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New York Confidential #4
A Lethal Legacy
TREASURE OR TREACHERY?
Douglas Island sits off the coast of New York State, its imposing cliffs warning away visitors. Still, Finn Douglas has big plans for his inheritance and the rambling manor house that dominates the landscape. He has a vision to turn the island into a resort getaway for overworked city dwellers. But when the broken body of his business partner is found at the base of the rocky escarpment, he fears it wasn't an accident.
Special Agent Craig Frasier agrees to help his cousin Finn by investigating and, with psychologist Kieran Finnegan at his side, heads to the island. As Craig and Kieran delve into the history of the Douglas estate, they discover that the property comes complete with strange lore and a blood-soaked past. Something evil seems to be lurking in the caverns that run beneath the stony ground. Is there something on the island that someone is willing to kill to protect? Kieran and Craig take on a dangerous search for the truth, where one false step could send them plummeting to their deaths, and one wrong turn could bring them face-to-face with a killer.
Douglas Island sits off the coast of New York State, its imposing cliffs warning away visitors. Still, Finn Douglas has big plans for his inheritance and the rambling manor house that dominates the landscape. He has a vision to turn the island into a resort getaway for overworked city dwellers. But when the broken body of his business partner is found at the base of the rocky escarpment, he fears it wasn't an accident.
Special Agent Craig Frasier agrees to help his cousin Finn by investigating and, with psychologist Kieran Finnegan at his side, heads to the island. As Craig and Kieran delve into the history of the Douglas estate, they discover that the property comes complete with strange lore and a blood-soaked past. Something evil seems to be lurking in the caverns that run beneath the stony ground. Is there something on the island that someone is willing to kill to protect? Kieran and Craig take on a dangerous search for the truth, where one false step could send them plummeting to their deaths, and one wrong turn could bring them face-to-face with a killer.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 12, 2019
960 people are currently reading
1034 people want to read
About the author
Heather Graham
578 books6,869 followersAlso published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell's Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette's Shadows, and for Harlequin's mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.
Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children's charity.
She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.
Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell's Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette's Shadows, and for Harlequin's mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.
Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children's charity.
She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.
Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
July 21, 2021
Heather Graham is an author I have been trying to catch up with along with Anne Stuart and Linda Howard coz even though romantic suspense is a favorite genre of mine, I have missed out on reading most books by these authors. Heather Graham additionally has the psychic angle in some of her books which makes it even more exciting. A Lethal Legacy was, however, an OK read for me, YES, of course, there’s the romance and the mystery of the buried treasure and murder but the description of the history of the place was way too much information for me to process.
Douglas Island has always been believed to be cursed so when Finn Douglas and his friend Frank arrive there to consider the construction of a getaway, little did they expect that the deaths would soon follow. Finn calls in his cousin Craig and his partner Kieran to help and soon bodies began to tumble out of the closet or rather caves as more sinister discoveries are made.
The story was interesting but not gripping enough, I didn’t feel that heightened danger that should have marked the caves and its underground caverns. The historical data pertaining to Vikings, Norsemen, Knights Templar, Scots, Ark of Covenant, and whatnot was exhaustive but lacking in the thrill factor. The suspense element was great as I never guessed that particular ending, but in all, I did wish for a more stunning impact.
This is once again my failed audiobook trial that I completed by reverting to the e-book, but I did persist till about 70% this time, so that’s progress indeed.
This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, and Twitter.
Douglas Island has always been believed to be cursed so when Finn Douglas and his friend Frank arrive there to consider the construction of a getaway, little did they expect that the deaths would soon follow. Finn calls in his cousin Craig and his partner Kieran to help and soon bodies began to tumble out of the closet or rather caves as more sinister discoveries are made.
The story was interesting but not gripping enough, I didn’t feel that heightened danger that should have marked the caves and its underground caverns. The historical data pertaining to Vikings, Norsemen, Knights Templar, Scots, Ark of Covenant, and whatnot was exhaustive but lacking in the thrill factor. The suspense element was great as I never guessed that particular ending, but in all, I did wish for a more stunning impact.
This is once again my failed audiobook trial that I completed by reverting to the e-book, but I did persist till about 70% this time, so that’s progress indeed.
This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, and Twitter.
March 20, 2019
Sometimes I sort in my library for newest books and this was one of them. It is apparently one of many by author and I have no idea what audience this is meant for. Maybe junior high kids, although my children at that age would have been insulted by this suggestion.
We have island close to New York only accessible by boat, hills and dark and scary caves, a big house with hidden stairways to tunnels leading to caves where treasure hunters like to roam at night looking for treasure and killing others who come along by stoning them while in the guise of aliens.
Wow, right?
We have island close to New York only accessible by boat, hills and dark and scary caves, a big house with hidden stairways to tunnels leading to caves where treasure hunters like to roam at night looking for treasure and killing others who come along by stoning them while in the guise of aliens.
Wow, right?
September 6, 2019
This is an awful book. It starts well, but it's just doggone silly. You can see everything coming from a mile away--and when you can't see what's coming, when the unexpected occurs--it's more comical than suspenseful or thrilling. I don't mind formulaic writing--sometimes, it produces some of the best stories out there. But this one misses the mark on virtually everything in my book.
