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Liked It “this was a pretty good book. Zoe gets into all kinds of trouble being a traveler, and meets up with a fellow traveler who kills someone in front of her. |
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“First in an excitingly different and new paranormal series. Zo‘ Martinique has turned her unusual ability into a career. When she's traveling, she can't be seen which makes her an ideal professional snoop. Industrial espionage, surveillance, whatever. But one night things get out of hand while she's outof- body. She witnesses a murder and a soul stealing, and discovers she has unwelcome company: Trench- Coat, a ghostly killer who can see and hurt her. Teaming up with a blue-eyed police detective, she tries to solve the case and improve her love life. She also enlists the support of her psychic mother and the ghostly couple who haunt her house. And with murderers, kidnappers, and a desperate ex-porn star involved, Zo‘ needs all the help she can get.
Nisareen - So Much To Read So Little Time wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
”“this was a pretty good book. Zoe gets into all kinds of trouble being a traveler, and meets up with a fellow traveler who kills someone in front of her.
Lesa C wrote this review Wednesday, November 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
He also makes a grab for her, and marks her hand with a weird brand.
Zoe comes back to herself but knows something is differant, what did the other traveler do to her?
When she has a client that asks her to investigate something shady Zoe senses there is more than meets the eye to this whole deal.
With the watchful eye of the sey detective she gets in up over her head... and more.
”
“Book 1/3”
Darling-Diva wrote this review Friday, October 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I was into the first chapter of Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre, when something made me pick up Wraith by Phaedra Weldon. The first chapter got me hooked: the beginning was nice; the middle, startling; and the end, shocking. After Sins & Shadows by Lyn Benedict, I wanted a paranormal mystery heroine that isn't so fierce and intelligent for a change.
maydiwayatangnawawala wrote this review Saturday, June 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
But... Just like numerous characters, good and bad, in fantasy stories everywhere, I forgot to take heed of that classic warning, “be careful what you wish for, you might get it,” I wished, and, indeed, got very little of the 'smarts' that make heroines admirable...
Even though Zoe Martinique has the ability to astral-travel, a talent that launched her career as a small-time snoop, she is far from being able to handle murder, on the physical and spiritual levels. While out of body, she witnesses a ghostly creature, who she dubbed Trench-Coat, shoot and steal the soul of the man he killed.
What's more harrowing, this improbable killer can see and hurt her.
What follows is one mishap after another, due to Zoe's insatiable curiosity and incomprehensible logic of why she has to dive into the thick of things with little preparation and no word to those who can help in case something goes wrong—which something always does!
I don't know who were at their wits end more, me or Zoe's psychic mother, the goth-techno friend, or their two gay ghost housemates. By the nth kidnapping, abduction, serious injury, I was pulling my hair by the roots. It didn't help that Zoe is a trying-hard pa-cute, hard-headed mama's girl! Her habit of making mental notes at very other page was also distracting.
If only her love interest, Lieutenant Daniel fraser, would be sharper. But no; he's an open book, and he probably thinks his case is too, spilling all the juicy details to then stranger Zoe just because she asked.
On the brighter side, despite these irritants, the plot and supernatural elements are interesting. I was engaged enough by the story, even if I had to crawl my way past my own mental notes (why, you dumb....!; no, don't do thaat!!!; wait for ….!!!!) to finish it, and read the sequels—but only because I have this irritating habit of finishing what I started... despite the mental notes.
”
“This is a very interesting book for those who like the supernatural word.”
Lizziegh E wrote this review Monday, April 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Zoë Martinique lives in a strange life. Her mom runs a tea/occult shop out of an old Victorian house, with the help of the ghostly gay couple that haunts the house and Rhonda, an urban fantasy cross between [a href=http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0024267/]Penelope Garcia[/a] and [a href=http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0020059/]Abby Sciuto[/a]. And Zoë herself is a strange character, possessing the ability to shuck her body and astrally travel about the city at will. It's Zoë's career path, auctioning her services as a super spy off on ebay, that leads to trouble when on an out-of-body spy mission she witnesses a creepy, Vin Diesel look-alike kill and reap the soul of a vice president of a major Atlanta company. Worse the creep marks her somehow, binding the two of them together and sending Zoë on a life changing mission to save herself and others.
