Dead Sky Morning (Experiment in Terror #3)
by Karina Halle
Published October 2011
With the Experiment in Terror show finding some success, amateur ghost hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray embark on their most terrifying investigation yet. A tiny, fog-shrouded island in the rough strait between British Columbia and Washington State has held a dark secret for decades: It was a former leper colony where over forty souls were left to rot, die and bury each other. Now a functioning campground, Perry and Dex spend an isolated weekend there to investigate potential hauntings but as the duo quickly find out, there is more to fear on D’Arcy Island than just ghosts. The island quickly pits partner against partner, spiraling the pair into madness that serves to destroy their sanity, their relationship and their very lives.
My Thoughts:
After finishing up the review copies I’d received from the author of the first two books in the Experiment in Terror series, Darkhouse and Red Fox, I immediately hit Amazon and got the rest of the series that was available for my Kindle. I’m still kicking myself for waiting so long to read these books, but then again, I was able to read all six books without having to wait in between installments–and trust me, the romantic tension between Perry and Dex is so killer that I don’t think I could have waited very patiently.
Dex and Perry are off to spend the weekend investigating isolated D’Arcy island, surrounded by dangerous waters and once home to a leper colony where the diseased were left to basically fend for themselves for the rest of their lives. Now home to a campground and nature area, they borrow a boat from one of Dex’s old friend´s and head off for the island–but not before spending a day of normalcy traveling by car to Vancouver from Seattle, and a night that starts out simple enough when Dex and Perry go to a hockey game where Dex receives a phone call that changes his mood for the rest of the trip.
Once on the island and alone together, Perry and Dex find that not only are the ghosts a threat to their sanity, they are also a threat to their physical safety. The lost souls that haunt this place can be be corporeal and inflict real harm, but there are a few spirits that have more nefarious intentions. And as Perry and Dex’s sense of what’s real and fake in their lives starts to unravel, the spirits just might win their quest to claim these two investigators for themselves.
Perry is falling for Dex even more in this book, even though some of his darker past comes to light. There is such a slow burn between these two, especially since Dex is still dating Jenn, but the attraction is definitely there between Dex and Perry. Dex opens up to Perry a bit on the island, and she does the same with him about some of her troubled past. This is one of the things that I love about Karina Halle’s writing–she slips just enough of the characters’ back story in without dumping it all out there, making you get just enough of a glimpse to be satisfied but still see how complicated and real these characters are. Even though Perry is still insecure and unsure of herself in this book, she is such a strong character and she continues to evolve, and I love that!
Dex is a bit of a mess throughout this one, and I won’t spoil while he’s all over the place. He has his reasons, which Perry doesn’t know about until the end of the book (since this is told from Perry’s first person point of view). But one thing that doesn’t change is his fierce protectiveness over Perry, and he continues to look danger straight in the eye to fight for her.
With Dex and Perry alone on an island, sharing a tent, under extreme duress from vengeful ghosts and psycho animals, the intimacy of living so closely together is unavoidable. The sexual tension that’s been brewing between these two for so long threatens to boil over, and what happens certainly made me a happy girl.
Dead Sky Morning gets the highest spooky five out of five. The scariest book in the Experiment in Terror series yet, the isolated atmosphere combined with the ghosts that can actually do real harm along with the psychological warfare targeting make for a thrilling, fast paced, and dark horror filled nightmare that the characters might not escape alive. This series has quickly become one of my favorite series, and I highly recommend them to anyone that loves mild horror, tension filled spooky stories where the characters have real growth over the course of the books while being entirely realistic.
And remember, you can still get the first book in the Experiment in Terror series, Darkhouse, for free for your Kindle.
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This does sounds like a great series. The scarier the better, is how I want my horror books. and this seems to be just that. Awesome review.
Jenea @ Books Live Forever
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This installment was definitely the creepiest one yet of the three. It’s a great series, Jenea. Read it, read it!
Heather recently posted..Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle
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holy haunting heather i actually have book one and had no idea what i was sitting on. This sounds wonderful and I want to meet Perry and Dex! Delightful review 🙂
kimbacaffeinate recently posted..Release Day Review: A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz
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You’ve been sitting on book one, just like I was, Kimba? Well, dive right in to meet Perry and Dex. You won’t be disappointed. These books just keep getting better and better!
Heather recently posted..Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle
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Aaah! I read book 1 and it was really good I hear the series gets better and better! I love Dex and Perry and I love that there is a romance blooming between the two (as if there wouldn’t lol. But just saying >.<) But dude Dex's pas is so mysterious I'm dying to find out what we get from that in this series! I have to catch up on it asap! Glad to see you're a fan too! did you read Sins & Needles? LOOOOVED that one!
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Each one does get better and better, Giselle! They also get more addicting because you just have to read to see what happens between Perry and Dex. You don’t fully find out what’s happened in either of their pasts for a good five books or so, and I have a feeling there’s still a bunch of secrets lying hidden in there. You need to catch up so you can see what’s going on between those two!
And I did read Sins & Needles, and I loved it too! My review will be going up in a few weeks. I can’t wait for book two. I need to find out what happened to Ellie since she gave herself up!
Heather recently posted..Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle
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Sounds intriguing. I love the idea of a leper colony. And I want to know more about Dex from your review. A mysterious guy with a past…
Alison (@AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
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Dex is a very perplexing character. He obviously has a lot going on, and a lot hidden from Perry at this point in the series. It’s great to see the mystery of Dex slowly unraveled over the course of the books. And what makes me really happy is that book seven, which should come out in June, is written entirely from Dex’s point of view. It is going to be epic!
Heather recently posted..Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle
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I’ve said it before but I’m SUCH a CHICKEN! I’ve read a couple of reviews for different books in this series but I just don’t know if I can dive in… *cowers*
(yeah, I really need to stop being such a wimp!)
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Top Off Tuesday: IMMORTAL CRAVING by Kendra Leigh Castle
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Mary, these books aren’t that scary! Read them during the day if you think they’ll be that bad. Suck it up, LOL! You’re missing out on an awesome series! Hahaha, I’m totally trying to bully you into reading books…
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I love book bullies! *huggles*
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Waiting On…THE NATURALS by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
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Thanks for letting me know about yet another new series (to me, I mean) and another free download!
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Yes, Kristin, another free book 1 for you to download! I read books one and two and immediately downloaded books three through six because I just had to know what happens. I read them one right after another over the course of a week and a half, and had them waiting on my Kindle.
I hope you enjoy Darkhouse!
Heather recently posted..Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle
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Okay, leaving this series for the grownups to read! Already too scared to read it myself. I’m a big ole chicken. I would not like corporeal ghosts. And psychotic animals. But if I weren’t such a chicken, it sounds like a really well written series and that is something I can appreciate!
Heather
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