July 24, 2019
Almost every time I try a "bestselling author" with the name bigger than the book title, I'm reminded of why I so rarely do so. Here are a few of the idiocies (too convenient coincidences, illogical actions, plot holes, etc) that can be mentioned without spoilers:
- Rich guy and FBI agent close cousins
- FBI agent can instantly wander to the island to investigate
- Local authorities don't care about that
- FBI agent's boss allows him to do so and spends on other people and resources on a whim
- FBI agent and girlfriend stay at the island home
- FBI agent's girlfriend's brother invites himself to do the same and there's no problem at all
- Just about everyone seems to have heard of a tiny, family run, pub in NYC
- The ease of getting on and off the island whenever the author wants is left unexplained
It goes on and on, leading me again to not think much of the average reader who drives this blithering nonsense to the top of best seller lists.
- Rich guy and FBI agent close cousins
- FBI agent can instantly wander to the island to investigate
- Local authorities don't care about that
- FBI agent's boss allows him to do so and spends on other people and resources on a whim
- FBI agent and girlfriend stay at the island home
- FBI agent's girlfriend's brother invites himself to do the same and there's no problem at all
- Just about everyone seems to have heard of a tiny, family run, pub in NYC
- The ease of getting on and off the island whenever the author wants is left unexplained
It goes on and on, leading me again to not think much of the average reader who drives this blithering nonsense to the top of best seller lists.
May 9, 2019
Templars, Vikings, hidden treasure (and/or the Ark) in labyrinthine caves, and mysterious deaths, all on a private isolated island. Just too much trying to be crammed in.
August 10, 2019
Middling mystery-adventure with word-walls with waaaay too much information
From the 5 star ratings, I really expected to enjoy this book. Instead I often wondered if I were reading a different Heather Graham book. The storyline is straightforward, so after reading the setup, the rest of the plot fell into place, because this mystery-adventure storyline has been done many times before.
The author threw in so many different elements and a plethora of secondary characters, that she needed word-walls of explanations and introductions. The book is padded with TMI (too much information) about the various ancient alien theories, the Pyramids, too much Ark of the Covenant, King Tut’s curse, scads about the Knights Templar, the Vikings, the Norse, Haakon IV, history of Scotland, Norway, plus another word-wall about Hart Island’s history and the potter’s field.
I appreciate the well-developed police/FBI characters, but I wanted more from the secondary characters—especially the villains—who were mostly cutouts and clichés. I ticked off boxes and nonchalantly chose five suspects—the correct ones—although I missed one who was murdered.
This may be a Kindle formatting problem but it’s annoying: There are no proper scene/section breaks—either asterisks, white space or typographical glyphs—to separate subsections in the chapters. I had to interrupt my reading to re-assess, because I was lost after the author switched from one scene to another—without adequately signaling me, her reader. Or the author transitioned from midday to midnight without signaling time passing/passed.
2 stars because I finished the book.
From the 5 star ratings, I really expected to enjoy this book. Instead I often wondered if I were reading a different Heather Graham book. The storyline is straightforward, so after reading the setup, the rest of the plot fell into place, because this mystery-adventure storyline has been done many times before.
The author threw in so many different elements and a plethora of secondary characters, that she needed word-walls of explanations and introductions. The book is padded with TMI (too much information) about the various ancient alien theories, the Pyramids, too much Ark of the Covenant, King Tut’s curse, scads about the Knights Templar, the Vikings, the Norse, Haakon IV, history of Scotland, Norway, plus another word-wall about Hart Island’s history and the potter’s field.
I appreciate the well-developed police/FBI characters, but I wanted more from the secondary characters—especially the villains—who were mostly cutouts and clichés. I ticked off boxes and nonchalantly chose five suspects—the correct ones—although I missed one who was murdered.
This may be a Kindle formatting problem but it’s annoying: There are no proper scene/section breaks—either asterisks, white space or typographical glyphs—to separate subsections in the chapters. I had to interrupt my reading to re-assess, because I was lost after the author switched from one scene to another—without adequately signaling me, her reader. Or the author transitioned from midday to midnight without signaling time passing/passed.
2 stars because I finished the book.
Read
May 21, 2019I am quite disappointed in the deep dive into typos, bad grammar and the wrong names being attached to a conversation. I think this is the last I'll buy.
March 14, 2019
This murder/mystery book did start out a little slow but, oh, boy! It picks up with a vengeance! As always, Heather Graham does some remarkable historical research. There is even reference to "Oak Island." I love that show, by the way. And, I am certain there are many that despise close spaces. I know I do! It certainly heightened the tension for me reading this story! I had my suspicions, but there were so many, I couldn't nail it. Truthfully, it is the best one of the series thus far. Just terrific!
June 17, 2019
It was ok but nothing to write home about.
July 5, 2019
Had this figured out in the first few chapters, the dialog was boring, the characters uninteresting...so I skipped to the end to see if I was right and didn't finish.
July 7, 2019
Weird. Way too many characters.