MicheleLee wrote this review Friday, October 3 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have very mixed reactions to this book. To begin with it was very hard to get into. Zoë makes a lot of TV/movie references, she speaks directly to the reader often and her attitude is rather childish. Zoë's mother, the ghosts and Rhonda come off flat, and, honestly, annoying. The flow of the action, and therefore the tension, is consistently interrupted by Zoë's comments to the reader or attempts to be funny (usually with pop culture references) which nine times out of ten aren't. At one point, after the plot finally starts to be interesting, the flow is completely broken by a scene in which Zoë's "loving" mother holds Zoë at gunpoint and forces her to submit to an exorcism. I very nearly stopped there. Even though she's 28, Zoë's mother, Nona, treats her like child, even to the point of drugging her and physically restraining her to keep her from following the plot. Not only does this make Zoë seems even more childish, and disrupt the core plot, dragging it out more than needed, but the later references to Nona only acting out of love just don't coincide with her actions making the mother-daughter dynamic feel more like an abuser/Stockholm syndrome relationship.
However, there are some interesting ideas in Wraith. Primarily is the reoccurring theme of people using Zoë's body against her. She gained her power during a traumatic rape and even after she becomes comfortable with it over and over people capture Zoë's body while she's out running around astrally and use it as leverage against her in a variety of ways. Whether Weldon realizes she's layered this theme into Wraith or not I'm not sure, but I did find myself continuing, wanting to see Zoë overcome this problem as much as I wanted her to have beat off her original rapist.
The dynamic between Zoë and the two leading males in the book is also interesting, especially as unlike other urban fantasy books that stick closer to the romance Happily-For-Now ending this series seems poised to go into some very dark, rule-free territories that are interesting and new.
There's also something to be said for the plot itself, which has unexpected twists of mystery, centers around planes of existence rather than the ways the character exist and spans into a multitude of human races that are sometimes missing from other urban fantasy tales.
I'm not sure I can recommend Wraith at this point, but I can't exactly dismiss it either, making it one of the more difficult reads, and difficult reviews I've done in a while.”
“I really enjoyed this book and its sequel! Phaedra Weldon has a dry wit that is not seen in an author often and she wove a very interesting and intricate tale that kept me reading. I readd each of the books in 3 sittings. I look forward to any other work she produces.”
Jim M wrote this review Tuesday, September 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I had fun reading this book, but its a bit rough around the edges. Personality-wise, main character Zoe is your run-of-the mill cool-but-a-little impulsive paranormal heroine. Her ability - to leave her body at will, and "travel" makes for an interesting & original story.
Jeepuar wrote this review Friday, June 13 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Zoe is a fun character, but has little to distinguish herself from other paranormal heroines. Her supporting cast is good, but also does little to distinguish themselves, but I though her relationship with her eccentric mother an enjoyable storyline.
I found the plot interesting with a few intriguing ideas not found elsewhere, and the characters enjoyable. Overall, a good read, but more fun than moving.”
“Smart talking, clever paranormal heroine who is not quite sure whe wants to be a wraith. She joins the likes of Sookie Stackhouse, with a household of gay ghosts, a wiccan mother and a goth friend. Great fun.”
Judith F wrote this review Sunday, May 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Of the books that I have read over the Christmas 2007 holidays, Wraith by Phraedra Weldon was the best, but it did drag in spots. I actually think that this story would make a better movie than a book. Concept was original. Good world building. Great cliffhanging conclusion. However, in spots it was a little slow. In a movie two of the characters could meet back together and exchange the information that they had acquired in minutes and the plot could move forward. I am hoping this is not indicative of the series, but was an effort of the author to provide us the necessary background. I do intend to purchase the next book in the series and hope that it moves along a little more quickly now that we are familiar with this world. Kathleen ”
Kath0451 wrote this review Sunday, January 6 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
