The Presence (MIRA)
The Presence (MIRA) book cover

The Presence (MIRA)

Mass Market Paperback – August 25, 2004

by
Price
$9.48
Publisher
MIRA
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0778320746
Dimensions
4.22 x 1.13 x 6.61 inches
Weight
7.7 ounces

Description

From Publishers Weekly As a child, Toni Fraser has chillingly accurate dreams of murders about to be committed, a psychic gift she suppresses. Years later, Toni and five friends follow a real-life dream: they procure a ruined Scottish castle and turn it into a tourist attraction, highlighted by a faux historical show Toni scripts about a murderously passionate Cromwellian-period laird, Bruce MacNiall. Of course, the laird is fictional, as is Toni's terrifying tale of his wife's strangling. Or so it seems—until an angry kilted hunk thunders onstage one night atop a black stallion, claiming to be the castle's absentee owner, Bruce MacNiall. Ghost? Not likely. But when several missing girls are found strangled to death in the surrounding forest, it certainly appears that some murderous spirit is very much alive. The author's seamless incorporation of just a few supernatural elements into an otherwise solidly real situation makes the nightmarish threat believable. But more than anything, Graham's ( Haunted , etc.) deft characterization of Toni and her friends (who are as funny and familiar as the cast of "Friends"), and especially the laird, mysterious but never one-dimensionally goth, keeps interest in the book's romance, as well as its suspense, high. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist As a girl, Toni Fraser had vivid nightmares that perfectly depicted real murders in real time. As an adult, she and four friends and her Scottish cousin rent a dilapidated Highlands castle and renovate it as the backdrop for dramatic reenactments. Unfortunately, the castle's rightful owner, laird Bruce MacNiall, who looks like a hero in Toni's stories, is shocked to find them there. But he doesn't boot the Americans out; he just wants them to stay out of the woods, where it becomes apparent that a serial killer has been disposing of the bodies of young women. Toni, who has always feared her paranormal talents, is then contacted by a ghost who looks just like the current laird and who seems intent on making her solve a centuries-old mystery. As the current mystery entwines with the mystery from the past, historical interludes add depth to Graham's enticingly suspenseful contemporary tale as Toni and Bruce become irresistibly attracted to each other. Diana Tixier Herald Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She's a winner of the RWA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers' Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • The Presence by Heather Graham released on Aug 25, 2004 is available now for purchase.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(631)
★★★★
25%
(263)
★★★
15%
(158)
★★
7%
(74)
★
-7%
(-75)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Good book, but too many different styles

I enjoyed reading The Presence, but it did have some problems that might bother other readers who aren't already fans of Ms. Graham's.

The story is a blend of historical romance, contemporary thriller, light humorous romance with a little ghost story tossed in too. Each of the elements is okay and the author blended them all in an interesting way, but the book would have been better if the author has perhaps used one or two less of them and concentrated more on the others. I was left with the impression that three short stories by different authors had been shuffled together.

The paranormal part was perhaps the weakest to me. The heroine is supposedly a very, very strong psychic and the opening chapter is pretty dark and violent. It leads you to believe the rest of the book will be similar, and there are parts that are, but mostly, the seriousness of the opening isn't carried through.

The main portion of the book is made up of the light, contemporary romance of the new Laird MacNiall and heroine Toni. Of course, both are the spitting images of the old Laird and Annalise, setting up the ghost story. The relationship between Toni and MacNiall is written well and is the best part of the book. Their dialogue is funny and the romance is steamy. MacNiall is a very old-fashioned hero most of the time and Toni is probably the epitome of a feisty American.

The worst parts: the big serial killer murder mystery is a huge dud. One victim isn't even a victim, the killer has the strangest motive, there are implausible red herrings and resolutions everywhere and the supporting characters are inconsistent (Gina, Ryan and Thayer, in particular). The promise of a dark paranormal psychic story is unfulfilled for the most part; the heavy and atmospheric quality of the psychic storyline is diluted very heavily by the other areas.

This was still a good book and was an easy read over the course of an afternoon. I liked the lead characters a lot, but felt overall the author muddied up their story in the interest of producing a paranormal story similar to Kay Hooper's writing. This appears to be the beginning of a series, also very much like Hooper's, with an older man heading up a group of psychic detectives.
14 people found this helpful
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Couldn't decide what kind of book it is

This was one of those books that was alittle bit paranormal, alittle bit suspense, alittle bit gothic , and a little bit romance, also there is some time travel aspect. To tell you the truth each one needed abit more to make it enjoyable.

First we have a psychic who has shut down her powers when she was a child, The descriptions at the begining sound like a seer psychic, later on they tell us she is a medium. But in the book she only sees one ghost and he isn't very scary.

We have dead bodies appearing in the forest. We have a laird who comes home unexpectedly and finds his castle has been rented by a group of friends who put on a performance of history art for tourists.