April 15, 2024
Douglas Island is located off the coast of NYState It has been inherited by Finn Douglas. It has a forbidding coastline, and is surrounded by stories of death, and supposed to be haunted. It is referred to to the Island of Bones. Finn wants to build on to the huge estate, and make it a resort. He brings his friend who is brilliant with design, and their girlfriends to the manor house to do some planning. What Finn doesn’t plan on is finding his friend dead on the small beach in the morning. It seems he has fallen off a huge rock cliff in the dark. He reaches out to his cousin Craig, who is in the FBI. He arrives with his long term girlfriend, who is also a psychologist. Kieran Finnegan brings his brother Danny along for extra help, and protection. The local police think it is a simple accident in the dark, but Craig is not convinced. It seems under the man’s hand is written in a shaky scrawl the word Aliens. He had lived just long enough to write who he thought killed him. The book goes into a lot of history of the Island. Vikings, pirates, settlements, and private ownership all had found numerous deaths, and bones. It is a great murder mystery. Even with FBI, and detectives people continue to be found dead. The island has a complicated tunnel system, and it’s dangerous. Plus they find bloody rocks around one of the new corpses. She had been stoned to death. There are secret passages, and tunnels, and more people on the island than just the ones accounted for. It also goes into Alien invasion, and worship, black robes, and a cult. The ending was satisfying, but I honestly did not think so many were involved. It had an epilogue as well. I gave it a 4 star.
August 16, 2019
I gave this book only 3 stars mainly because at times it just lagged and I started loosing interest. But on the other hand I love Heather Graham... her characters Kieran and Craig are adorable and of course Kieran’s brother Danny is also likable. I love how Graham mixes history into the story but I did find the chronological explanation of Vikings and Norse and the Knights Templar too long and too textbook for my taste. In the end I really was surprised by who was involved with the strange murders. I also believe that the choice of murder weapons.... stoning was very clever on Graham’s telling if this story. But did I mention aliens? The murderers were aliens .... not your garden variety aliens but ancient godlike aliens.... well go figure that....sorry for the rambling thoughts but this story covered everything from bank robbers to greed to believers in aliens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2019
Rich Finn Douglas took his girlfriend model Elaine, his good friend Frank and his girlfriend Margie to his family estate on Douglas Island off the coast of New York. Island been in family for years, rumor had strange things going on the island. Frank dies, did he fall or was stoned to death as bank robbers was years ago? Finn’sFBI cousinCraig Krasier& his girlfriend Psychologist Kieran Finnegan came to island to investigate with lots of weird happenings. ( Spoiler, housekeeper, groundskeeper, Elaine, Margie plus John Smith were ALL involved !) ok book, thought some of it strengthen the story - which was aliens who killed the bank robbers and why it taking so long for the ‘gang’ to get the bank robbers loot!?)
May 10, 2019
I'm about two thirds of the way through this and will finish, but I can tell that this will not be a favorite. There are inconsistencies in dialog, character names and other areas. I have had to go back and reread parts just to make sure I hadn't read them wrong. I used to enjoy Heather Graham's writing, but this one is leaving me scratching my head.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2022
Loved it....would recommend it
April 13, 2020
This is the first of the "New York Confidential" series that I have read, although it's the fourth one in the series. One of the things I like about the way Heather Graham writes is that each of her books can stand alone.
FBI agent Craig Douglas has a cousin, Finn, with big ideas. He's going to convert the family's private island into a resort. However, one of his friends is found dead after apparently falling from a cliff, and everyone's feeling pretty uncomfortable. Finn is sure that Frank was murdered, so he contacts Craig. Craig's lady friend, Kieran Finnegan, is a psychologist, so he asks her along. Finn, Frank's lady Margie, and just about everyone else staying at the compound during the construction can probably use her help.
Kieran's brother, Danny, is a tour guide, and has all kinds of stories about the island -- up to and including legends about pirate treasure, ancient aliens, and even the Ark of the Covenant. Kieran isn't buying any of it, until Craig shows her one of the crime scene photos; Frank had, apparently, written "aliens" in the sand below the cliffs before he died.
This is the set-up for what rapidly becomes a thriller but not quite a fair-play puzzle. Everyone's got secrets, and the clues aren't always out for the reader to see (or miss in passing). Each of the primary and secondary characters are well-drawn and believable as we see them in action, which is nice to see. I could also feel the chemistry between Kieran and Craig, which was a plus.
Still, only part of the "reveal" took me by surprise ... and I had to go back and re-read a couple of pages to make sure I'd really seen it!
Heather Graham's romantic suspense is first-rate, which is why I've been a fan for so many years. Highly recommended.
FBI agent Craig Douglas has a cousin, Finn, with big ideas. He's going to convert the family's private island into a resort. However, one of his friends is found dead after apparently falling from a cliff, and everyone's feeling pretty uncomfortable. Finn is sure that Frank was murdered, so he contacts Craig. Craig's lady friend, Kieran Finnegan, is a psychologist, so he asks her along. Finn, Frank's lady Margie, and just about everyone else staying at the compound during the construction can probably use her help.
Kieran's brother, Danny, is a tour guide, and has all kinds of stories about the island -- up to and including legends about pirate treasure, ancient aliens, and even the Ark of the Covenant. Kieran isn't buying any of it, until Craig shows her one of the crime scene photos; Frank had, apparently, written "aliens" in the sand below the cliffs before he died.
This is the set-up for what rapidly becomes a thriller but not quite a fair-play puzzle. Everyone's got secrets, and the clues aren't always out for the reader to see (or miss in passing). Each of the primary and secondary characters are well-drawn and believable as we see them in action, which is nice to see. I could also feel the chemistry between Kieran and Craig, which was a plus.
Still, only part of the "reveal" took me by surprise ... and I had to go back and re-read a couple of pages to make sure I'd really seen it!
Heather Graham's romantic suspense is first-rate, which is why I've been a fan for so many years. Highly recommended.
