To human for me. ( )

Slow start but good story. I’m part Irish and the history folk tales in this story helped bring the Emerald Isle alive for me. I particularly liked the values it shows of strong families and friends that are there to the end! I really enjoyed this book. ( )

Deadly Gift is the seventh of Ms. Graham's books I've read since January, and so far it's the only one I had no trouble at all putting down. I read four other books during the 15 days it took me to get through this one.

The Lovecraft fan in me liked the fact that the bulk of the book is set in Rhode Island, H. P.'s home state. The prologue even made me wonder if the author was going to do a homage to The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I'm part Irish, so I certainly didn't mind the chapters set in Dublin.

The Irish maiden aunt, Bridey O'Reilly, who was convinced there was a banshee in her nephew's big house, was a fine character. I enjoyed her dreams and her two biggest scenes (I was rather expecting the second one).

Caer Cavannaugh is different from the other Graham romantic heroines I've read about. We find out early on that she's not what she seems. The author takes her time letting us know more about her, teasing us with possibilities.

Zach Flynn, the youngest of the Flynn brothers, was nicer to Caer in the beginning than his brothers were to the women they went on to marry, but he's suspicious. Someone is trying to murder wealthy old Sean O'Reilly. Could it be his beautiful nurse?

Sean was one of the Flynns' late father's best friends. He's been like an uncle to them since their parents died. His daughter, Kat, is like the younger sister they never had. (Zach's even gotten Kat started on her career as a professional singer. The woman is talented and beautiful.)

Sean was a widower for years before he married his trophy second wife, Amanda, who is 31 to his 76. Kat hates Amanda. She's sure that her stepmother is the reason her father took ill and almost died while in Dublin. The worst we know about Amanda is that she's as shallow as she is beautiful and rude to employees. Is she an airhead or a cunning would-be murderess?

Kat calls Zach in both because she's worried about her father and because Eddie Ray, her father's old friend and business partner, has disappeared. Could Eddie's disappearance have anything to do with a treasure he and Sean have been discussing and hunting for years? (The treasure has to do with an American Revolution spy made up for this book.)

There are scenes that make me think of both Lovecraft's 'The Dunwich Horror' and a famous Alfred Hitchcock movie. The red herrings are plentiful. The older Flynn brothers get to help out. So does Jeremy's wife, Rowena. (It seems strange to me that neither Jeremy nor Rowena remark on the fact that Rowena's maiden name was identical to Caer's except for having one 'n' instead of two.) We even get to find out out the sex and name of Aidan and Kendall's baby during the epilogue. So why didn't I like this book as much as the first two in the triology?

I guess I didn't care as much about Zach and Caer. Still, it's worth reading.

Notes:

See chapter 2 for Sean telling Caer about the treasure.

See chapter 5 for the 'treat' Amanda arranged for Sean while he was in that Dublin hospital. (I loved the nurse's reaction.) This is also the chapter for a bit of information about Dublin itself.

See chapter 11 for Zach telling Caer about his family and vice-versa. (I enjoyed the first version she told him.)

No pets this time, although dog lovers might be pleased that Kat's favorite stuffed toy is
a collie. ( )

This one was just as good as the last one. ( )

I have to say out of the three books, this was the best. It had more substance than the other two and I enjoyed the twist at the end. ( )