found in Chapter 22, on pages 252-253.)
I've lost count of the number of times I've read this book. I thought I hadn't read it for a few (as in, more than five) years, but reading it this time, in February 2016, I realized that I last read it probably two to three years ago. Either that, or I've read it enough times that the roads are set in my mind and the story just flows along them so smoothly that I don't notice the passage of years between readings. All I do know for sure is that this won't be the last time I read this book. I really love it, after all, and those stories I really love are always clamoring to be reread. ;-)
Oh! I almost forgot to mention one other thing I always do when reading this book. . . I always finish it smiling. :-) Now to read book two, the continuing adventures of Lydia, Emmett, and Fuzz!!! :-)
June 5, 2025
A great start to the Harmony series by Jayne Castle/ Jayne Ann Krentz, After Dark has everything that I love: there is an incredible new world, Harmony; murder and mystery unraveling through to the end; a dangerous hero and a stubborn heroine that together form an awesome couple; and even a cute pet called Fuzz. It’s romance, suspense, thriller, paranormal, futuristic and sci-fi all in one. It could be a disaster, but it’s indeed very captivating and wholly believable. What more could anyone want? There is more, as the stories goes on with After Glow. Highly recommended.
January 28, 2019
3 1/2
Incredibly one of the best in this series. Probably because it lacks the instalove and instalust that plague the other books. Here everything is slow building finally :)
All the other books appear clearly as a product rather than a book compared to this novel (meaning they are really formulaic, by the numbers).
Like most of her works this is a short novel, on the side of fluffy, very light hearted.
Many readers complain about the lack of world building, I can't really say anything about it as I read the series completely out of order (I am reading book one and two as the last ones)... But as a rule of thumb they are probably right. That's never been a strong suit of hers.
Incredibly one of the best in this series. Probably because it lacks the instalove and instalust that plague the other books. Here everything is slow building finally :)
All the other books appear clearly as a product rather than a book compared to this novel (meaning they are really formulaic, by the numbers).
Like most of her works this is a short novel, on the side of fluffy, very light hearted.
Many readers complain about the lack of world building, I can't really say anything about it as I read the series completely out of order (I am reading book one and two as the last ones)... But as a rule of thumb they are probably right. That's never been a strong suit of hers.
October 29, 2013
First Reads Review - After Dark by Jayne Castle
Part of me bristles a little at the marketing of this book, because at first blush it's really not meant for me. From the colors of the cover to the description on the back, this is a book that is marketed more as a romance novel than a science fiction novel. Which is one of the reasons that I dislike the way books are traditionally marketed toward only specific demographics. Because I liked this book a good deal not because I'm a huge romance fan but because I'm a science fiction fan and have dabbled in romance in the past. And this book succeeds at building a believable and interesting science fiction setting and populating it with intrigue and plots and characters that made getting to the end a joy.
The action follows Lydia as she is forced to team up with Emmett London to solve a murder that lands literally at her feet. Taking place on an alien world settled by humans, the setting is stepped in strange history, the human cities being built on top of dead alien cities. HUmans on this planet have developed a range of psychic abilities as well, with different types forming factions and businesses. It makes for a sufficiently politicized landscape that the character's actions and opinions, their prejudices and histories, all take on importance that permeates the story.
I will be honest, I really wasn't sold on the romance aspect of this book for most of the story. Emmett comes off as a bit of an ass, especially in the beginning, and it took some time to really get a feel for him and start to like him. It doesn't help that he keeps secrets from the reader that didn't seem entirely necessary. After a while, though, I warmed to Emmett (as did Lydia), but then again I was slightly annoyed with the teasing nature of their relationship. I rather wanted them to jump into bed and get it over with, and when they finally did i think it improved things, because they weren't so preoccupied with misunderstanding each other.
The plot was solid and used a wide cast of characters as well as some interesting locations. Fuzz was the runaway star, the adorable dust bunny both mysterious and hungry for pretzels. Details like Fuzz made the story fun and consistently interesting, everything working to make the world stand out from other science fiction settings. There are a few questions answered, but, more importantly, there are a number of questions left unanswered, tantalizingly beckoning the reader to continue with the series. Which I probably will do, as this series looks interesting. Of course, this might not actually star the same characters, which I am not a huge fan of with romance books, but still.
At the end of the day this is a good book, something that I enjoyed both as a romance as a science fiction. The setting is solid, the characters interesting, and everything works together well. Plus dust bunnies. They are adorably murderous. So I will probably continue on with this series. It worked for me, and with that I give it four stars out of five.
Part of me bristles a little at the marketing of this book, because at first blush it's really not meant for me. From the colors of the cover to the description on the back, this is a book that is marketed more as a romance novel than a science fiction novel. Which is one of the reasons that I dislike the way books are traditionally marketed toward only specific demographics. Because I liked this book a good deal not because I'm a huge romance fan but because I'm a science fiction fan and have dabbled in romance in the past. And this book succeeds at building a believable and interesting science fiction setting and populating it with intrigue and plots and characters that made getting to the end a joy.
The action follows Lydia as she is forced to team up with Emmett London to solve a murder that lands literally at her feet. Taking place on an alien world settled by humans, the setting is stepped in strange history, the human cities being built on top of dead alien cities. HUmans on this planet have developed a range of psychic abilities as well, with different types forming factions and businesses. It makes for a sufficiently politicized landscape that the character's actions and opinions, their prejudices and histories, all take on importance that permeates the story.
I will be honest, I really wasn't sold on the romance aspect of this book for most of the story. Emmett comes off as a bit of an ass, especially in the beginning, and it took some time to really get a feel for him and start to like him. It doesn't help that he keeps secrets from the reader that didn't seem entirely necessary. After a while, though, I warmed to Emmett (as did Lydia), but then again I was slightly annoyed with the teasing nature of their relationship. I rather wanted them to jump into bed and get it over with, and when they finally did i think it improved things, because they weren't so preoccupied with misunderstanding each other.
The plot was solid and used a wide cast of characters as well as some interesting locations. Fuzz was the runaway star, the adorable dust bunny both mysterious and hungry for pretzels. Details like Fuzz made the story fun and consistently interesting, everything working to make the world stand out from other science fiction settings. There are a few questions answered, but, more importantly, there are a number of questions left unanswered, tantalizingly beckoning the reader to continue with the series. Which I probably will do, as this series looks interesting. Of course, this might not actually star the same characters, which I am not a huge fan of with romance books, but still.
