Review: The Prophet by Amanda Stevens

The Prophet (Graveyard Queen, Book #3)

by Amanda Stevens
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
2012 Mira
Ebook Edition; 352 Pages
ASIN: B007BBVDT8
ISBN: 978-0778313397
Genre: Fiction / Paranormal
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

My Thoughts
The Prophet is the third novel is the Graveyard Queen Series and I have to admit I am quite addicted to this series.  In this installment, Amelia returns to her beloved Charleston in the hopes of dealing with the very things which sent her to Asher Falls in the first place, mainly a couple of ghosts and a desirable, but totally haunted police detective named Devlin.  Having been raised to avoid the ghosts that surround her, Amelia continues to break the rules laid down by her father those many years ago and soon she is swept up into the same events that sent her fleeing into the night several months earlier.  What I particularly loved about this novel is that the same Gothic eeriness and creepiness that was in the first two novels is still to be found in this third novel and I was soon caught up in the creepy events that surround Amelia on a constant basis.  Everything just drips with that creepy flavour and I love it.

In this novel, Amelia seems to come out of her shell a bit more and takes a more aggressive approach to dealing with her Devlin problem.  Rather than running from him much of the time, she seems to be more considerate of what he is going through and much more willing to help him face the truth of what he is dealing with as well as explaining to him her own personal issues.  I think for the first time she sees her talents as a gift rather than a hindrance and something to fear and although the author has just touched the surface of this, it will definitely be interesting to see where this leads as so far there has only just been hints and innuendos.  I enjoyed the developing relationship between Amelia and Devlin as they learn to trust each other; I especially like the fact that there is so much more so learn as Devlin seems to have so many layers to him.  We learn so much more about his relationship to Miriama in this novel and I loved what I learned as it was pretty interesting, if a little twisted.  Shani is such a cute little ghost; it almost makes me want to see a ghost of my own (almost, but not quite).

The story unfolded along more predictable lines than in previous novels and although there were definitely many twists and turns, I was able to figure out who was responsible for the deaths in the end.  However, the storytelling was so well-done that it didn't really matter too much and I enjoyed the journey very much.  Amelia gets to explore the paranormal on different levels, and we get lessons on ancient African cultural traditions as well as on potions and spells and powders.  It's rather fascinating and it's one of the reasons why I am so drawn to Charleston (and New Orleans) in my reading and traveling.

Verdict
The Prophet is another fine addition to a fun and fascinating paranormal series.  I enjoyed the development of the various characters as well as the introduction of new characters I hope will be around for a long time. Although I know these books were originally contracted as a trilogy, I am hopeful that the series will continue and that a new novel will soon be forthcoming.