June 3, 2019
This story is so good. It was non stop action and kept me on the edge of my seat. FBI special agent Craig Frasier and Kieran Finnegan are called to help his cousin Finn, when his best friend is found dead on his island. The story moves so fast from there and you don't know the truth to the last pages. Thrilling!
September 3, 2021
2.75/5. Plot was okay but pretty far-fetched.
September 4, 2019
Such a good and entertaining book! I loved this book and thinking I need to go back to book one in their series but book stands as a good stand a lone
May 26, 2020
Stars: 3 / 5
Recommendation: Cop Drama Series mixed with Psychology, Romance, Irish History, Family Matters and of course the crazy killers - all elements perfect for a Heather Graham mystery with the infamous law & order type theme.
A Lethal Legacy is the fourth book in the New York Confidential series by Heather Graham published in March of 2019. The series revolves around the Finnegan family, specially Kieran Finnegan, a psychologist working with law enforcement as needed, and her fiancee FBI Special Agent Craig Frasier who work together to solve some gruesome crimes.
When Finn Douglas calls on his cousin in FBI, Agent Craig Fraiser to help him with the investigation of the death of his closest friend Frank Landon, neither Craig nor Kieran, who accompanies him, realize that this time they would be doing historical journey as far back as the time of Moses.
Heather takes the readers on a road that goes back to the time when Moses was walking on the earth to the Knights Templar to heists and loots to murder and treachery. She gives us a lot of history from the past, but it keeps getting repeated by various sets of characters as the scenes progress.
Kieran and Craig form the perfect pair while they are investigating or while being there for each other or while supporting their respective families. The depth the plot takes the reader into the history is amazing, and at the same time reveals the human mind's fanaticism in a well-rounded plot.
A book in a series usually has characters and story-lines floating, so naturally we do see the same happening here - references to past cases that Craig and Kieran had worked together, crimes and scenes from past books, supporting characters as well the primary characters. That is good for readers, but sometimes that causes repeat para-phrasing as over and over scenes and situations are mentioned.
Although Heather mentions a few cases that Craig solved that were not part of her novels at all. Considering the books are set years apart, one has to guess that Craig and Kieran solve more cases than Heather has written plots for them.
But one particular case keeps on getting mentioned at several instances. A case that Craig and Kieran were involved in the recent past, which included another one of Craig's cousin, Harley Frasier, and that dealt with museums and antiquities. I wonder if that was part of a book that was supposed to be published before this book, and instead this book got published sooner.
However, when I did a little research, I found that Heather Graham has another mini-series going on the side titled The Finnegan Connection Series. And the second book in that series titled Shadows In The Night published in November of 2017 has the lead character Harley Frasier. I wonder now if this is the book and case that Heather is referring to, and if the books in this series cross-over with books in the New York Confidential series.
Up until the previous book I was expecting Heather to spin a parallel plot for Danny and Julie Benton whom we had met in the very first case Flawless (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...). But it is clear in this plot that Danny is not involved with her anymore. SO that sub-plot fizzled away.
As most of Heather's plots go, I suspected at least a couple of antagonists towards the middle of the plot. It wasn’t that hard to find them or the motive. Heather though went really deep into history with her tale, she kept the mystery part really simple and straight forward laying out the crumbs for us to follow it easily.
However, I would say that she really needs to get her books edited good. The amount of mistakes I keep finding are enormous. Unless there is a different explanation that she can give, I would still consider them under mistakes.
Despite the alarmingly increasing length of mistakes, Heather spins a fantastic murder mystery taking readers into the deeper trenches of history as well darker grooves of caves, all the while weaving a fine thread of love, family and togetherness. With surprise after surprise at every turn she kept the readers glued to the book.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Plot Reveals:
a. Key characters of the plot on Douglas Island: Finn Douglas is Craig's cousin; has a girl friend Elayne Anderson; Frank Landon's fiancee is Margie Appleby; Evie Summers, house keeper; Victor Eider, the groundskeeper;
b. Law Enforcement and others that Craig and Kieran work with: NTD Detective Teddy Brice; Medical Examiner Dr. Griffin Hodges; FBI Special Agent Bracken Silverheels; John Smith, publishes a paper on Douglas Island; Annie Green, John's assistant; Jay Harding, head of a group of alien believers; Jenny Stratton, daughter of a dead mob, & her husband Roald; Other Members of the Believers Group - Grace and Nick Tanaka, Ben Garcia, Rudy and Judy Stein, Dallas Berne and Valentina Tischenko, Priscilla and Ells Chapman;
2. Sub-Plots:
a. Finnegan's Irish Pub is co-owned by four siblings - Declan, Kevin, Kieran and Daniel "Danny". However, Declan kind of runs the show, engaged to be married to Mary Kathleen O'Shaunnessy. Kevin and Kieran are twins, while Danny is the youngest of them, works as a tour director too. Kevin is an actor.
b. Mike Dalton is Craig Frasier's partner. Richard Eagan is their assistant director. Marty Kim is their go to tech guy at the bureau.
c. Dr. Allison Miro and Dr. Bentley Fuller are the two psychiatrists, in whose office Kieran Finnegan, also works as a psychologist. Together they aid NYPD and FBI in profiling the criminals.
d. Kieran Finnegan's apartment is above a Japanese restaurant and karaoke bar. Every time Heather spins a scene around the Karoake Bar, we get to hear patrons singing on to some pretty good hit songs. Kieran had done a karaoke attempt in the previous book, A Dangerous Game (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...). But in this book, Kieran and Craig move to Craig's apartment in the end. So we will not see anymore of the karaoke bar and the adventures there I guess.
e. Margie swoons over Richard Egan in a scene and Kieran muses that it looks like a scene out of the film A Streetcar Named Desire. I have heard about this movie so much. It is about time I watch it.