At the end of the day this is a good book, something that I enjoyed both as a romance as a science fiction. The setting is solid, the characters interesting, and everything works together well. Plus dust bunnies. They are adorably murderous. So I will probably continue on with this series. It worked for me, and with that I give it four stars out of five.
October 28, 2010
I may be giving this book less credit than it deserves because it didn't fulfill my usual expectations from this author. There was something just a bit off about it. Plus, as the first book in a scienc fiction series, I have to say that I'm not sure I would have understood the world very well had I not read some of the later books first.
The biggest complaint I have is that the story isn't quite over and I'm not sure why. This author has never (as far as I've read) spent two books coming to the point before and I don't see what's so big about this situation that she needs to do it now. Maybe I'll find out in book 2, but for now I'm feeling annoyed that I have to read it. Also, the romance is very meh. I'm used to feeling a lot more chemistry between her characters. Maybe she held back because there were two books planned for them? I don't kow, but at this point they could really be any two people that felt a bit of sexual attraction and decided to have some fun. Even the sexual attraction seemed forced and out of tune.
On that note, the interplay between them didn't work. Lydia kept getting upset that Emmett was holding back information, but as their relationship really was and very much felt like employer/employee, I neither felt he had to tell her a thing nor that she had a right to ask.
The mystery was fine. And I will give this book credit for really making me feel sympathy for the initial murder victim and for Lydia, who can't remember what happened to her six months ago when she lost 2 days of her life and feels very alone. There was a wonderful moment after she goes to the victim's funeral when she countes the number of people who might attend her funeral (she, Emmett, and the cop assigned to the case were all that bothered to mourn her friend).
Hopefully my impression will change after I read the sequel. And I will read it, largely because I generally like this author's books and because I am curious about Lydia's forgotten backstory. Hopefully, at the end of that book, my impression of this one will change .
The biggest complaint I have is that the story isn't quite over and I'm not sure why. This author has never (as far as I've read) spent two books coming to the point before and I don't see what's so big about this situation that she needs to do it now. Maybe I'll find out in book 2, but for now I'm feeling annoyed that I have to read it. Also, the romance is very meh. I'm used to feeling a lot more chemistry between her characters. Maybe she held back because there were two books planned for them? I don't kow, but at this point they could really be any two people that felt a bit of sexual attraction and decided to have some fun. Even the sexual attraction seemed forced and out of tune.
On that note, the interplay between them didn't work. Lydia kept getting upset that Emmett was holding back information, but as their relationship really was and very much felt like employer/employee, I neither felt he had to tell her a thing nor that she had a right to ask.
The mystery was fine. And I will give this book credit for really making me feel sympathy for the initial murder victim and for Lydia, who can't remember what happened to her six months ago when she lost 2 days of her life and feels very alone. There was a wonderful moment after she goes to the victim's funeral when she countes the number of people who might attend her funeral (she, Emmett, and the cop assigned to the case were all that bothered to mourn her friend).
Hopefully my impression will change after I read the sequel. And I will read it, largely because I generally like this author's books and because I am curious about Lydia's forgotten backstory. Hopefully, at the end of that book, my impression of this one will change .
July 9, 2019
JC-JAK weaves this fantastical futuristic world that is highly imaginative and well thought out. And one can safely say that she and her work inspired a lot of later authors.
But then at times things gets too heavy and I tended to skim over pages.
This book is a semi cliffy with a sequel.
I am writing this after reading both the books (In Book #2, this h/H's story continues). And let me tell you, I didn't like the (whole) story that much. The h/H are fine as a couple and have some fine moments but the plot is distracting and vague.
This is the third ‘Harmony’ book I’ve read and the suspense /mystery pans out almost identically. The h/H team up to solve the murder mystery, new suspects crop up, some tight situations, few tight cinches, random bodies pile up and then in the evil guy’s den! Of course, coping with illusion traps, psi energy, rezzing/de-rezzing whatever, outwitting ghosts/UDEMs and what have you along the way!
I was quite peeved with a few things and was a big turn-off, even as the author and the H repeatedly stress that that’s all in the past. The H acts as if he never gave an eff about it but that is just so humanly (even Harmony-humanly) impossible. He has to be peeved/bugged at least a bit- for a bit!
The h’s constant bickering for her right to go forth and meddle in everything starts wearing on you. The H apart for the aforementioned is very likable.
Fuzz the Dust bunny is of course the star of the book and presumably the series.
But then at times things gets too heavy and I tended to skim over pages.
This book is a semi cliffy with a sequel.
I am writing this after reading both the books (In Book #2, this h/H's story continues). And let me tell you, I didn't like the (whole) story that much. The h/H are fine as a couple and have some fine moments but the plot is distracting and vague.
This is the third ‘Harmony’ book I’ve read and the suspense /mystery pans out almost identically. The h/H team up to solve the murder mystery, new suspects crop up, some tight situations, few tight cinches, random bodies pile up and then in the evil guy’s den! Of course, coping with illusion traps, psi energy, rezzing/de-rezzing whatever, outwitting ghosts/UDEMs and what have you along the way!
I was quite peeved with a few things and was a big turn-off, even as the author and the H repeatedly stress that that’s all in the past. The H acts as if he never gave an eff about it but that is just so humanly (even Harmony-humanly) impossible. He has to be peeved/bugged at least a bit- for a bit!
The h’s constant bickering for her right to go forth and meddle in everything starts wearing on you. The H apart for the aforementioned is very likable.
Fuzz the Dust bunny is of course the star of the book and presumably the series.
March 26, 2024
Considering this came out in 2000, it was surprisingly fun. Something mystical/alien was stolen and our main characters join forces to find it - treasure hunt vibes.
The concept was really unique, I'm usually not into Sci-Fi but this was a nice dip into it.
The characters had stupid moments I won't expand on because I don't feel like it.
Now, it is old, and you can tell as some stuff is cringy or a bit misogynistic.
I listen to the audio so I don't know about writing mishaps I saw others mention.
All in all, if you mitigate your expectations going into it, I feel like you might enjoy it.
*** Not me being shallow and erasing the read date so this doesn't mess up my book stats publication year graph 😅
** I read this on 25-26/3/24 (for self reference)
The concept was really unique, I'm usually not into Sci-Fi but this was a nice dip into it.
The characters had stupid moments I won't expand on because I don't feel like it.
Now, it is old, and you can tell as some stuff is cringy or a bit misogynistic.
I listen to the audio so I don't know about writing mishaps I saw others mention.
All in all, if you mitigate your expectations going into it, I feel like you might enjoy it.
