Heart of Evil

Deep in Louisiana's bayou country, Donegal Plantation carries the weight of generations—beautiful, storied, and now newly stained by a murder that seems to echo a killing from the Civil War era. When Ashley Donegal discovers a body staged with unsettling historical precision, she knows ordinary investigators won't be enough. Enter the Krewe of Hunters, an elite unit that operates where forensic evidence meets something harder to explain. What follows is a mystery tangled in family legacy, buried secrets, and the particular dread of realizing that the past hasn't stayed past—it's actively hunting you.

Heather Graham knows how to use setting as a character, and Donegal Plantation earns its place at the center of this story—its atmosphere seeping into every scene without overwhelming the plot. Graham keeps the pacing sharp, balancing the paranormal elements with genuine investigative tension so that neither strand feels like a detour from the other. The layered history she builds around the plantation gives the mystery real weight, and the rekindled relationship between Ashley and Jake adds emotional texture that keeps the stakes personal. Readers who love Southern Gothic atmosphere alongside procedural momentum will find plenty to hold their attention here.