Audible Book Review: After Dark: Ghost Hunters, Book 1 by Jayne Castle

This solid paranormal romance makes an engaging listen. 
After Dark: Ghost Hunters, Book 1
Written by: Jayne Castle
Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
Series: Ghost Hunters
Format: Unabridged
Release Date:06-01-09
Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Genre: Paranormal Romance
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
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 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 the sarcophagus exhibit. 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.
©2007 Jayne Castle; (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Review:
Lydia Smith lives in a world with alien past that left tunnels full of dangers of ghostly attackers and webs of traps that disrupt the victims memories and sanity. Although a strong woman, Lydia is struggling back from a bad incident that others believe has impacted her abilities as a para-archaeologist. She has been let go by University officials who do not think she can be trusted to preform her ghost trap untangling skills on future expeditions. Lydia has developed a strong distrust for ghost hunters as she feels that the two who were with her on the disastrous trip failed to protect her when it was their job.

Lydia is working at a low-budge museum while she tries to rebuild her reputation helping private clients. She didn’t need the difficulties of finding a friend dead in a museum exhibit. She is glad to track down an artifact for her first major client, Emmet London, until she learns he is a powerful ghost hunter and considered a rather influential and dangerous man. But she can’t afford not to fulfill their contract.

Emmet is attracted to Lydia and he is willing to give her a chance to regain her reputation. When her apartment is attacked, Emmet suspects that his investigation may be drawing danger to her so he decides he will have to stick close by to make sure she is safe. Lydia isn't happy when Emmet pulls her into some political wrangling with the local guild boss and his new wife.

Trust is a fragile thing and it takes a bit for Lydia and Emmet to open up. Their initial at-odds relationship slowly grows into more even though they try to resist temptation. I enjoyed the reluctant attraction between these two head strong characters and the mystery and danger added a good element of suspense. I love the cuddly and fierce pet dust bunny.

Audio Notes: I found this book much more satisfying than the later book, Ghost Hunter, that I listened to out of order in the series. I think this may be attributed to the narrator as I was much more comfortable with the narration by Joyce Beau of this story. She managed to give appropriate strength to the characters and still convey some vulnerabilities as well. The narration added to the romance to make this an engaging listen.

This book is from my own Audible library.

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