The ghost appears and leads our heroine, toni, around the castle at night but no one believes her.

Toni and the laird seem to jump in bed at the drop of a hat. He doesn't believe her even though he has had an unexplained experience himself, when he was a cop hunting a killer. Some things are never explained. If this is romance, spare me.

The killer is obvious and with everything else going on there is very little revealed about him until the last few pages. There is very little revealed about his motivations and with only 3 bodies found over 1 and 1/2 years, somewhat slow. The search for the latest victim is not very well done. Maybe because this is Scotland?

If you start this book, you will probably be like me and finish it, but it left alot to be explained and by the end you are so tired of the mess you just want to finish.
7 people found this helpful
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A Little Something For Everyone!!!

Ms. Graham's "The Presence" offers a little something for everyone. This is a paranormal, historical, contemporary romance that will entertain readers with wonderful details and characters.

Toni Fraser and a few of her good friends have combined all that they have in order to rent a true Scottish castle. There plan...to entertain tourist with a tragic story regarding the castle and it's Laird. They have put a lot of work into their dream and just when they start doing well with their tour and then the impossible happens. The Laird returns. Toni's made up Laird is actually a flesh and blood man, and the history she has created is eerily real. But, when bodies of young women are found murdered and Toni's dreams seem to be just to lifelike to ignore questions start to be asked. Just who is this man and could he have anything to do with the murders?

This was a well paced read, and Ms. Graham combined a lot of different aspects into a well rounded read. They mystery surrounding the plot of the murdered women will keep the reader engaged, and if that's not enough, the chemistry between Bruce and Toni will. Her descriptive prose will transport you to Scotland both present day and past. This is one read that I recommend for fan's of both Paranormal and Suspense genres.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs
4 people found this helpful
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Good but somewhat dissappointing

I am a huge fan of Heather Graham/Shannon Drake. I love her style of writing. After reading Haunted, I was a little dissappointed with The Presence. I had already guessed who the killer was and found the ending to be predictable and kind of abrupt. There were some misleading statements made by the other characters which were ignored and not explained by the ending of the book. It is still a good read but not as good as her other works.

I would recommend Haunted anyday over The Presence.
3 people found this helpful
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The Presence

Toni Fraser and her friends have come to Scotland to rent a run-down castle and turn it into a tourist attraction by putting on medieval performances that combine fact and fiction. This will include local history, murder and an imaginary laird named Bruce MacNiall. But when the actual castle's owner comes charging in on his great black horse and claims to be Laird Bruce MacNiall, Toni is shocked because she had invented him. However, every part of him is eerily familiar. Soon the group is drawn into a real-life murder mystery involving a serial killer who is killing women and dumping them in the nearby forest. Toni begins having life-like dreams in which she sees through the eyes of the killer--dreams that suggest a connection to Laird MacNiall.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has a number of elements to keep you interested throughout. The mystery of how Toni invented a living man; the mystery of who rented them the castle when Bruce did not give his approval; the mystery of who is killing the women and why. Not only does this keep you totally involved, but periodically throughout the book Graham skips back to medieval times with a storyline involving the original Bruce MacNiall. I would highly recommend this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Good Book

I love Heather Graham mysteries.
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Good read

Good tale. Arrived as described
✓ Verified Purchase

Another great from Heather Graham

I read this as I have all her books. I found it to keep my attenion easy. Her early books, I still think are the best, but this author knows how to get your attention and keep you in suspense until the end.
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Fantastic

Wanna spend the afternoon with a good mystery? If so, you gotta read THE PRESENCE. Toni Fraser and a group of friends have rented a Scottish Castle and are giving skitted tours, featuring the ancestral owner. Toni believes she has created the tale but when the descendant of her play arrives, she is made aware that her ghost story is factual on many levels.

This is my first experience with Heather Graham's writing and I loved her book. Her writing style is easy to follow, she paints the scene with a skilled hand, and her characters are fantastic. She also weaves subplots and red herrings throughout her story that will keep you guessing until the end.

Although it took me a while to keep all of the characters straight, I was drawn in immediately to the story and found it difficult to stop turning the pages. THE PRESENCE has made me a fan of Ms Graham's work, and I will look for more of her books.

CarolASpradling.com author
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From bang to fizzle on one chapter

This is the first book I have read by Ms. Graham, and I will give her another try. This story started out with a dramatic and spooky bang, but quickly fizzled and settled into a cross between the Hardy Boys Meets Gone With The Wind. It had all the elements in the beginning to be a "keep you on the edge of your seat" story. It quickly became a love story with a ghost thrown in to keep your attention. The thing that kept me reading the book was that it is well written and had just enough intrique to make me want to know how it ended.

If you are looking for the thrills of Kay Hooper, you will not find them here. If you are looking for a light, airy love story with alittle booga-booga thrown in, you might want to try this one.

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