*** Not me being shallow and erasing the read date so this doesn't mess up my book stats publication year graph 😅
** I read this on 25-26/3/24 (for self reference)
Read
May 26, 2010I ADORE all of Jayne Castle's books. The heroes are alpha cowboys on on a pioneer planet. Do not miss these.
August 11, 2014
Lydia Smith, a licensed Para-archeologist, has had her whole world tumble upside down in the last six months, now she finds one of her few friends left dead. To make matters worse her new client Emmett London, wants to fire her to keep her out of danger.
I was slightly confused with this book, it is more of a futuristic tale rather than what I thought initially. Interesting concept for a story, but I had a hard time visualizing the setting. Not sure if I was more familiar with Jayne Castle's previous work if it would make more sense or not.
I was slightly confused with this book, it is more of a futuristic tale rather than what I thought initially. Interesting concept for a story, but I had a hard time visualizing the setting. Not sure if I was more familiar with Jayne Castle's previous work if it would make more sense or not.
August 25, 2015
I have enjoyed this author's books written as Jayne Ann Krentz and Amanda Quick and decided I needed to try out her Jayne Castle books. This one didn't work for me. It was alright but nothing special and I struggled through it. The characters were likable enough and the storyline had the potential but nothing really caught my attention.
January 8, 2022
A thoroughly enjoyable and uniquely creative story in a genre (romantic suspense) that is all-too-often predictable. The romance side of things needs to be stronger and more fleshed out but the intrigue, mystery and suspense is all kinds of fun!
Read
March 30, 2015I will read any book that has paranormal archeology in it! Seriously, any book.
April 17, 2017
3.5 Stars
Found the World building a little, too complicated in this one.
Took some time to ease into the whole thing...Overall a fun one time read.
Found the World building a little, too complicated in this one.
Took some time to ease into the whole thing...Overall a fun one time read.
June 11, 2014
Meh.... this one was pretty useless and unconvincing for a start of a series... Not enough world-building either... The whole time I felt like I was missing something! Overall, fell completely flat as a fantasy, mystery AND romance...
December 29, 2016
What a mixed bag these books are. I came across free secondhand audiobook versions of them, so I figured why not. Although I had a vague association of the author with mediocre romance/PNR, I didn't worry too much about it. Free, after all.
I enjoyed some things. I didn’t mind the characters (except when I did); in some ways the story was pretty well told; I have to say the setting is fairly thorough and deep and well drawn… in places. It's an interesting idea, once exposition is provided. But it doesn't altogether make sense, and information is doled out in dribs and drabs and piecemeal, and a few explanations don't come until late in this first book or even the second. For example, it takes quite a while for the oddities in the story – a pet dust bunny with six legs? Ghosts which aren't really ghosts? – to become clearer: aha. The books aren't contemporary paranormal romance/urban fantasy, they're futuristic (I assume) science fictional urban fantasy/PNR, taking place on another planet which has influenced the genetics of humanity to the point that everyone's a little bit psychic.
The author relies heavily on cliché. If there's a well-worn overused phrase to insert into a given situation, she uses it. Otherwise the writing is tolerable, so once I'd adjusted to rolling my eyes every now and then as she blows the dust off yet another hairy old saying, it was quite readable (listen-to-able). Except for the fact that characters have an obnoxious habit of asking questions that were answered about a minute ago … This is another example of an author who either doesn't trust her own ability or doesn't trust her readers' reading comprehension skills, because it's yet another example of a book in which an occurrence is described, and then a short time later one of the participants talks about it in detail to someone who wasn't there – and then, on really special occasions, it all gets repeated a third time for some insufficient reason – no new information, no new take on the situation, just sheer grinding repetition. I don't understand how such things get past professional editors.
And on the subject of aggravating repetition, if I hear the phrase "lost weekend" one more time there may be consequences. I began to wish I had a digital copy of the book so I could do a count on how often the term is (over)used. And while I'm picking nits, Jayne Castle is also one of those writers who far too often has her characters doing something for "a long moment". It happens a lot, to a lot of writers, to the point that I noticed it when I was about eighteen years old and swore never, ever, ever to use "a long moment" in any form in anything I ever wrote. (Except book reviews.) It's even dustier and more annoying than the rest of the clichés in here.
Regarding the narration: Joyce Bean did a perfectly adequate job … she didn't become a favorite narrator, but she didn't irritate me. However, I don't really understand why Lydia's coworker Melanie has a Southern accent. If this is another planet, colonized by Earth humans long enough ago that their psi abilities have been affected by the environment and they can look back centuries to this huge war of theirs, then … how does someone have an accent from the U.S. 21st century South? Oh – wait. Maybe it's a very, very subtle reference to Doctor Who.
Speaking of that dust bunny, "Fuzz" (which I did a little while ago) … why do people like him? Because from what I've seen in other reviews and from the notes at the beginning of the second book, people do. It puzzles me; the thing has next to no personality. It's something that literally looks like a dust bunny, yet is a predator, yet is content to hang out as a pet; something which spends 90% of the book begging for or eating pretzels (another word I'd like to do a count for – those damn pretzels get more coverage than some characters in the book) and the other ten percent opening its second set of eyes or doing something else to underline the fact that it's not Terran. So … um … where is the entire rest of the animal kingdom of this planet? Does everything have four eyes and six legs? Do people have moronic names like "dust bunny" for everything? Is in fact "dust bunny" the official name for the things, or just a cutesy-ism? There is never to my knowledge a single reference to another native species except the extinct people who left behind the nifty tunnels and whatnot.
Really, I don't quite understand why the author felt the need to place the book, or rather the series, so entirely elsewhere, when so little was done to create this new world. The thing with the "ghosts" was explored a bit, eventually, but otherwise, with a search/replace for all those "rezzes" or whatever it is, it might as well have taken place in Milwaukee.
It's not the worst thing I've ever read or listened to. But, though I also listened to the second book, for the Everest-esque reason that "it was there", it doesn't inspire me to ever read anything else by Castle.
I enjoyed some things. I didn’t mind the characters (except when I did); in some ways the story was pretty well told; I have to say the setting is fairly thorough and deep and well drawn… in places. It's an interesting idea, once exposition is provided. But it doesn't altogether make sense, and information is doled out in dribs and drabs and piecemeal, and a few explanations don't come until late in this first book or even the second. For example, it takes quite a while for the oddities in the story – a pet dust bunny with six legs? Ghosts which aren't really ghosts? – to become clearer: aha. The books aren't contemporary paranormal romance/urban fantasy, they're futuristic (I assume) science fictional urban fantasy/PNR, taking place on another planet which has influenced the genetics of humanity to the point that everyone's a little bit psychic.