3. Grammatical / Historical / Location / Character Errors:
a. On Pg. 40, Line 10, shouldn’t it be "…that beautiful people…"
b. On Pg. 47, Heather gives Danny's occupation as a tour director. But On Pg. 101, she again gives his occupation as a tour guide. So which is it?
c. On Pg. 63, Heather mis-enters "Finn" on Line 4 instead of "Craig".
d. On Pg. 75, Heather introduces Victor Eider as the groundskeeper. But on Pg. 117, she introduces him as Finn's assistant or a glorified handyman. So what is his role on Douglas Island truly?
e. On Pg. 142, the conversation is penned between Danny and Kieran. However on Line 15, Heather makes that line sound like Kieran is having a conversation with Craig or someone else but not Danny. She clearly wrote this entire paragraph wrongly.
f. On Pg. 162, Heather has her character Bracken say that he would be calling his boss after everyone are out of the caves. However, in the very next page 163, she shows us that Bracken has already called his boss, and then the entire group walk out of the caves. A total scene error here.
g. On Pg. 166, Line 3 from bottom, shouldn’t it be "…plan of mine…"
h. On Pg. 168, in the beginning of that page, Heather has Kieran and Danny plan to meet in Kieran's room. But then immediately after on the same page, she Kieran and Danny meet in Danny's room. Was that really a mistake on part of Heather? Or was she having the characters mis-lead others by giving our false plans?
i. During their cave ventures Craig, Mike, Danny, Bracken and Kieran find writings on the wall in Chapter 7 and on stone tablet in Chapter 8. And on Pg. 197, Heather had Egan mention in the beginning of the page regarding writings on the wall and stone tablet. But in the very same page, after Egan explains about the writings of the wall, she has Craig ask about writings of the wall at the entrance of the cave. But they found a stone tablet there not writings. Another error in the scene creation?
j. On Pg. 200, Heather has Jay introduce the group of Believers to Kieran and Danny. And there was no mention of anyone by name Sydney. However we see references of person named Sydney being in the group in pages 201 and 202. It also seems that Sydney was a male on Pg. 201, while a female on Pg. 202.
k. On Pg. 200, Dallas was introduced with his girl friend Valentina. But on Pg. 202, it seemed that that name changed to Sydney. And then it changes back to Valenina on Pg. 204.
l. On Pg. 319, Line 10, it should be "…could hear voices…"
Recommendation: Cop Drama Series mixed with Psychology, Romance, Irish History, Family Matters and of course the crazy killers - all elements perfect for a Heather Graham mystery with the infamous law & order type theme.
A Lethal Legacy is the fourth book in the New York Confidential series by Heather Graham published in March of 2019. The series revolves around the Finnegan family, specially Kieran Finnegan, a psychologist working with law enforcement as needed, and her fiancee FBI Special Agent Craig Frasier who work together to solve some gruesome crimes.
When Finn Douglas calls on his cousin in FBI, Agent Craig Fraiser to help him with the investigation of the death of his closest friend Frank Landon, neither Craig nor Kieran, who accompanies him, realize that this time they would be doing historical journey as far back as the time of Moses.
Heather takes the readers on a road that goes back to the time when Moses was walking on the earth to the Knights Templar to heists and loots to murder and treachery. She gives us a lot of history from the past, but it keeps getting repeated by various sets of characters as the scenes progress.
Kieran and Craig form the perfect pair while they are investigating or while being there for each other or while supporting their respective families. The depth the plot takes the reader into the history is amazing, and at the same time reveals the human mind's fanaticism in a well-rounded plot.
A book in a series usually has characters and story-lines floating, so naturally we do see the same happening here - references to past cases that Craig and Kieran had worked together, crimes and scenes from past books, supporting characters as well the primary characters. That is good for readers, but sometimes that causes repeat para-phrasing as over and over scenes and situations are mentioned.
Although Heather mentions a few cases that Craig solved that were not part of her novels at all. Considering the books are set years apart, one has to guess that Craig and Kieran solve more cases than Heather has written plots for them.
But one particular case keeps on getting mentioned at several instances. A case that Craig and Kieran were involved in the recent past, which included another one of Craig's cousin, Harley Frasier, and that dealt with museums and antiquities. I wonder if that was part of a book that was supposed to be published before this book, and instead this book got published sooner.
However, when I did a little research, I found that Heather Graham has another mini-series going on the side titled The Finnegan Connection Series. And the second book in that series titled Shadows In The Night published in November of 2017 has the lead character Harley Frasier. I wonder now if this is the book and case that Heather is referring to, and if the books in this series cross-over with books in the New York Confidential series.
Up until the previous book I was expecting Heather to spin a parallel plot for Danny and Julie Benton whom we had met in the very first case Flawless (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...). But it is clear in this plot that Danny is not involved with her anymore. SO that sub-plot fizzled away.
