After her last client pulled a gun on her, antique expert Sierra Raines is, needless to say, a bit leery of accepting another job involving paranormal artifacts. However, psychic North Chastain desperately needs her help in tracking down the powerful relic that put his father in a coma. Given the state of Sierra's checking account (and the fact that false rumors about her previous work in a well-known auction house have severely limited her current career opportunities), this is one job to which Sierra just can't say no. But North is involved with the Foundation, an enforcement group that monitors the dark world of illegal psychic activity, and the two soon find themselves in grave and mysterious danger. Best-selling Krentz launched her paranormal, Pacific Northwest--set Fogg Lake series with The Vanishing in 2020, and now she's back with another brilliantly crafted installment in which she deftly draws on her mad genius for exciting plots and signature sharp sense of humor to create another sexy, suspenseful, and sublimely entertaining story that will have her fans and new readers alike sighing happily with satisfaction.

When North Chastain's father is attacked for a paranormal device he purchased, the Foundation sends North to investigate whether the device is one of the fabled weapons from a lost research lab. To assist North, they hire Sierra Raines, a go-between in the antiquities market who specializes in psychically hot items. The further their investigations take them into the paranormal world of hidden government research labs and greedy collectors, the more they rely on each other to survive and stay sane against psychic attacks. And it's no surprise the trail leads them to Fogg Lake, the site of the Bluestone Project, where all the residents have a little something extra in their DNA. VERDICT Krentz's second "Fogg Lake" entry (after The Vanishing) offers her typical romantic suspense heavily dosed with heightened mental abilities and can read as a stand-alone, although characters from the first book make appearances. Fans will enjoy the Easter eggs sprinkled throughout referencing the Jones brothers from Krentz's popular "Arcane Society" series. Recommended for where the author is popular.--Melanie C. Duncan, Washington Memorial Lib., Macon, GA

A woman with the ability to see and read auras teams up with a man losing his own psychic talents. Sierra Raines grew up in a family that celebrated their paranormal abilities. She can read psychic imprints left on objects, read people's auras, and channel power through crystals and mirrors. Unfortunately, her abilities haven't translated to personal or professional satisfaction. She's living alone in Seattle, working an unfulfilling and dangerous job transporting mystical objects for sale on the black market. North Chastain is an expert who works for the paranormal government agency known as the Foundation, but his future is in jeopardy because he's suffering from the devastating loss of his own psychic powers. When his father is attacked in Seattle, the Foundation insists he hire Sierra as a local expert to assist his investigation. They discover that someone is attempting to create powerful psychic weapons, work that started generations earlier at a secret government facility in rural Washington. North's grandfather worked at that facility and was accused of being a traitor, and now North and Sierra are on the trail of secrets that could finally clear his grandfather's name. Krentz's paranormal underworld is more complex and interesting than Sierra and North's romance. They are likable characters, but the fast-moving, intricate, and overstuffed investigation plot is the most compelling part of the novel. Multiple subplots are solved with conversations and explanations, which might leave readers feeling disappointed that Sierra and North weren't more active in wrapping up all the parts of the case. Runaway plotting is saved by an interesting and inventive world. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Bestseller Krentz brings the goods with the second paranormal romantic suspense novel of her Fogg Lake series (after The Vanishing). Psychic Sierra Raines has a lot to prove in her career after she is unfairly dismissed from her job at a prestigious auction house. She becomes an agent of the Vault, a company that trades in paranormal artifacts. When North Chastain, a monster hunter who's having difficulty with his own psychic talent, learns that his father has been attacked in Seattle shortly after acquiring a mysterious relic, he hires Sierra to help him find the assailant. Their search leads to Fogg Lake, a remote lab where North's late grandfather was part of a project to create psychic weapons. The Chastain family's enemies believe these weapons still exist and will stop at nothing to get their hands on them. Over the course of their investigation, Sierra and North's sizzling chemistry builds into a powerful connection that makes them more than a match for their foes. Though the extensive cast proves difficult to untangle, the combination of romance, danger, mystery, and the occult is sure to sate Krentz's fans. Readers will be eager to see where the series goes next. Agent: Steven Axelrod, the Axelrod Agency. (Jan.)