The second Elise Sandburg thriller has Elise trying to recover from being kidnapped, raped and tortured by a madman who is fixated on her and who kills and harvests organs for sale. In Elise's escape, Atticus Tremaine was rendered comatose. He's currently in a hospital under guard.

Elise goes to her aunt Anastasia's plantation to recover and also because her mother calls her and tells her that she had received a phone call from Anastasia. The only problem is that Anatasia is supposed to be dead; her mother attended her funeral.

At the plantation, Elise encounters a man who claims to be her father Jackson Sweet. Sweet was a noted conjure man who supposedly died years earlier. Strata Luna, noted local witch and madam, even took Elise to see where he was buried in an unmarked grave. This is a hard thing for Elise who has been trying to get away from her heritage in magic.

Then aunt Anastasia reappears having faked her death in an insurance scam in order to keep her beloved plantation. And Atticus comes out of his coma, escapes from the hospital, begins killing again, and wants to recapture Elise who is the object of his obsession.

The story was fast-paced and the plot was twisty. Elise is rethinking her life plan and contemplating giving up work for the PD in favor of opening a coffee shop. She is also rethinking her decision to step away from her possible magic. And her relationship with her partner David Gould is also causing stress since it seems to be drifting to a romantic relationship she isn't sure she wants.

I loved the combination of police work and magic. There was a great cast of intriguing characters and the narrator Natalie Ross did a great job making each of them distinctive. ( )

Stay Dead
(Elise Sandburg #2)
by Anne Frasier, Natalie Ross
This is pretty good...but our gal sure gets best up a lot! Lol!
Great characters, plot, and suspense. Unique story line and mystery.
The narrator is excellent! ( )

This is Book Two in a detective series featuring homicide detectives Elise Sandburg and David Gould. It is set in Savannah, and is richly atmospheric.

As the story begins, Elise is on leave, recovering from being captured and tortured by Atticus Tremain, a man known as “The Organ Thief.” Elise decides to spend her recovery at the plantation of her deceased aunt Anastasia, which is now supposedly empty. It is a convenience for her because her own house is in the process of being renovated.

Elise’s partner, David, doesn’t like the idea of Elise staying alone, but Tremain is in the hospital in a coma, and anyway, Elise is also looking forward to the solitude so she can rethink her life. Who is she, she wonders? A detective, or the daughter of a root doctor, or conjurer, who supposedly has inherited his skills? Or can she be both?

David is going through his own mental reevaluation. When Elise was abducted and almost died, David realized how much she meant to him. And yet, if they took their partnership to another level, would they risk losing their friendship? Nevertheless, David accepts a mojo for winning the affection of Elise, even though he doesn’t believe in such things.

Back at the plantation, Elise discovers a number of family secrets, and finds out more about Atticus Tremain. But it may not matter: Tremain awoke from his coma, escaped from the hospital, and is still obsessed with Elise.

Evaluation: The atmosphere of Savannah, the appealing but troubled protagonists and the chemistry between them, and the suspense that builds to a fever pitch make a winning combination. I definitely look forward to more volumes in this series. ( )