The author relies heavily on cliché. If there's a well-worn overused phrase to insert into a given situation, she uses it. Otherwise the writing is tolerable, so once I'd adjusted to rolling my eyes every now and then as she blows the dust off yet another hairy old saying, it was quite readable (listen-to-able). Except for the fact that characters have an obnoxious habit of asking questions that were answered about a minute ago … This is another example of an author who either doesn't trust her own ability or doesn't trust her readers' reading comprehension skills, because it's yet another example of a book in which an occurrence is described, and then a short time later one of the participants talks about it in detail to someone who wasn't there – and then, on really special occasions, it all gets repeated a third time for some insufficient reason – no new information, no new take on the situation, just sheer grinding repetition. I don't understand how such things get past professional editors.
And on the subject of aggravating repetition, if I hear the phrase "lost weekend" one more time there may be consequences. I began to wish I had a digital copy of the book so I could do a count on how often the term is (over)used. And while I'm picking nits, Jayne Castle is also one of those writers who far too often has her characters doing something for "a long moment". It happens a lot, to a lot of writers, to the point that I noticed it when I was about eighteen years old and swore never, ever, ever to use "a long moment" in any form in anything I ever wrote. (Except book reviews.) It's even dustier and more annoying than the rest of the clichés in here.
Regarding the narration: Joyce Bean did a perfectly adequate job … she didn't become a favorite narrator, but she didn't irritate me. However, I don't really understand why Lydia's coworker Melanie has a Southern accent. If this is another planet, colonized by Earth humans long enough ago that their psi abilities have been affected by the environment and they can look back centuries to this huge war of theirs, then … how does someone have an accent from the U.S. 21st century South? Oh – wait. Maybe it's a very, very subtle reference to Doctor Who.
Speaking of that dust bunny, "Fuzz" (which I did a little while ago) … why do people like him? Because from what I've seen in other reviews and from the notes at the beginning of the second book, people do. It puzzles me; the thing has next to no personality. It's something that literally looks like a dust bunny, yet is a predator, yet is content to hang out as a pet; something which spends 90% of the book begging for or eating pretzels (another word I'd like to do a count for – those damn pretzels get more coverage than some characters in the book) and the other ten percent opening its second set of eyes or doing something else to underline the fact that it's not Terran. So … um … where is the entire rest of the animal kingdom of this planet? Does everything have four eyes and six legs? Do people have moronic names like "dust bunny" for everything? Is in fact "dust bunny" the official name for the things, or just a cutesy-ism? There is never to my knowledge a single reference to another native species except the extinct people who left behind the nifty tunnels and whatnot.
Really, I don't quite understand why the author felt the need to place the book, or rather the series, so entirely elsewhere, when so little was done to create this new world. The thing with the "ghosts" was explored a bit, eventually, but otherwise, with a search/replace for all those "rezzes" or whatever it is, it might as well have taken place in Milwaukee.
It's not the worst thing I've ever read or listened to. But, though I also listened to the second book, for the Everest-esque reason that "it was there", it doesn't inspire me to ever read anything else by Castle.
October 25, 2017
This is the first in the author's Ghost Hunters series set on the planet Harmony. To begin with, I thought it would tie in with an earlier trilogy with books named after the heroines, who all have flower names, but although the background of the two series is the same, the Harmony books differ in several respects. Both deal with societies which have grown up on planets remote from Earth, which were colonised after an energy cloud appeared near Earth that enabled travel to far distant worlds, but which were cut off abruptly when the Curtain, as it was known, suddenly 'closed' or disappeared. On both worlds, the humans encountered the remains of an alien civilisation, possibly not native to the planet, which utilised psychic forms of energy, and on both worlds the humans subsequently developed psychic abilities of their own. But whereas in the earlier series the forms these abilities took were very varied, but all depended on a particular type of talent - known as a prism - to focus their talent so that people had to work in pairs, on Harmony, more conveniently, a crystal known as amber is used instead.
The story starts when Lydia Smith, who is showing her prospective client Emmett London around the third rate museum where she works part-time, finds the dead body of her friend, Chester, inside an alien sarcophagus. Lydia is upset, not only because Chester is dead, but because she assumes London will cancel their professional arrangement. But London does engage her to help him find a family heirloom, pawned by his nephew, who subsequently disappeared. He also ends up helping her solve the mystery of Chester's death.
A number of threads weave into the story. Firstly, Lydia previously had a promising career as a para archaeologist at the university, cut short a few months ago. She had supposedly wandered off when part of an expedition into the underground catacombs that extend beneath the local alien ruins - most of the larger human settlements on Harmony were established around the ruins of alien cities - and subsequently suffered amnesia following an encounter with one of the 'ghosts', the nickname given to the green energy clouds which can inflict severe mental trauma and even death on any human they touch. Such ghosts are found in abundance in the catacombs, and the only people who can deal with them are 'ghost hunters', mostly men, who can attune themselves psychically to the dangerous energy and either deresonate it (derezz in the book's parlance) or use a ghost of their own to cancel it out. The ghost hunters are organised into Guilds within each town and city, and most boys who develop the ability at puberty join the local Guild for training and spend time as ghost hunters, though quite a few eventually move on to other professions. Although the author tells us there are a few female ghost hunters, we don't meet any in this book.
Two ghost hunters, assigned to the expedition to provide protection, blamed Lydia for ignoring procedure. Before she knew it, Lydia was written off as a potential basketcase who would be a potential danger to her colleagues, since the medical profession found it amazing she had managed to hang on to her sanity after being lost underground for two days. As a result, a former colleague of hers who has since become head of the department, had her fired, hence her part-time job at the low class museum, and her current attempt to start a business as a consultant to the antiquities trade.
Apart from being a former archaelogist, Lydia is also a 'tangler'. The other hazard in the catacombs are 'illusion traps', dark fields which are anchored to objects, usually made of alien green quartz. For reasons best known to themselves, the aliens left plenty of these underground, and anyone caught by one is drawn into a disorientating mental experience which can result in permanent residence in a mental hospital. People who can attune their psychic energy to such traps in order to dampen them down and unset them are called tanglers. It was Lydia's ability which led her into the academic field, since any tangler who can afford it goes to college and gets umpteen degrees to allow them to enter a university para-archaeology department. Anyone who can't afford to do this, like Chester, becomes a ruin rat, as the people who earn a precarious living exploring the underground ruins to find saleable objects, are known.
