The Betrayed by Heather Graham

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Heather Graham's latest Krewe of Hunters title, The Betrayed.

When local politician Richard Highsmith disappears while campaigning in Sleepy Hollow, friend and FBI agent Aiden Mahoney is sent to investigate. Highsmith is soon discovered, the victim of a macabre and brutal murder. His head is found on a Headless Horseman statue and his body later discovered laid out in a nearby mausoleum. Were it Highsmith alone some might theorize the killing was politically motivated but when a second headless body and decapitated head - this time an unidentified woman - are discovered, investigators must assume the worst: there's a killer stalking their historic town. The murderer's motive and identity are a complete mystery and would be bad news anywhere, but for a town that thrives on tourism at the height of the Halloween season nothing could be worse. 

Having read this one so close on the heels of The Hexed I found the overall structure of the story to be just a tad bit on the formulaic side. We're introduced to Aiden with his hearing the voice of his friend (similar in a way to our meeting Rocky). Aiden and Mo meeting is kind of similar as well (she falls into him during a hunt for a body while Devin literally runs into Rocky after discovering one). The pairing off of the characters and the evolution of the romance is quite similar too.

All of that said, I still enjoyed this latest from Graham. The characters are by no means cookie cutter copies of Rocky and Devin. And who can resist any story featuring Sleepy Hollow and the legend of the Headless Horseman as elements? The fact that Mo is friendly with Irving's "essence" is a fun bonus and her ghostly pals are amusing (even if they too are reminiscent of Devin's great aunt).

Where Graham really excels in my opinion is in capturing the feel of her setting. As in The Hexed, the attention to detail and the incorporation of history into The Betrayed give it a really excellent context and atmosphere.

The Betrayed is the fourteenth installment in the Krewe of Hunters series. As with The Hexed it can easily be read on its own or as a starting point for readers who may be new to the series.

Rating: 3/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. 

For more on Heather Graham and the Krewe of Hunters, you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.