Review: Beneath A Rising Moon - Keri Arthur

On the Ripple Creek Werewolf Reservation, a killer is on the loose.  Three women are dead, their bodies mutilated and faces slashed.  A fourth, Neva Grant's twin, lies in hospital, fighting for her life.  Psychically linked, Neva shared the horror of her twin's attack and makes a vow to hunt down the killer.  The Rangers believe the killer is a member of the Sinclair pack.  To begin the hunt, Neva will first have to seduce a Sinclair, as she knows they will never talk to an outsider.

The only wolf not under suspicion is one with a hard-drinking, hard-loving reputation: Duncan Sinclair.  Called back home to help find the killer, he wants nothing more than to complete his task and get out of the town he loathes.  However, he finds himslef ensnared in a growing web of desire and deceit and, as the murders continue - and the killer's shadow draws ever closer - Duncan and Neva find themselves having to trust each other in order to survive.  But can they trust the emotions flaring between them?  Or will the lies of the present, the deeds of the past and a killers bloody intentions tear them apart?

Ripple Creek Werewolf Series:
Beneath A Rising Moon
Beneath A Darkening Moon

For more information visit Keri Arthur's website

Review:
When Neva's sister Savannah is almost killed while investigating the current spate of murders on the Ripple Creek Reservation Neva vows she will stop the killer.  Although she has no investigative experience she knows that her sister and the Rangers suspect the killer is a member of the Sinclair pack.  The only pack member not under suspicion is Duncan, who wasn't even in town when the murders began, so Neva decides he is the best person to approach if she wants information. 

Using the Moon Dance (the week before the full moon when all werewolves have a high sex drive) as an excuse to approach him, Neva ends up agreeing to spend the week with Duncan.  Duncan who has returned to town in order to find the killer who appears to either be a member of his pack, or someone setting them up, becomes suspicious of Neva's motives and her interest in the killer.  Despite the fact that neither of them are able to trust each other fully the attraction between them is instant but is their lust just caused by the Moon Dance or is it something more?

I'm a big fan of both Keri Arthur's Nikki & Michael and Spook Squad series so I'm currently working through her backlist.  Beneath A Rising Moon is very different to both of those series - it is definitely Paranormal Romance rather than Urban Fantasy so the focus is much more on the romance rather than the murders and there is a lot more sex than there was in the other Keri Arthur books I've read.  Personally I love both PR & UF so this didn't bother me in the slightest and I absolutely loved this book but if you're not keen on PR then you might want to give this series a miss.

The heat between Neva and Duncan is both instantanious and scorching but it takes them longer to connect on an emotional level.  Neva is scared of Duncan's past - he is known as a love 'em and leave 'em type so she is scared to trust the connection between them.  Duncan on the other hand is wary of Neva's motives for getting involved with him and believes she could be working with the enemies of his pack to frame them.  I enjoyed the action in the story and although it she focuses more on the romance Keri still manages to include some of the great plot twists that I have come to expect from her work.  I read this book in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down & I would thoroughly recommend it to any paranormal romance fans.

Source: Library

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