After Dark (Ghost Hunters, Book 1)

by Jayne Castle

Book Overview

Welcome to Harmony--where the rules are a little different. Life is tough these days for Lydia Smith, licensed para-archaeologist. Seriously stressed-out from a nasty incident in an alien tomb, she is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 051512902X
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Sucked. Total waste of money.

Total waste of money

a paranormal tale way ahead of the pack

After Dark is the prequel to After Glow - just out recently under the Castle name. It was a super paranormal/off-world tale that I really adored and thought it a great, vibrant tale, much in the old Krentz mold. Strangely, it was not received well by her fans at the time - before the big Paranormal Romance boom. Its reception was so cold that her publisher put off putting out anymore in this series for nearly four years. I guess the Paranormals burning up the charts caused them to rethink that line, and they brought out the sequel to After Dark - After Glow - which received great reviews. My, my what a time frame can mean to the readers mind? After Dark was a great Off-World tale of Harmony, where earth travelers colonized and then were cut off from Earth connections when the "curtain" closed. (See Amaryllis, Zinnia and Orchard, books set on the same planet). A race of aliens once lived on the planet, leaving behind vast underground ruins, all protected by "trap" illusions. It takes a special sort of "detangler" to derazzle the traps that were known to fry people's minds. Lydia Smith is a detangler for an archaeologist team working in the eerie green glowing underground. When something goes wrong, Lydia finds herself without a job or a professional reputation. In comes Emmett London, who is tracking down lost antiques. He hires Lydia as a consultant. Alien ghosts and "traps" start haunting the couple left and right as it's obvious someone doesn't want the team to solve the riddle of the missing alien artifacts. Lydia and Emmett sizzle. This was one paranormal that was ahead of the pack. Super use of Multi-POV (Point of View), the way all romances should be written!

romance/sci-fi crossover

The thrill of a romance and the satisfaction of a good sci-fi. The premise deals with a planet where the occupants originally came from earth, but have been cut off from it for a couple generations. The settlers now have their own, different planetary and genetic history that create the background for this story. I recommend it to Laurell Hamilton/Anita Blake fans and to Dara Joy/Dark series fans. It is a favorite sci-fi romance mystery and I am sorry to see that others have given it so little credit for a successful change in venue. I would love to see another book(s) based on these characters or simply using the same background.

Great story!!

Of all Jayne Castle's books, I love this the most. Oh, her other books (Zinnia, Orchid, Amaryllis) are okay, but somehow they sound the same once you read all three of them. 'After Dark' is rather different. The first time I read this book, I was kinda frustrated with the fact that so many 'jargons' are introduced, that made the first few pages rather confusing and 'messy'. But when you go deeper into the book, you will be amazed at how the story unfolds - the ghost hunters, the ghosts, ghost duels, the illusion traps - very, very creative story-telling here.Oh, and I especially love Lydia's pet dust bunny, Fuzz. Very cute, with his 'daylight eyes' and 'hunting eyes' and the fact that it is addicted to, of all things, pretzels. Very good story telling here, believe me.

What can I say? Krentz is the best

When the colonists realized that they could pass through space by passing through the curtain, they migrated to the planet Harmony in a far off galaxy. When that curtain closed, communications with earth ended, leaving the travelers on alone to tame a hostile world.Two hundred years later, the descendants of the first visitors to Harmony begin to show strong psychic ability. Licensed para-archeologist Lydia Smith crashed and burned when she became lost in a dead city left behind by the planet's former main species. Lydia is forced to work in Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors until she can find a way out of her current predicament. Her first client Emmett London embroils her in a case that tests her abilities and her sanity even as she finds love among the ruins.Jayne Castle, known for her works as Jayne Ann Krentz, has written a wonderful futuristic romance that will provide much pleasure to her innumerable fans. Harmony has been featured in previous novels so that the audience feels they are returning to an exotic locale previously visited. The lead couple is an exciting pair who helps bring sunshine to AFTER DARK.Harriet Klausner

Totallly Engrossing!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I've read Jayne Ann Krentz, so I knew that I would enjoy this work that she wrote under the name of Jayne Castle. However, I was surprised that I enjoyed it so thoroughly!The setting of Harmony, a city built around the ruins of an alien civilization, was really interesting. Also, the characters of Emmett and Lydia were entertaining. I enjoyed the romantic interaction between the two of them. The suspense of the book added to the fun. I picked it up one afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished, literally!This book was definitely one to read again and actually, I'm trying to find more books under the Jayne Castle name.