The first in Castle's Ghost Hunters series, set on the planet Harmony, where the colonists use psi technology to power their cars and toasters, and where "hunters" and "tanglers" are necessary to explore the alien ruins underground. This is a little rough around the edges compared to later volumes in the series, but worth a read.

A disgraced para-archaeologist joins forces with an ex-Guild boss to track down his missing nephew, solve a murder, and catch some artifact thieves. As usual, the dust-bunny steals the show.

Castle is one of the few authors of 'paranormal romances' who actually gets the fantastic elements right. ( )

The first in Castle's Ghost Hunters series, set on the planet Harmony, where the colonists use psi technology to power their cars and toasters, and where "hunters" and "tanglers" are necessary to explore the alien ruins underground. This is a little rough around the edges compared to later volumes in the series, but worth a read.

A disgraced para-archaeologist joins forces with an ex-Guild boss to track down his missing nephew, solve a murder, and catch some artifact thieves. As usual, the dust-bunny steals the show.

Castle is one of the few authors of 'paranormal romances' who actually gets the fantastic elements right. ( )

After Dark is a solid sci-fi/supernatural mystery/thriller which rather downplayed the romance for the plot. Not that this is a bad thing, I thought it made the few bedroom scenes more interesting rather than redundant, as they can sometimes get.

In this story Lydia, a psy-rez tangler (you'll have to read the book for a full definition!) has discovered her quasi friend/rival murdered in the curio museum she works at. What is worse is that she is not only considered a suspect, but that she is being questioned in front of the first client she'd had want to hire her for her para-archeology experience. Said client, businessman Emmet London has an agenda of his own. Never expecting to get caught up with Lydia, her pet dust bunny or her teen next-door neighbor, he finds himself irrevocably wrapped up in a mystery that could lead both him and Lydia to the greatest find in para-archeological history.

I really enjoyed the interaction between Lydia and Emmet, although I rather enjoyed Emmet's personality a bit more than Lydia's. She tended to seem a little pious and biased about issues in the story (particularly about Emmet's background.) I do understand that this was intentional on the part of the author, but it didn't make me feel any kinder toward her. I absolutely loved Fuzz, he is one of the best pet/sidekick creatures I've read about. Certainly a unique little guy! The made-up science of the plot line was very cool as well. Reading about Lydia and Emmet and how they do what they do sort of reminded me of the bio-feedback techniques I learned about in psychology class, just with a more physical application.

I'd certainly recommend this one to people who enjoy sci-fi/mystery stories with a bit of romance, which seems like it is a relatively small genre. I've certainly not read many that fit into that description.

I'm pretty certain there is a sequel to this story involving these same characters and I am absolutely going to have to find and read it. ( )

Another futuristic romance set beyond the Curtain, this time on Harmony. The residents of harmony have different psychic gifts than those of St. Helens. They are able to use amber and psi energy to power everything from cars to televisions. Some are more gifted in that they can manipulate 'ghosts' and untangle 'traps' left in the old cities built by the former residents of the planet. These people are para-archaeologists and ghost hunters. Lydia and Emmett are just such a team, trying to find Emmett's nephew and a family heirloom he stole, they uncover something much more valuable, and dangerous.
I enjoyed this story. The world of ghost hunters and tanglers is intriguing. The mystery was complicated and well-written, even though it was a bit predictable. I never thought I'd be attracted to a hero named "Emmett" though! ( )

Didn't realize when I checked this out from my library that it was a sci-fi romance story. The sci-fi was a pretty good plot, but the romance was a bit lacking. Definitely not what I'm used to from this author, but I'm intrigued enough to check out the rest on this series. ( )