The second thread in the story is the mystery around Chester's death and subsequent events which throw doubt on the theory held by the police that he was in the museum to steal an object to sell. As part of this, various characters are floated as suspects, including Emmett's former fiancee, who ditched him as soon as it became clear he was going to resign as Guild Head, and then promptly married the head of the Guild in Cadence. Everything weaves together in this, including the disappearance of Emmett's nephew.
The third thread is the growing attraction between Lydia and Emmett London, who until recently was the Guild Boss in another city where he had modernised the Guild and turned it into a modern business enterprise rather than a quasi-Militia. Lydia has a great deal of prejudice against the Guild after the testimony of the two members resulted in the loss of her career, so this is a big stumbling block in their ongoing romance. That, and her desire to keep things on a business level, means that the sexual tension between them is maintained through most of the book and they don't get things together until fairly late in the proceedings, which I preferred. I did although find Lydia's character a bit wearing at times, and sympathised with Emmett and his forebearance.
One aspect which will probably either charm or annoy is the inclusion of a little animal known as a dust bunny: a small fluffy predator with six legs and two sets of eyes, one for day and another it opens at night or when hunting. Most of the time it is quite cute, munching on pretzels and such, but does play a key role as, apart from anything else, one thing Lydia has not disclosed about her Lost Weekend, as she calls it, is that this dust bunny found her and guided her back to civilisation. This is the only example we see of any other lifeform: the author doesn't provide a completely workable world building scenario to explain why this animal would have developed six legs.
The book is a standalone story and does not resolve the mystery of what happened to Lydia, but it is fairly obvious that things are left open for a sequel. An enjoyable read, but not spectacular, so 3 stars.
The story starts when Lydia Smith, who is showing her prospective client Emmett London around the third rate museum where she works part-time, finds the dead body of her friend, Chester, inside an alien sarcophagus. Lydia is upset, not only because Chester is dead, but because she assumes London will cancel their professional arrangement. But London does engage her to help him find a family heirloom, pawned by his nephew, who subsequently disappeared. He also ends up helping her solve the mystery of Chester's death.
A number of threads weave into the story. Firstly, Lydia previously had a promising career as a para archaeologist at the university, cut short a few months ago. She had supposedly wandered off when part of an expedition into the underground catacombs that extend beneath the local alien ruins - most of the larger human settlements on Harmony were established around the ruins of alien cities - and subsequently suffered amnesia following an encounter with one of the 'ghosts', the nickname given to the green energy clouds which can inflict severe mental trauma and even death on any human they touch. Such ghosts are found in abundance in the catacombs, and the only people who can deal with them are 'ghost hunters', mostly men, who can attune themselves psychically to the dangerous energy and either deresonate it (derezz in the book's parlance) or use a ghost of their own to cancel it out. The ghost hunters are organised into Guilds within each town and city, and most boys who develop the ability at puberty join the local Guild for training and spend time as ghost hunters, though quite a few eventually move on to other professions. Although the author tells us there are a few female ghost hunters, we don't meet any in this book.
Two ghost hunters, assigned to the expedition to provide protection, blamed Lydia for ignoring procedure. Before she knew it, Lydia was written off as a potential basketcase who would be a potential danger to her colleagues, since the medical profession found it amazing she had managed to hang on to her sanity after being lost underground for two days. As a result, a former colleague of hers who has since become head of the department, had her fired, hence her part-time job at the low class museum, and her current attempt to start a business as a consultant to the antiquities trade.
Apart from being a former archaelogist, Lydia is also a 'tangler'. The other hazard in the catacombs are 'illusion traps', dark fields which are anchored to objects, usually made of alien green quartz. For reasons best known to themselves, the aliens left plenty of these underground, and anyone caught by one is drawn into a disorientating mental experience which can result in permanent residence in a mental hospital. People who can attune their psychic energy to such traps in order to dampen them down and unset them are called tanglers. It was Lydia's ability which led her into the academic field, since any tangler who can afford it goes to college and gets umpteen degrees to allow them to enter a university para-archaeology department. Anyone who can't afford to do this, like Chester, becomes a ruin rat, as the people who earn a precarious living exploring the underground ruins to find saleable objects, are known.
The second thread in the story is the mystery around Chester's death and subsequent events which throw doubt on the theory held by the police that he was in the museum to steal an object to sell. As part of this, various characters are floated as suspects, including Emmett's former fiancee, who ditched him as soon as it became clear he was going to resign as Guild Head, and then promptly married the head of the Guild in Cadence. Everything weaves together in this, including the disappearance of Emmett's nephew.
The third thread is the growing attraction between Lydia and Emmett London, who until recently was the Guild Boss in another city where he had modernised the Guild and turned it into a modern business enterprise rather than a quasi-Militia. Lydia has a great deal of prejudice against the Guild after the testimony of the two members resulted in the loss of her career, so this is a big stumbling block in their ongoing romance. That, and her desire to keep things on a business level, means that the sexual tension between them is maintained through most of the book and they don't get things together until fairly late in the proceedings, which I preferred. I did although find Lydia's character a bit wearing at times, and sympathised with Emmett and his forebearance.
One aspect which will probably either charm or annoy is the inclusion of a little animal known as a dust bunny: a small fluffy predator with six legs and two sets of eyes, one for day and another it opens at night or when hunting. Most of the time it is quite cute, munching on pretzels and such, but does play a key role as, apart from anything else, one thing Lydia has not disclosed about her Lost Weekend, as she calls it, is that this dust bunny found her and guided her back to civilisation. This is the only example we see of any other lifeform: the author doesn't provide a completely workable world building scenario to explain why this animal would have developed six legs.
The book is a standalone story and does not resolve the mystery of what happened to Lydia, but it is fairly obvious that things are left open for a sequel. An enjoyable read, but not spectacular, so 3 stars.
December 26, 2025
Reread 12/25/25:
I never get tired of this book. The Joyce Bean audiobook narration that I own has not been commercially available for a while. Sometime in the near future a new audiobook version will be released narrated by Laurel Merlington. I have listened to three other new recordings from this series performed by her, Books 3, 4 and 5, and I prefer Joyce Bean.
There are currently 17 books in this wonderful series. I own all of them. I've just begun a pleasurable journey of re-listening to the entire series.
Reread 11/5/23:
Once again, I greatly enjoyed this book. Also, to my extreme delight, since I wrote this review 3 years ago, there have been several more additions to this fabulous series!
