I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
People In Glass Houses by Jayne Castle, Jayne Ann Krentz Series: Ghost Hunters #16
Published by berkley on May 7, 2024
Genres: PNR
Pages: 313
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
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Dive into the alien world of Harmony in this new novel by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Castle.
His name is Joshua Knight. Once a respected explorer, the press now calls him the Tarnished Knight. He took the fall for a disaster in the Underworld that destroyed his career. The devastating event occurred in the newly discovered sector known as Glass House—a maze of crystal that is rumored to conceal powerful Alien antiquities. The rest of the Hollister Expedition team disappeared and are presumed dead.
Whatever happened down in the tunnels scrambled Josh’s psychic senses and his memories, but he’s determined to uncover the truth. Labeled delusional and paranoid, he retreats to an abandoned mansion in the desert, a house filled with mirrors. Now a recluse, Josh spends his days trying to discover the secrets in the looking glasses that cover the walls. He knows he is running out of time.
Talented, ambitious crystal artist Molly Griffin is shocked to learn that the Tarnished Knight has been located. She drops everything and heads for the mansion to find Josh, confident she can help him regain control of his shattered senses. She has no choice—he is the key to finding her sister, Leona, a member of the vanished expedition team. Josh reluctantly allows her to stay one night but there are two rules: she must not go down into the basement, and she must not uncover the mirrors that have been draped.
But her only hope for finding her sister is to break the rules…
This is book 16 in Jayne Castle’s Ghost Hunters/Harmony series, but it can be read as as standalone, so don’t let that intimidate you.
This book opens with a couple of little girls who are playing on a swing set when one of them is kidnapped. While she is rescued almost immediately, when we fast forward to the present, we see that her kidnapping is still relevant.
Molly Griffin needs Joshua Knight. Her sister is missing and he is her only link, her only clue, her only hope. But the problem is that Joshua Knight doesn’t want to be found.
Joshua Knight was the leader for an academic archaeology team. He was to navigate them into the uncharted area called the Glass House, but that team has been missing for a month, and his mind is fractured. He somehow made it out of the alien tunnels alive, and in a weird abandoned house. But he can’t find the team, he can’t remember what happened, how he escaped, or why he’s alive when everyone else is presumed dead.
One of the missing archaeologists is Molly’s sister. And Molly’s convinced not only is her sister alive, but that she can help Joshua. So she hunts him down and it turns out that he lives in the weird abandoned house he woke up in. The house has its own unknown energy source and weird things happen, especially at night. The town is convinced the house is cursed so they give Joshua the house since he’s been staying there anyway. They just want it off their hands.
When Molly finds him, Joshua tries to push her away since he thinks the house is dangerous, and he’s not in his right mind. What he doesn’t know is that Molly is able to fix his fractured memory and burnt out talent.
This is a case of the two main characters being stronger together than apart, and I really love that. This author is always good about having strong and independent characters who compliment each other. There is always a fun pet dust bunny, and I really do love that aspect of this series. This book has the crazy weird house as its own character as well. If you haven’t read the Harmony/Ghost Hunters series, you’re in for a treat. This series is light, fun, and it’s something different out there in the realm of Paranormal Romance.
***ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