As most of Heather's plots go, I suspected at least a couple of antagonists towards the middle of the plot. It wasn’t that hard to find them or the motive. Heather though went really deep into history with her tale, she kept the mystery part really simple and straight forward laying out the crumbs for us to follow it easily.
However, I would say that she really needs to get her books edited good. The amount of mistakes I keep finding are enormous. Unless there is a different explanation that she can give, I would still consider them under mistakes.
Despite the alarmingly increasing length of mistakes, Heather spins a fantastic murder mystery taking readers into the deeper trenches of history as well darker grooves of caves, all the while weaving a fine thread of love, family and togetherness. With surprise after surprise at every turn she kept the readers glued to the book.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Plot Reveals:
a. Key characters of the plot on Douglas Island: Finn Douglas is Craig's cousin; has a girl friend Elayne Anderson; Frank Landon's fiancee is Margie Appleby; Evie Summers, house keeper; Victor Eider, the groundskeeper;
b. Law Enforcement and others that Craig and Kieran work with: NTD Detective Teddy Brice; Medical Examiner Dr. Griffin Hodges; FBI Special Agent Bracken Silverheels; John Smith, publishes a paper on Douglas Island; Annie Green, John's assistant; Jay Harding, head of a group of alien believers; Jenny Stratton, daughter of a dead mob, & her husband Roald; Other Members of the Believers Group - Grace and Nick Tanaka, Ben Garcia, Rudy and Judy Stein, Dallas Berne and Valentina Tischenko, Priscilla and Ells Chapman;
2. Sub-Plots:
a. Finnegan's Irish Pub is co-owned by four siblings - Declan, Kevin, Kieran and Daniel "Danny". However, Declan kind of runs the show, engaged to be married to Mary Kathleen O'Shaunnessy. Kevin and Kieran are twins, while Danny is the youngest of them, works as a tour director too. Kevin is an actor.
b. Mike Dalton is Craig Frasier's partner. Richard Eagan is their assistant director. Marty Kim is their go to tech guy at the bureau.
c. Dr. Allison Miro and Dr. Bentley Fuller are the two psychiatrists, in whose office Kieran Finnegan, also works as a psychologist. Together they aid NYPD and FBI in profiling the criminals.
d. Kieran Finnegan's apartment is above a Japanese restaurant and karaoke bar. Every time Heather spins a scene around the Karoake Bar, we get to hear patrons singing on to some pretty good hit songs. Kieran had done a karaoke attempt in the previous book, A Dangerous Game (https://inspirethoughts.livejournal.c...). But in this book, Kieran and Craig move to Craig's apartment in the end. So we will not see anymore of the karaoke bar and the adventures there I guess.
e. Margie swoons over Richard Egan in a scene and Kieran muses that it looks like a scene out of the film A Streetcar Named Desire. I have heard about this movie so much. It is about time I watch it.
3. Grammatical / Historical / Location / Character Errors:
a. On Pg. 40, Line 10, shouldn’t it be "…that beautiful people…"
b. On Pg. 47, Heather gives Danny's occupation as a tour director. But On Pg. 101, she again gives his occupation as a tour guide. So which is it?
c. On Pg. 63, Heather mis-enters "Finn" on Line 4 instead of "Craig".
d. On Pg. 75, Heather introduces Victor Eider as the groundskeeper. But on Pg. 117, she introduces him as Finn's assistant or a glorified handyman. So what is his role on Douglas Island truly?
e. On Pg. 142, the conversation is penned between Danny and Kieran. However on Line 15, Heather makes that line sound like Kieran is having a conversation with Craig or someone else but not Danny. She clearly wrote this entire paragraph wrongly.
f. On Pg. 162, Heather has her character Bracken say that he would be calling his boss after everyone are out of the caves. However, in the very next page 163, she shows us that Bracken has already called his boss, and then the entire group walk out of the caves. A total scene error here.
g. On Pg. 166, Line 3 from bottom, shouldn’t it be "…plan of mine…"
h. On Pg. 168, in the beginning of that page, Heather has Kieran and Danny plan to meet in Kieran's room. But then immediately after on the same page, she Kieran and Danny meet in Danny's room. Was that really a mistake on part of Heather? Or was she having the characters mis-lead others by giving our false plans?
i. During their cave ventures Craig, Mike, Danny, Bracken and Kieran find writings on the wall in Chapter 7 and on stone tablet in Chapter 8. And on Pg. 197, Heather had Egan mention in the beginning of the page regarding writings on the wall and stone tablet. But in the very same page, after Egan explains about the writings of the wall, she has Craig ask about writings of the wall at the entrance of the cave. But they found a stone tablet there not writings. Another error in the scene creation?
j. On Pg. 200, Heather has Jay introduce the group of Believers to Kieran and Danny. And there was no mention of anyone by name Sydney. However we see references of person named Sydney being in the group in pages 201 and 202. It also seems that Sydney was a male on Pg. 201, while a female on Pg. 202.
k. On Pg. 200, Dallas was introduced with his girl friend Valentina. But on Pg. 202, it seemed that that name changed to Sydney. And then it changes back to Valenina on Pg. 204.
l. On Pg. 319, Line 10, it should be "…could hear voices…"
November 13, 2019
2.5 rounded up to 3 because it was the type of book I needed today. I've been a fan of Heather Graham's romantic suspense books for many years and have read far too many. Yes, her books are very formulaic, but she puts out several a year, so I think that's to be expected. There's enough romance - albeit silly romance - to make romantics happy and enough supernatural stuff to appeal to others. No Heather Graham book will be used for a plot to Supernatural - haha - but they are a bit entertaining when I'm in a slump and i don't know what to read next. And you don't need to read them in order, you'll get the overall story picking up any in the series.