Review 12/31/20:
Fabulous start to a fantastic, paranormal series
Lydia Smith is a licensed para-archaeologist, but some months ago, her university career was destroyed by a serious case of on-the-job burnout. Fortunately, she has high hopes that her obviously wealthy, mysterious, new client, Emmett London, might be her ticket out of her current dead-end job at a low-rent museum, Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, in the Dead City of Old Cadence, on the planet Harmony.
I originally bought this futuristic romance novel when it was first released in 2000 as a mass market paperback. I have since re-purchased it in Kindle and audiobook format, and I have read and listened to it numerous times. I love it, and I never get tired of it.
I’m a big fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, and I have read almost every book she has ever written (the vast majority of which have been re-released in Kindle format, and many in audiobook format as well). During the course of her incredibly prolific writing career, stretching back to 1979, she has written 187 books, and counting, as of the end of 2020. Though she has definitely written many, many entertaining series over the years, for my personal taste, the Harmony series is the best of her best.
In the case of this particular novel, JAK did something she has rarely done. Though the book does not end on a cliffhanger, it has a sequel, After Glow, written four whole years after this book came out. It was worth the wait, though, and thereafter, she wrote 11 other books in the series, most published yearly, up until 2016. There has been nothing since, but we diehard fans of Harmony live in hope that JAK will, someday, revisit Harmony.
This is the whole Harmony series, so far:
1. After Dark, 2000, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
2. After Glow, 2004, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
3. Ghost Hunter, 2006, audiobook narrated by Laural Merlington
4. Silver Master, 2007, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
5. Dark Light, 2008, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
6. Obsidian Prey, 2009, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
7. Midnight Crystal, 2010, audiobook narrated by Tanya Eby
8. Canyons of Night, 2011, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
9. Lost Night, 2012, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
10. Deception Cove, 2013, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
11. Hot Zone, 2014, audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
12. Siren's Call, 2015, audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
13. Illusion town, 2016, audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
The audiobook versions of all the books in this series are very well done, and they are all a real treat to experience. I must say, though, that my absolute favorite narrator, of the four different actors who have narrated these books, is the inimitable Barbara Rosenblat. She is absolutely fabulous!
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
World-building: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Suspense Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
I never get tired of this book. The Joyce Bean audiobook narration that I own has not been commercially available for a while. Sometime in the near future a new audiobook version will be released narrated by Laurel Merlington. I have listened to three other new recordings from this series performed by her, Books 3, 4 and 5, and I prefer Joyce Bean.
There are currently 17 books in this wonderful series. I own all of them. I've just begun a pleasurable journey of re-listening to the entire series.
Reread 11/5/23:
Once again, I greatly enjoyed this book. Also, to my extreme delight, since I wrote this review 3 years ago, there have been several more additions to this fabulous series!
Review 12/31/20:
Fabulous start to a fantastic, paranormal series
Lydia Smith is a licensed para-archaeologist, but some months ago, her university career was destroyed by a serious case of on-the-job burnout. Fortunately, she has high hopes that her obviously wealthy, mysterious, new client, Emmett London, might be her ticket out of her current dead-end job at a low-rent museum, Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, in the Dead City of Old Cadence, on the planet Harmony.
I originally bought this futuristic romance novel when it was first released in 2000 as a mass market paperback. I have since re-purchased it in Kindle and audiobook format, and I have read and listened to it numerous times. I love it, and I never get tired of it.
I’m a big fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, and I have read almost every book she has ever written (the vast majority of which have been re-released in Kindle format, and many in audiobook format as well). During the course of her incredibly prolific writing career, stretching back to 1979, she has written 187 books, and counting, as of the end of 2020. Though she has definitely written many, many entertaining series over the years, for my personal taste, the Harmony series is the best of her best.
In the case of this particular novel, JAK did something she has rarely done. Though the book does not end on a cliffhanger, it has a sequel, After Glow, written four whole years after this book came out. It was worth the wait, though, and thereafter, she wrote 11 other books in the series, most published yearly, up until 2016. There has been nothing since, but we diehard fans of Harmony live in hope that JAK will, someday, revisit Harmony.
This is the whole Harmony series, so far:
1. After Dark, 2000, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
2. After Glow, 2004, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
3. Ghost Hunter, 2006, audiobook narrated by Laural Merlington
4. Silver Master, 2007, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
5. Dark Light, 2008, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
6. Obsidian Prey, 2009, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
7. Midnight Crystal, 2010, audiobook narrated by Tanya Eby
8. Canyons of Night, 2011, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
9. Lost Night, 2012, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
10. Deception Cove, 2013, audiobook narrated by Joyce Bean
11. Hot Zone, 2014, audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
12. Siren's Call, 2015, audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
13. Illusion town, 2016, audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
The audiobook versions of all the books in this series are very well done, and they are all a real treat to experience. I must say, though, that my absolute favorite narrator, of the four different actors who have narrated these books, is the inimitable Barbara Rosenblat. She is absolutely fabulous!
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
World-building: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Suspense Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
December 27, 2012
This is a really hard book to classify. It's sci-fi, but with some mystery and romance thrown in. In the end, I think it’s about equally romance and sci-fi with the mystery getting the shortest shrift.
I liked the premise, though it felt a little... sparsely populated. The story takes place on a world a handful of centuries after initial colonization is shut off by a closing of "the curtain". So the colonists know that they originate from Earth and that the artifacts found on the world are not from anything human. But their civilization is relatively well established and they're working things out in their isolation.
More interesting, the world seems to have changed humans somehow so that they have developed gifts that can only be termed psychic. Two of the more overt psychic gifts are used mainly to help people explore the vast underground tombs of the alien culture—allowing people to overcome the traps and "ghosts" buried as guardians. All of this smacks of unexamined assumptions to me, but then, I'd expect that in a centuries-old field of exploration with little feedback or built-in reality checks.
The sparsely-populated feel comes from the interaction between Lydia and her profession/world. It feels like there just aren't that many people doing things and I wish I could explain it better than that. Lydia and her new client, Emmett London, are kind of adrift with opponents striking from the shadows and fading away without leaving much to get a grip on to follow-up or find the primary movers. There isn't a lot to analyze where they stand or where they're going through the course of the mystery.
That said, I rather enjoyed Emmett and Lydia. Their relationship was enough to pull me into the story and keep me there long enough to find my bearings in the weird world they inhabit. By the end, I felt good enough about the series and where it is going that I'll certainly flag the sequel for reading in the future.
