Thank you NetGalley for a prerelease of Death Behind Every Door. This story drew me in at the beginning. There was mystery, suspense, intrigue, etc. However, it became like groundhog’s day - visit after visit to castle hotels where the main characters ‘played the victim’. I wish there would’ve been a way tell the storyline without the repetitiveness.

new-series, first-in-series, paranormal, action, romance, mystery, witty, Scotland, FBI, undercover, international-crime-and-mystery, disappearance, suspense, intrigue, historical-places-events, historical-research****

The author still crafts an excellent tale filled with action and suspense. BUT. It was a real trial for me to read as it is NOT TTS ENABLED. As a history geek, I enjoy the repetitive retelling of some historical facts.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA via NetGalley.

Death Behind Every Door is the first installment of the Blackbird Files by Heather Graham.

I am no stranger to Heather Grahams writing and her Krewe of Hunters series, but I do feel like an introduction to some of the characters would have benefited new readers, as this is a new spin off series and I could see how readers could possibly feel like they have been thrown into the middle of a storyline that they have no background on.

I really enjoyed the main premise of the book, which is tracking down the leader of the H.H. Holmes Society, which in turn would stop the murder and disappearances of tourists in and around Scotland. With a little bit of romance and some paranormal elements, this book had all the right elements to be a great read, it just needed a little bit more of both for me to really love it.

One of the issues I had with this book was the massive amount of unnecessary history lessons. I do appreciate the backstory on H.H. Holmes, but the Scottish history was a bit much and unnecessary to the plot. I found myself putting the book down and reading something else because it wasn’t as fast paced as some of her other works.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and will not give up on the Blackbird Files just yet.

"Heather Graham's new series, 'The Blackbird Files,' offers a thrilling dive into the world of espionage and intrigue. While it promises an exciting premise, it might not captivate every reader. Despite its potential, it wasn't my personal favorite. Graham's signature style shines through, but the execution might leave some longing for more depth and character development. Nonetheless, for fans of the genre, it's worth exploring for its fast-paced plot and engaging narrative." I’ve loved all her books but this one did not reel me in like her other ones. Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this early.

I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

“People check in—and they don’t check out”. This book will keep you on a journey through history, the countryside and old castles. Luke and Carly will be paired up on a search for a society on a killing spree.

Will they be in time to prevent more deaths or will they end up dead themselves?

The book is a quick read. It is an unusually action packed story for this series. Generally you find out what happened and then have time to sit and learn about what is going on and the characters. In this book hero and heroine were dealing with bad folks every day and sometimes twice a day. It was interesting as it drew parallels to historic events. It is worth the time with the expectations it has a different rhythm from other books in the series.

Death Behind Every Door by Heather Graham

Story had a good premise and plot and the characters were likable.

My issues with the story are that it seemed to be rather repetitive. The H&h go from one place to another and quickly catch the bad-guys. Seemed rather easy for them. Also, Everyone is oh so nice and complementary to everyone else… international organizations that have absolutely no issues with each other! Amazing! Last issue is that every other person had auburn hair! I’ve lived in Scotland and while there are more redheads per capita there, it’s not that many!

All in all, I was left with a great knowledge of Scottish history and also, an in-depth knowledge of the serial killer HH Holmes murder organization’s history but was left wanting… wanting a meatier plot line and one where all the confrontations weren’t so rushed.

This was a strong start to the Blackbird Files series, I enjoyed getting to read this and how everything worked in this story. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed how they were written. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Heather Graham.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this earc

Sadly, this one wasn’t great. I’ve read a few Krewe of Hunters books so I thought this one would be just as good. But there were just too many things I couldn’t overlook.

One, even if a series is a spin off, author can never assume that the reader read other book. Especially when this technically is a first book in a series. We’re thrown in the middle of the scene without any explanation.

The first 40% of the book was all over the place. All the scenes were rushed and choppy. I couldn’t understand how they were catching every bad guy within a hour of getting there.

The history was interesting but took over the story at many points. There were bunch of the characters added to every scene, so you don’t feel like you have time to get to know any of them enough to care about them.

The relationship between the main character didn’t feel like anything. So when they “got together” I couldn’t care less.

And of course, one thing that drove me crazy the most was how many times characters were told to “get some sleep”. Honestly it just felt like bad editing.

Overall all the issues took away from what could have been an interesting story.

Death Behind Every Door (The Blackbird Files #1) by Heather Graham
This was a great start to a new trilogy/spinoff series. Carly and Luke are both part of the American Krewe, they are sent to Scotland to take down a network of killers. I liked that this was a different format than the regular mystery book. There was interesting history, angst, some romance and some heat, Can’t wait to read the next!
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Haunting Great world building Page-turner Romantic Twisted Unpredictable Witty Action-packed Easy-to-read Informative Wonderful characters Scary.

