3.8 (460 ratings)

Dead to the Max : A Dark Paranormal Mystery with a Slow-Burn Romance (Max Starr Series, Book 1)

Name: Dead to the Max : A Dark Paranormal Mystery with a Slow-Burn Romance (Max Starr Series, Book 1)
Rating: 3.8 (460 reviews)
Author: Jasmine Haynes
ISBN: B003XRE4XG

by Jasmine Haynes

ghosts

About this book

A widow haunted by her husband’s ghost. A brooding detective she can’t resist. A killer who won’t stop until she’s dead.

Some secrets refuse to stay buried. And some loves refuse to let go.

Max Starr lives with ghosts—one of them her dead husband. Max just can’t let him go. Grief has become her shadow, but so have her visions: flashes of violence, whispers from the dead, and the icy certainty that evil is watching.

With the visions getting stronger—darker—more dangerous—her vision of a brutal murder pulls her into Detective Witt Long’s investigation. Now Max is suddenly caught between fear and desire. Witt is everything she doesn’t need: relentless, infuriating, and far too tempting—but he may be the only man who can keep her alive. Their attraction burns slow and dangerous, tangled with suspicion, secrets. And the kind of attraction that could be the ruin of them both.

But a cunning predator is circling closer, weaving Max into his twisted game. To survive, she’ll have to confront her deepest fears, her haunted past, and a villain who craves her suffering almost as much as her silence.

In a world where love lingers beyond the grave and killers stalk in darkness, only danger—and passion—are certain.

Darkly sensual and relentlessly suspenseful, Dead to the Max is the first book in the Max Starr series—a paranormal romance where desire cuts sharp as a knife, and danger waits in every shadow.

RTR Reviewers Choice Award!

“Intense emotions, high-voltage drama and adventure along with delicious sex scenes.”

The Road to Romance

“This book will put you through the wringer.”

Sensual Romance Reviews

Max Starr Series in Order

Dead to the Max

Evil to the Max

Desperate to the Max

Power to the Max

Vengeance to the Max

Max Starr Box Set Complete Series

Publication Date: May 25, 2026
ASIN: B003XRE4XG

Reader Reviews

This story will hook you! Hard to put this book down.

September 17, 2011

Wow. Where to start.......... First of all, there is graphic sex in these books. Some erotica books are just graphic sex and that's it. This book has an amazing gripping story that just happens to have really graphic sex......If you can't handle graphic sex, don't buy this book. Otherwise, come along for an amazing story. I actually just finished reading Book 2 in this 5 book series, and I just had to stop and write. I wish there were 10 books in this series, and I hope she writes more. I just...

Odd, interesting, and funny!

May 10, 2016

Friend-Swap Dead to the Max begins when Max Starr gets a vision about a woman being murdered. The problem is she doesn't want to believe she is psychic, but her dead husband encourages her to help and find the murder. The problem is she's not only feeling the dead girls emotions, she's also having to relieve some of her emotions from dark times in her life. Then add in the detective and you've got a crazy combination of suspense, and paranormal. This book was very odd, but in a good way. I...

A Sexually Explicit Fantasy Paranormal Mystery

February 20, 2014

As clearly indicated by the array of low and high ratings obviously this book won't be for everyone. Contrary to what reviewers seems to think erotica can include soft porn and \"X-rated material. Yes, the storyline does reference child sexual abuse in relation to two of the characters but it was neither specifically detail neither was it glorified. Rape was also mentioned. However, sadly these atrocities occur and frequently shape the personalities, level of self-esteem and life styles of the...

VERY Entertaining and I'm Not Wild About Paranormal or Suspense

March 26, 2012

I've read a few paranormal romance novels that I enjoyed but they are VERY few and far between. Generally, I just can't get into them and I quit reading suspense about a year ago because my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and I have a lot of other things going on in my life that are making me anxious/worried so I don't want to read anything that might add to that. However, I started this story and just could NOT put it down. I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect of it and the suspense...

I so wanted this book to be a good read.

November 6, 2013

I love mysteries, but \"Max\" came across as a \"nympho\" and with all the gratuitous sex, it was really too much, too much like porn. The ghost in her head was supposed to be her husband, he was controlling and a pervert. Like a voyeur. Really? I read through 30% of the book and couldn't read anymore. )