I liked the premise, though it felt a little... sparsely populated. The story takes place on a world a handful of centuries after initial colonization is shut off by a closing of "the curtain". So the colonists know that they originate from Earth and that the artifacts found on the world are not from anything human. But their civilization is relatively well established and they're working things out in their isolation.
More interesting, the world seems to have changed humans somehow so that they have developed gifts that can only be termed psychic. Two of the more overt psychic gifts are used mainly to help people explore the vast underground tombs of the alien culture—allowing people to overcome the traps and "ghosts" buried as guardians. All of this smacks of unexamined assumptions to me, but then, I'd expect that in a centuries-old field of exploration with little feedback or built-in reality checks.
The sparsely-populated feel comes from the interaction between Lydia and her profession/world. It feels like there just aren't that many people doing things and I wish I could explain it better than that. Lydia and her new client, Emmett London, are kind of adrift with opponents striking from the shadows and fading away without leaving much to get a grip on to follow-up or find the primary movers. There isn't a lot to analyze where they stand or where they're going through the course of the mystery.
That said, I rather enjoyed Emmett and Lydia. Their relationship was enough to pull me into the story and keep me there long enough to find my bearings in the weird world they inhabit. By the end, I felt good enough about the series and where it is going that I'll certainly flag the sequel for reading in the future.
November 10, 2019
The story of two interesting characters in the intricate world of Harmony.
Lydia is pretty cynical, with a smart mouth and determined to get her life back on track after the traumatic event that cost her her job a few months ago.
Emmett is her ticket to better things, being the first client of the private consulting business she's trying to start. He has ulterior motives for asking for her help, but the two work very well together despite Lydia's prejudices, and become quite close during their adventures together.
I enjoyed listening to their story, even if the world can get a little confusing at times, and I'm curious to see how things work out for them in the next book of the series, After Glow.
Previous book reviews:
✦ Bridal Jitters (Harmony, #0.5) ~ ★★★ (19/02/2013)
Lydia is pretty cynical, with a smart mouth and determined to get her life back on track after the traumatic event that cost her her job a few months ago.
Emmett is her ticket to better things, being the first client of the private consulting business she's trying to start. He has ulterior motives for asking for her help, but the two work very well together despite Lydia's prejudices, and become quite close during their adventures together.
I enjoyed listening to their story, even if the world can get a little confusing at times, and I'm curious to see how things work out for them in the next book of the series, After Glow.
Previous book reviews:
✦ Bridal Jitters (Harmony, #0.5) ~ ★★★ (19/02/2013)
January 12, 2019
Even with the annoying nitpicks, After Dark is more than entertaining ().
The characters aren't its strong suit, but the mystery is pretty decent. They actually have to solve it. I liked that part of the story a lot.
The characters aren't its strong suit, but the mystery is pretty decent. They actually have to solve it. I liked that part of the story a lot.
March 3, 2017
They had me at sentient dust bunnies.
March 16, 2020
On a world where psychic energy is real, Para-archaeologist Lydia teams with Ghost-Hunter Emmett to track down his missing nephew.
I rarely make it through romances anymore so three stars from me is saying the book is good. Lydia and Emmett don't just jump into bed with each other - they learn to respect one other as professionals and people first. The worldbuilding, while kind of weak in the logic aspect, is stronger than most paranormal romances. And Fuzz, the killer dust-bunny, won my heart.
I rarely make it through romances anymore so three stars from me is saying the book is good. Lydia and Emmett don't just jump into bed with each other - they learn to respect one other as professionals and people first. The worldbuilding, while kind of weak in the logic aspect, is stronger than most paranormal romances. And Fuzz, the killer dust-bunny, won my heart.
June 15, 2015
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle
First published: 2000
Length: 352 pages
Setting: Around 200 years in the future on the planet Harmony, cut off from Earth. In Cadence City.
Sex: Very explicit, infrequent
Hero: Hunter and former Guild Head.
Heroine: para-archeologist
What really happened when Lydia was burned? I wish Krentz had told us.. It was relevant to her motivations and attitudes but was never explained. (May be followed through in Book 2?)
Otherwise, a thoroughly enjoyable romantic suspense with enough romance to keep it in the genre.
Good characters, good story, good world building.
Harmony:
"Although the first few Harmony titles make no direct mention of Arcane, paranormal ability is evident on Harmony and references to the ancient Society are made in SILVER MASTER and DARK LIGHT. Harmony has now officially joined the Arcane series. In OBSIDIAN PREY (August 25, 2009) you will meet the Sweetwater family, descendants of the mysterious Sweetwaters who first appear in RUNNING HOT. The Sweetwaters are a family of professional assassins who occasionally work for Jones & Jones. Some things still haven’t changed…" Krentz @ Harmony faq http://jayneannkrentz.com/f-a-q/
Book 0.5 Bridal Jitters - Virginia Burch and Sam Gage
Book 1 After Dark - Lydia Smith (Ghost Hunters #1)
Book 2 After Glow - Lydia Smith (Ghost Hunters #2)
Book 3 Ghost Hunter - Cooper Boone and Elly St. Clair (Ghost Hunters #3)
Book 4 Silver Master - Celinda Ingram and Davis Oakes (Ghost Hunters #4)
Book 5 Dark Light - Sierra McIntyre and John Fontana (Ghost Hunters #5)
Book 6 Obsidian Prey - Lyra Dore and Cruz Sweetwater
Book 7 Midnight Crystal - Adam Winters and Marlowe Jones (Arcane #9, Dreamlight Trilogy #3)
Book 8 Canyons of Night - Charlotte Enright and Slade Attridge (Rainshadow #.5, Looking Glass Trilogy #3, Arcane #12)
Book 9 The Lost Night - Rachel Bonner and Harry Sebastian (Rainshadow #1)
Book 10 Deception Cove - Alice North and Drake Sebastian (Rainshadow #2)
Book 11 The Hot Zone - Sedona Snow and Cyrus Jones (Rainshadow #3)
Book 12 Siren's Call - Rafe Coppersmith and Ella Morgan (Rainshadow #4)
References:
Author's website: http://jayneannkrentz.com/after-dark/
(ISBN 051512902X)
-CR-
First published: 2000
Length: 352 pages
Setting: Around 200 years in the future on the planet Harmony, cut off from Earth. In Cadence City.
Sex: Very explicit, infrequent
Hero: Hunter and former Guild Head.
Heroine: para-archeologist
What really happened when Lydia was burned? I wish Krentz had told us.. It was relevant to her motivations and attitudes but was never explained. (May be followed through in Book 2?)
