Heather Graham has embarked on a series that touch on the supernatural. In THE PRESENCE she continues with this subject and creates an interesting but somewhat predictable tale.

Toni Fraser and her friends rent a rundown castle to house their shows. They reenact the history of a local laird and Toni thinks she's created a story that turns out to be true. Seems the original laird was rumored to have strangled his wife in a fit of rage while his enemy was approaching the castle centuries ago. When the real life current laird shows up during one of their performances, life changes drastically for the group.

Toni and Laird Bruce McNaill hit it off after a stormy introduction and romance is soon a focal point of the story. Mixed in is the fact that Toni is a medium and sees the old laird who is determined to get her to understand something with which only she can help. Added to the history aspect of the story, a serial killer is on the loose and disposing of the bodies of young prostitutes in the forest surrounding the castle. If that weren't enough subplots, add to them the fact that Bruce McNaill did not rent out his castle, seems the American group was fraudulently leased his castle. A few too many subplots make it at times confusing as to the main theme of the story.

Character development is very good, although the sub-characters appear to be a bit less detailed which in the end leads the reader to wonder as to the identity of the villain. Actually if you're a mystery buff, you'll not be fooled with the red herrings and will only wonder if you're wrong for a very short time. The clues thrown in to mislead you are so obvious they are easily tossed out as not being feasible.

Toni and Bruce were both well developed and enjoyable. The others were a bit of a mystery. Gina and Ryan, husband and wife team, were given a scant description but not much else. David and Kevin, the gay couple of the book, were described in a bit more detail but also not well developed. Thayer, the Scottish cousin of Toni, was the least developed of all. Other characters who remained vague were Jonathan, the town constable, as well as Eban, a caretaker of the castle. It would have been so much more enjoyable if more information had been given on these characters.

One of the biggest disappointments in the story is the bouncing from subplot to subplot. Just when I was focused on the history of the castle and wanting to figure out what the old laird was trying to tell Toni, I was tossed back to the murders or the fraud aspect of the story. It was a bit disconcerting.

Overall the story was enjoyable even if Graham can't seem to shake her early romance foundation. The mystery portion was lacking but did keep you entertained. It was a better than average story with enough variety to keep most readers enthralled until the end.

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.