Jace Jericho hasn’t been to a human city for 15 years and he likes it that way.  The treatment he received for being a werewolf has not endeared those people to him.  He much prefers Necropolis where Others have made their homes, there are rules to protect each species, and he is valued.  The heightened senses of a Lycan are an advantage to his profession as an investigator and he can uncover clues that would otherwise be missed. 

A murder in San Antonio bears uncanny similarities to a previous case that the Otherworld Crime Unit had thought closed.  They are invited to the human city to help solve the crime and Chief Caine Valorian of the OCU insists that Jace, his best investigator, accompany them. 

While on that assignment, the werewolf comes into contact with a police officer, Tala Channing, for whom he finds an undeniable attraction.  The woman affects him as no other has.  She is more than an attractive female though; she is uncanny in her ability to turn up clues regarding drugs in crime scenes.   

Sparks fly, secrets can no longer be kept, and somewhere out there is an angry, elusive killer. 

We are brought back to the paranormal crime scene investigation unit that captured our attention with Valorian Chronicles: Blood Secrets.  It is a pleasure to see the continuation of the case, which though closed previously, left us with feelings that all had not been resolved. 

The members of the team that we see in this second instalment are Caine who is a vampire, his human wife Eve, Lyra the young witch, and Jace our werewolf.  Their foray into human territory isn’t without some difficulties and the author handled the issues of fear and prejudice well.  The suspicions from those non-Necropolis residents were particularly highlighted but the hero’s distaste for humans is equally clear. 

The story itself is straightforward and we are not surprised by the revelation of Tala’s secret.  Hints, talents, and Jace’s remarkable reaction to her all point to her being a lycan, in her case, a lycan in denial.  She has been taught all of her life that it is a side of her that makes her a freak and she has been encouraged to completely inhibit her inner wolf.  It is this lack of knowledge about her abilities and how to use them that makes a later scene in the book difficult to accept. 

The story is entertaining with a shadowy and powerful villain who keeps all of us on our toes.  In the meantime, the romance blossoms and we feel that the coming together of Jace and Tala is only right. 

It is great fun to experience the paranormal element in a police procedural kind of a read.  One looks forward to seeing more of these denizens of Necropolis as they go about the business of crime solving.

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