There's a line early on—something about how the heart knows what the blood forbids—and Susan Ericksen delivers it with this specific kind of ache that made me pause my shelving. I was at the library, surrounded by stacks of spine-out hardcovers, and for a second, I forgot I was supposed to be working.
The Voice in My Ear (and Why It Matters)
Let's get the elephant out of the room first. If you listened to the first two books, you know the narrator situation has been... inconsistent. As someone who binges series, changing narrators is my personal nightmare. It breaks the immersion. It's like changing the actor for a main character in season 3 of a show.
But here we have Susan Ericksen. If you know audiobooks, you know her. She's the voice of J.D. Robb's In Death series. She brings that same commanding presence to Abandoned in Death, another entry in that series where she absolutely owns the main character. She knows how to handle a strong female lead. She plays Branna with this steel-spined dignity that I really dug. Branna isn't a damsel; she's a business owner, a witch, and the glue holding her family together. Ericksen gets that. She doesn't make her sound wispy or ethereal; she sounds grounded.
However—and this is me putting my critic hat on—there are scenes where characters are communicating across time (classic magical realism trope). Ericksen struggles a bit here. The distinction between the voices gets muddy. I found myself rewinding a few times to figure out who was actually speaking. It breaks the flow of the dread, and you know how much I value the dread.
Witchcraft, But Make It Cozy
Look, I host a horror podcast. I want my witches to be scary. I want The Blair Witch Project. I want Suspiria. This... isn't that. And honestly? It's fine.
This is "Diet Horror." It's the aesthetic of witchcraft—herbs, candles, ancient curses—without the visceral terror. Ceremony in Death walks a similar line between cozy mystery and occult dressing, though Ericksen's narration there at least makes the stakes feel a bit sharper. The villain, this ancient evil threatening their circle, feels more like a plot device than a genuine threat. I never actually felt like anyone was in real danger. Shirley (my cat, the true barometer of evil) slept through the climax.
But the romance? The angst between Branna and Fin? That's where the real tension is. It's the "we can't be together because of our bloodlines" trope, which usually makes me roll my eyes, but Roberts writes it with enough history and weight that I bought it. It's agonizing in a good way. A slow burn that actually feels earned.
The Sprint to the Finish Line
Here's where I got frustrated. We've spent three books building up to this final confrontation. The lore is deep. The family dynamics are complicated. And then the ending just... happens.
It felt like the author looked at the page count, realized she was running out of space, and sprinted to the finish. The pacing shifts from a luxurious, atmospheric slow-burn to a frantic checklist of plot resolutions. For a series about "blood magick" and centuries-old feuds, the final battle felt weirdly low-stakes.
I wanted a symphony; I got a pop song that fades out too fast.
Susan Ericksen does her best to sell it—she ramps up the intensity, her voice gets tight and urgent—but she can't fix the structural pacing issues. If you're here for the romance, you'll probably be satisfied. The emotional payoff is there. But if you're here for the fantasy plot? You might feel a little short-changed.
Who's This For?
If you love paranormal romance with witchy aesthetics and don't need your horror to actually scare you, this'll hit the spot. Skip it if you're expecting genuine supernatural dread or a climax that matches the buildup.
Shelving This One
So, did I enjoy it? Yeah. It kept me company while I reorganized the mystery section. Would I listen again? Probably not. It's a solid entry for a rainy Tuesday, not something that'll haunt your dreams.