Someone complained that they didn't know what this was supposed to be - YA, romance, etc. No, not YA. I categorize this as book junk food - it fills the need quickly, but isn't a substantial read, and a steady diet of these isn't good for you. But sometimes, you just need the junk food, right? :)
And, I think she did an ok job with giving some history to make the story come together. Still, aliens was a bit of a surprise, but after alllllll the books she's written, she needed to add SOMETHING new, right? :)
Someone complained that they didn't know what this was supposed to be - YA, romance, etc. No, not YA. I categorize this as book junk food - it fills the need quickly, but isn't a substantial read, and a steady diet of these isn't good for you. But sometimes, you just need the junk food, right? :)
And, I think she did an ok job with giving some history to make the story come together. Still, aliens was a bit of a surprise, but after alllllll the books she's written, she needed to add SOMETHING new, right? :)
February 4, 2020
Meh. The story is somewhat fantastical, there's a lot of extraneous dialogue that should have been avoided, and it needed a stronger editorial hand.
February 6, 2021
This book would have been better for me if it had been condensed a bit. There were times it dragged on and it seemed best to skim whole pages because the actions were so similar day after day.
May 4, 2019
This was a heart stopper in many places. Is Douglas Island haunted, cursed, or protected by ... ? These are all the questions that need to be answered by Special Agent Craig Frasier and his psychologist girlfriend Kieran Finnegan when they go to Douglas Island to help his cousin Finn Douglas. Finn wakes one morning to find his best friend dead at the bottom of the cliffs on his island. The island is bathed in mystery, myths, and legends. It has been said that it was inhabited by Vikings, the Norse, pirates, English redcoats, and Native Americans all of whom left because of fear! What is really happening on this island is the mystery that Craig, Kieran, Danny (Kieran's brother), FBI Agent Mike Dalton, and Agent Bracken Silverheels, a Special Agent that specializes in cave, want to find out before more bodies start stacking up on the bottom of the cliffs. I sometimes had a hard time listening to the book because someone had fallen down a shaft and I was just terrified! I do not like enclosed spaces! I would be a basket case and worried about being buried alive! Heather writes so that the reader is there in the caves and in the house. They are in the dark caves, hearing noises, and finding strange items. They can hear people entering their bedrooms or some other room while they shower. Kieran keeps seeing lights on the top of the cliffs while no one else sees them. I had my list of suspects as soon as the characters were revealed. I was both right and wrong in my conclusions! I was scared when characters walked alone in the house or outside. Who or what is behind all the problems on Douglas Island? You will have to read it, or listen to it to find out the answers.
April 22, 2019
Set on Douglas Island rift with caves and superstition off the coast of New York State, “A Lethal Legacy” opens when Special Agent Craig Frasier is called by his cousin Finn Douglas to investigate the brutal murder of his friend Frank Landon. Found lying on the beach below the cliff, the word “aliens” scrawled beside Frank’s body, Craig with the assistance of criminal psychologist Kieran Finnegan and her brother Danny begin delving into the bloody past of the island with its tales of hidden treasure looking for the killer who stoned him to death.
Building an eerie atmosphere, intensity and suspense climb as Craig, his partner FBI Agent Mike Dalton, Kieran and Agent Bracken Silverheels, an expert climber and spelunker begin exploring the caves near the cliff while Danny Finnegan looks into a UFO Conspiracy Group, and an academic who’s written about the island. Well-written and intense Heather Graham keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as Kieran begins seeing a light at night; with creepy servants; and searches in their rooms. Fast-paced the action never slows as the danger mounts as Craig and Kieran draw closer to the truth.
Included among the list of compelling characters are relentless, smart and perceptive Special Agent Craig Fisher; suspicious, clever and persistent Kieran Finnegan; her flirtatious, charming and personable brother Danny Finnegan; kind and caring Finn Douglas; and his girlfriend self-centered and spoiled gold digger Elayne Anderson.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 4th book in the New York Confidential series “A Lethal Legacy”, a gripping page-turner from beginning to end.
Building an eerie atmosphere, intensity and suspense climb as Craig, his partner FBI Agent Mike Dalton, Kieran and Agent Bracken Silverheels, an expert climber and spelunker begin exploring the caves near the cliff while Danny Finnegan looks into a UFO Conspiracy Group, and an academic who’s written about the island. Well-written and intense Heather Graham keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as Kieran begins seeing a light at night; with creepy servants; and searches in their rooms. Fast-paced the action never slows as the danger mounts as Craig and Kieran draw closer to the truth.
Included among the list of compelling characters are relentless, smart and perceptive Special Agent Craig Fisher; suspicious, clever and persistent Kieran Finnegan; her flirtatious, charming and personable brother Danny Finnegan; kind and caring Finn Douglas; and his girlfriend self-centered and spoiled gold digger Elayne Anderson.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 4th book in the New York Confidential series “A Lethal Legacy”, a gripping page-turner from beginning to end.
