I was fortunate enough to obtain all three of them, and I read them when I should have been packing for a move. Although I liked all three books, this book was the most tense, in that there was a real killer out there, and the hero and heroine were in real danger from the outset. I don't want to say too much about the story, but to give the newcomer some details.
A powerful family of werewolves - the St Clares - rule most werewolves from their castle-fortress-compound in Alaska (sounds familiar?). The succession passes to the youngest in each generation, but recently the succession has experienced a slight hiccup when the heir designate fell in love with a human and actually mated with her in human form, something that was considered impossible until then. In the third book SHADOWS OF THE WOLF we learn that it is not only possible for a werewolf to mate with a human (in wolf form) but it is also possible for a werewolf male to father a child by a human female mate. [I don't know if the opposite is possible]. This new discovery has implications for the entire werewolf pack as well as for the hero and heroine.
A werewolf killer is on the rampage in New Orleans. The head of the St Clare family, the leader of the werewolves, has hired a P.I. to find and presumably destroy this killer. Ky however does not know that his client is the leader of the werewolves. All he knows is that his client is the first werewolf he has ever met, and that he is willing to pay for another werewolf to be assassinated. This view of werewolf morality does not impress him overly, especially after he rescues a young reporter from the werewolf killer.
The reporter Amy has her own agenda. She is intensely curious, brave, somewhat reckless but compassionate. She survives being kidnapped by the werewolf killer, and plans to follow up his killings with a special expose for a variety of reasons. Her life is however in danger, or so Ky thinks. He therefore sets out to protect her as best as possible, which leads to some decidedly funny-erotic scenes. [I love the part when Amy extols his imagined virtues in bed to a friend, knowing full well that Ky is listening in. He gets his "revenge" later].
During the course of the book, they receive help in the shape of information about werewolves from a mysterious source. Part of their investigation is taken up with tracking down the source. Is it friend or foe? Is it the killer playing with them?
There are questions to be answered. Who exactly is Ky? Why was he chosen of all possible P.I.'s to track down the renegade werewolf? What connection does he have to the St Clare family, or to the killer? These questions are answered by the end.
Others remain up in the air - Are there more werewolf-human unions undisclosed to the Pack? Were there more children born of the union? How did the renegade werewolf become a renegade in the first place? Is there a touch of werewolf in Amy's ancestry. I wish that there had been more books in this series.
This was a gripping emotional read. I would rate it very highly, even though the romance often plays second fiddle to the suspense element. The ending is a cliff-hanger in many ways, and it brings in a couple of old friends from an earlier book. By the end, Ky and Amy prove that they are indeed mated, and they do indeed deserve each other.
My only regrets were that so many questions remained unanswered. I would also have liked to have heard a bit more about Ky's remarkable mother who survived unwed motherhood in the Deep South and apparent abandonment by the man she had loved to raise her son.
Rating = 4.5 (A-)
Telly reporter Amy Fortenoy was on the trail of the "Werewolf Killer" and she was determined to catch him even if it means using herself as bait. But she gets more than she bargain for - a REAL werewolf and she is nearly killed!!! Drop-dead sexy Ky London comes to her rescue. The dark and dangerous London is a Private Investigator on the trail of the same killer, but he knows what is actually at stake.
London knows the facts of the serial killer, knows he should have never involved Amy, for he does not want the truth coming out. Amy is a sexy distraction he cannot afford. If he cannot keep his mind on the hunt, he could end up losing both their lives to an ancient menace.
These were super tales that need reprinting, maybe all under one binding? Paranormal Romance time has finally come, so let?s pay homage to the writers that blazed the trail.
TV journalist Amy Fortenoy knew the only way to catch the elusive "werewolf killer" was to dangle herself as bait. But when she got in over her head, sexy Ky Londen came to her rescue. Suddenly she was reallyin trouble. Because teaming up with the alluring P.I. Raised the stakes -- which now included her heart.
Ky had his own very private reason for joining the investigation. Yet he never should have involved the determined ace reporter. She was a sultry distraction he couldn't afford. For if he lost his concentration, they could lose their lives to the beast within himself.
Within a few lost souls, the Heart of the Wolf/B> beats fierce and wild. Feel them, fear them, tame them . . .