A thrilling new spin-off series from Heather Graham's Krewe of Hunter books. FBI agent Luke Kendrick is determined to find the leader of the H.H Holmes society who slipped through his fingers last time. Society is using the dark web to recruit people to emulate the infamous H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer and owner of the notorious "Murder Hotel." Working internationally with the new Blackbird branch of the Krewe of Hunters, he finds himself in beautiful Scotland, where tourists are disappearing. Also working the case is FBI agent Carly MacDonald; she is relatively new to the Krewe but believes in their mission and is happy to have a work environment where she can be herself. All the Krewe can see and communicate with spirits like her. With the help of the Scottish authorities, can these two agents bring down the leader of a murder society and stop his acolytes from killing more innocent people?

Heather Graham has once again masterfully blended the paranormal, action, and romance genres, creating a unique reading experience. Perfect for readers who love mystery, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat, guessing who the mysterious H.H. Holmes is. A quick and exciting read, it's sure to leave you wanting more from the Krewe and the new Blackbird group of the agency.

Disclaimer: While I received a free advanced reader copy of this novel, my thoughts, and opinions on it are solely my own.

History is a fascinating thing. Sometimes is way darker than others. H. H Holmes was Americas first serial killer. So a secret society of followers dedicated to following in his footsteps doesn’t surprise me a bit and oh boy are they crazy evil.

Graystone Castle is now a bed-and-breakfast. But from what we’re hearing…” “What?” Luke asked. “It’s just like ‘Hotel California,’” Mason said dryly. “From what we’ve learned so far, people check in—and they don’t check out.”

Luke Kendrick has come in contact with this society before and it scared him.

Carly MacDonald did help when it came to tamping down the demon monsters that plagued his mind.

Carly is upbeat and full of historical knowledge. A undercover FBI agent with roots in Scotland.

I’m be been reading this author for many years and have enjoyed her dedication to history and great stories. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the repetitive retelling of some historical facts. I just didn’t feel like that was necessary.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. You should read it!

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Well, I found this a bit disappointing. I loved this author with her Krewe of hunters, that could see and talk to ghosts. Now, the paranormal element is lacking, and seems to be replaced with significant history lessons, which really does not add to the story. I found myself often skipping over the parts to get back to the story. And, maybe a little thing, but I felt there was a overuse of the exclamation point.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

I was disappointed in this book. It was obvious the author did a tremendous amount of research but put way too much history in the book. It felt like a history lesson in spots. I skipped over pages of the book. The plot of the story was good but the story would have been much better without the distraction of too much history. I have enjoyed other books by this author so I will read her again. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This was a great start to a new trilogy/spinoff series. Carly and Luke are both part of the American Krewe, but they are sent to Scotland to try and bring down a network of killers. I liked that this was a different format than the regular mystery book—kept it fast paced from beginning to end. Can’t wait to read the next! I highly recommend.

Suspense with every turn of the page! Heather Graham did it again, writing a book that not only is filled with thrills but also with a touch of history and romance! A page turner!

Luke Kendrick is an FBI agent who discovered a society of killers using the calling card of H. H. Holmes, America's first serial killer. Luke is partnered with Special Agent Carly MacDonald, and together they head to Scotland to find out where and who the killers are and save whatever victims there are. Through their journey, they find out that someone is leading the society through a website and they're recruiting more killers. Luke and Carly race against time with help from their clairvoyant abilities in an effort to find the head of the society and finally put a stop to them.
This book wasn't for me, I was not the target audience. I was really excited to start this book, I was really into the idea of a mystery novel because I read a lot of mystery and historical fiction as a child. The beginning of this book was really fun and I feel like it captured my interest quickly, then it lost me. I'm not a person who's big into small talk, so reading small talk in a book was rough. I also felt like they're was aspects of the book that didn't reach full potential. There was some "romance" in the book, honestly I feel like it didn't need to be there because it was minimal. There's also a supernatural aspect, but it was randomly dropped in. First, if you're gonna do that in a mystery, I expect more ghosts, especially since they're visiting historical sights. Second, the ghosts they talked to were ancient and Scottish, I want to barely understand what they're saying. The action parts were fun, I wish more stuff would've happened. I also wish that stuff didn't work for them all the time, like they were always right and there was barely any trouble. I wanted to feel distraught, instead I felt bored.

“Death behind every door” focuses on the inspiration from “America’s first serial killer” (also with references to the same individual being connected to UKs notorious “Jack the ripper).

In present day there is a secret society spread across the globe who are using the inspiration of Herman Mudgett (aka H. H. Holmes) murder dungeon methods and set up.

It is unknown just how many members are involved in this society, and how many missing persons are actually previous victims.

What we do know are field agents Luke and Carly are teamed up as new partners and sent from the USA to Scotland to locate and apprehend members who are actively killing in the hopes of gathering intel that will allow to crime team to take down the society as a whole.

I really enjoyed the chemistry and newly formed relationship between the two agents. Although they were both used to working alone they quickly fell in step with one another and seemed to care about each other in earnest.

I loved the whole plot breathing life to historical serial killers as well as the present modern day secret society aspect. Serial killers all over the world in secret communications as they enact heinous crimes definitely sends a shiver down the spine, but makes for an entertaining read.

I enjoyed the fast pacing and the friendly dialogue between international and local police enforcement, as well as watching the investigations and undercover work taking place.

I look forward to the next instalments in this series!

Thank you to Heather Graham, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the EARC!

Publish date; May 21st