September 1, 2021
This was my least favorite out of the series so far. It started strong and pulled me right in...it had great potential. But I definitely lost interest relatively quickly. There was just WAY to much history in this book. Ancient history, Norse history, New York history...you name it, they talked about it. The story was slowed down by all the history exposition. The caves and island were really interesting, and had the potential to be a much stronger part of the story. The first three books were definitely slow burns for me, and this started out good but turned into a slow burn, too. I felt like the story just creeped along at a snail's pace. There was no Finnegan's on Broadway in this one, since it was set on Douglas Island, but Danny made a very strong appearance.
All in all, not a terrible book, although it left a little to be desired. I usually give the books in this series three stars, but I really had the hardest time getting through this one. But if you enjoyed the first three books or like a stubborn, always-getting-herself-into-a-pickle heroine, then by all means read this book.
*I've noticed slight editing errors in each book, but this one definitely had one glaring error. While Kieran and Craig were in the bedroom, it said that Finn (Craig's cousin) took off his clothes to join Kieran...please, if the editors or publishers are reading this, hire me to do your editing.*
All in all, not a terrible book, although it left a little to be desired. I usually give the books in this series three stars, but I really had the hardest time getting through this one. But if you enjoyed the first three books or like a stubborn, always-getting-herself-into-a-pickle heroine, then by all means read this book.
*I've noticed slight editing errors in each book, but this one definitely had one glaring error. While Kieran and Craig were in the bedroom, it said that Finn (Craig's cousin) took off his clothes to join Kieran...please, if the editors or publishers are reading this, hire me to do your editing.*
April 1, 2019
This is the 4th book from Graham's New York Confidential series. And this one has the whole gang from Finnegan's back including Kiernan, Craig, Danny and the FBI boys. Also joining the party are the Ark of the Covenant, Aliens, bank robbers, Vikings and Knights of the Templar. This book is a bit much.
It focuses on an island just off New York owned by the family of Craig's cousin Finn. Finn was planning on opening a resort on the island for New Yorkers to just get away for a while. The island appears to be cursed however when Finn's best friend and business partner Richard is killed while exploring the caves. When his body is found it appears he has written the word ALIEN in the sand. The only people known to be on the island when he was killed were Finn, his girlfriend and Richard's girlfriend. Finn calls his cousin Craig, an FBI agent to help. Kiernan goes with him to the island and the "adventure" begins.
Lots of history regarding the island and the people who are believed to have been on the island in the past. The ending seemed crammed in to make it fit. Not much to match the build up.
It focuses on an island just off New York owned by the family of Craig's cousin Finn. Finn was planning on opening a resort on the island for New Yorkers to just get away for a while. The island appears to be cursed however when Finn's best friend and business partner Richard is killed while exploring the caves. When his body is found it appears he has written the word ALIEN in the sand. The only people known to be on the island when he was killed were Finn, his girlfriend and Richard's girlfriend. Finn calls his cousin Craig, an FBI agent to help. Kiernan goes with him to the island and the "adventure" begins.
Lots of history regarding the island and the people who are believed to have been on the island in the past. The ending seemed crammed in to make it fit. Not much to match the build up.
March 25, 2020
A Lethal Legacy was another great thriller from Heather Graham. While she’s sometimes listed under the romance category, the ones I’ve read have stuck enough to the detective/thriller genre to keep me from gagging.
While this story had a bit of romance in it, it wasn’t overwhelming and it was a true murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns, right to the end. I can say I had a great time. While I’m no armchair detective, I did venture to guess the real bad guys, at least idly. I was only right because I suspected everyone, but in the end I was still surprised.
The writing was excellent with solid third-person, mostly limited and past-tense. There were few chapters, but the scenes weren’t overly long. While I like to read during commercials a lot, I quite often had to leave off in the middle of pages and found myself reading over bits I already covered. That was a bit annoying but not to the point it stopped my enjoyment of the book. It’s also a sacrifice I willingly make so I can hold a physical book instead of an e-book.
I had a great time, and this was a fun read where the writing didn’t get in the way of the story. Highly recommended.
While this story had a bit of romance in it, it wasn’t overwhelming and it was a true murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns, right to the end. I can say I had a great time. While I’m no armchair detective, I did venture to guess the real bad guys, at least idly. I was only right because I suspected everyone, but in the end I was still surprised.
The writing was excellent with solid third-person, mostly limited and past-tense. There were few chapters, but the scenes weren’t overly long. While I like to read during commercials a lot, I quite often had to leave off in the middle of pages and found myself reading over bits I already covered. That was a bit annoying but not to the point it stopped my enjoyment of the book. It’s also a sacrifice I willingly make so I can hold a physical book instead of an e-book.
I had a great time, and this was a fun read where the writing didn’t get in the way of the story. Highly recommended.
June 7, 2019
Special Agent Craig Frasier's cousin, Finn Douglas owns the notorious Douglas Island that sits off the coast of New York State. It is a beautiful island that no one lives one because it has imposing cliffs that are dangerous and stories of it being haunted that has been going on for centuries. Even with all of this Finn sees nothing but possibilities for the beautiful piece of land. He talk his father into letting him fix up the rambling manor house, clean the landscape and with his vision turn it into a retreat for people to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. That was until he finds the body of his bestfriend/business partner at the bottom of the cliff. While the police thinks its an accident Finn fears its not. He calls Craig who with the live of his life, psychologist Kieran Finnegan agrees to come out to take a look and the both agree it wasnt an accident but who on the island is a murderer and what are they willing to kill for to keep their secerts.
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