Otherwise, a thoroughly enjoyable romantic suspense with enough romance to keep it in the genre.
Good characters, good story, good world building.
Harmony:
"Although the first few Harmony titles make no direct mention of Arcane, paranormal ability is evident on Harmony and references to the ancient Society are made in SILVER MASTER and DARK LIGHT. Harmony has now officially joined the Arcane series. In OBSIDIAN PREY (August 25, 2009) you will meet the Sweetwater family, descendants of the mysterious Sweetwaters who first appear in RUNNING HOT. The Sweetwaters are a family of professional assassins who occasionally work for Jones & Jones. Some things still haven’t changed…" Krentz @ Harmony faq http://jayneannkrentz.com/f-a-q/
Book 0.5 Bridal Jitters - Virginia Burch and Sam Gage
Book 1 After Dark - Lydia Smith (Ghost Hunters #1)
Book 2 After Glow - Lydia Smith (Ghost Hunters #2)
Book 3 Ghost Hunter - Cooper Boone and Elly St. Clair (Ghost Hunters #3)
Book 4 Silver Master - Celinda Ingram and Davis Oakes (Ghost Hunters #4)
Book 5 Dark Light - Sierra McIntyre and John Fontana (Ghost Hunters #5)
Book 6 Obsidian Prey - Lyra Dore and Cruz Sweetwater
Book 7 Midnight Crystal - Adam Winters and Marlowe Jones (Arcane #9, Dreamlight Trilogy #3)
Book 8 Canyons of Night - Charlotte Enright and Slade Attridge (Rainshadow #.5, Looking Glass Trilogy #3, Arcane #12)
Book 9 The Lost Night - Rachel Bonner and Harry Sebastian (Rainshadow #1)
Book 10 Deception Cove - Alice North and Drake Sebastian (Rainshadow #2)
Book 11 The Hot Zone - Sedona Snow and Cyrus Jones (Rainshadow #3)
Book 12 Siren's Call - Rafe Coppersmith and Ella Morgan (Rainshadow #4)
References:
Author's website: http://jayneannkrentz.com/after-dark/
(ISBN 051512902X)
-CR-
November 3, 2015
**Melinda Helfer - Romantic Times**
Ms. Castle adds many wonderful touches to her engaging new series, including Lydia's unique pet, Fuzz, and enthusiastic fans will clamor for further adventures.
**Publisher's Weekly**
Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) is well known for her playful love stories, and this futuristic tale of romantic suspense runs delightfully true to form. In an ancient city on the planet Harmony--a place where professional ghost hunters and "para-resonators" are necessary to defuse the dangerous vestiges of past settlements--Lydia Smith's career as a para-archeologist crashes when she is caught in an "illusion trap," precipitating a trauma that experts believe makes her too vulnerable for future work in the field. Lydia takes a stopgap job at an amusingly cheesy museum called Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors and begins building a private consulting business with the para-resonating skills she's convinced she can muster just as well as ever. During an interview with her first prospective client, mysterious hunk Emmett London, she discovers the dead body of a shady colleague, Chester Brady, in one of Shrimpton's sarcophagi. As a suspect in Chester's demise, Lydia is forced to uncover the facts about his murder; at the same time, she must untangle both Emmett's hidden agenda and the potent attraction she feels for him. Science fiction fans might find Harmony a bit too similar to contemporary America, right down to its blue jeans and baby vegetables. But for readers seeking an appealingly effervescent romance mildly spiced with paranormal fun, this novel won't disappoint. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Ms. Castle adds many wonderful touches to her engaging new series, including Lydia's unique pet, Fuzz, and enthusiastic fans will clamor for further adventures.
**Publisher's Weekly**
Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) is well known for her playful love stories, and this futuristic tale of romantic suspense runs delightfully true to form. In an ancient city on the planet Harmony--a place where professional ghost hunters and "para-resonators" are necessary to defuse the dangerous vestiges of past settlements--Lydia Smith's career as a para-archeologist crashes when she is caught in an "illusion trap," precipitating a trauma that experts believe makes her too vulnerable for future work in the field. Lydia takes a stopgap job at an amusingly cheesy museum called Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors and begins building a private consulting business with the para-resonating skills she's convinced she can muster just as well as ever. During an interview with her first prospective client, mysterious hunk Emmett London, she discovers the dead body of a shady colleague, Chester Brady, in one of Shrimpton's sarcophagi. As a suspect in Chester's demise, Lydia is forced to uncover the facts about his murder; at the same time, she must untangle both Emmett's hidden agenda and the potent attraction she feels for him. Science fiction fans might find Harmony a bit too similar to contemporary America, right down to its blue jeans and baby vegetables. But for readers seeking an appealingly effervescent romance mildly spiced with paranormal fun, this novel won't disappoint. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
October 19, 2021
Basic info: if you're interested in a plucky girl detective with an animal sidekick who's got something hot and heavy going on with the guy who hired her - set on an alien planet that's almost exactly like earth except not really - then this is the book for you. If, additionally, you have read Jayne Ann Krentz and like her stuff, then check this one out.
If not, go in with the following caveats: while there is a love story, there's no HEA; the mystery is Scooby Doo level goofy; and the language is definitely early aughts, if not weirder (we're talking "goshdarn SOB" here). Meg loved it, Laine did not, read at your own risk. And remember that it's the first in a duology so you DO get an HEA if you continue with the next in the series, After Glow.
16-Word Summaries:
Meg: Harmony: Adding up alien archaeology, psychic powers, a sexy couple, and cute animal sidekicks since 2000.
Laine: A secret archeological find makes targets of both Lydia and Emmett. It's politically and emotionally complicated.
If not, go in with the following caveats: while there is a love story, there's no HEA; the mystery is Scooby Doo level goofy; and the language is definitely early aughts, if not weirder (we're talking "goshdarn SOB" here). Meg loved it, Laine did not, read at your own risk. And remember that it's the first in a duology so you DO get an HEA if you continue with the next in the series, After Glow.
16-Word Summaries:
Meg: Harmony: Adding up alien archaeology, psychic powers, a sexy couple, and cute animal sidekicks since 2000.
Laine: A secret archeological find makes targets of both Lydia and Emmett. It's politically and emotionally complicated.
August 11, 2016
3.5 stars! I enjoyed this very much but there are some loose ends that made me knock off half a star. I loved Jayne Castle's St. Helens series and this series is shaping up to be just as interesting. Worth checking out if you're a fan of scifi romance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 460 reviews