Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

When Zac McQuade comes home for his niece’s baptism, his college crush Brody Maitland pays him a visit. Hoping for a social call, he is disappointed when he wants his help tracking a missing patient. As the two investigate, things heat up both for them and in the mystery. Will secrets past and present separate them permanently?

Zac McQuade spent several years in the military after school. Upon his release from the military, he is contacted by a government agency to become an elite assassin. As a cover, he informs people that he is in the foreign investigations division of the FBI. After having completed his last assignment, he heads home to attend the christening of his niece and take a much needed breather from work.

Brody Maitland is a psychiatrist at the local university. He is worried when one of his patients disappears with no explanation. Having heard that his former crush is home to visit his family, he contacts Zac in hopes that he will help to unofficially investigate the disappearance of his patient. Zac, knowing that he isn’t trained for this despite his professed credentials, agrees to help Brody out if only to spend some time with him.

As the investigation progresses, they find that the missing student might be victim of a serial killer. While tracking down information, they come to realize that they had feelings for each other while in school. As this bond grows, it serves not only to bring them together but also will be used against them. The killer uses this growing bond to put the protagonists in jeopardy. Will the secret that Brody is keeping which could save them from the killer also destroy the building romance between the two heroes?

This is the first book in the new Shifters and Lovers series by Ali Atwood. There is much that I liked about the book. First, other than the fact the series name, the fact that one of the protagonists is a shifter is not revealed until near the end of the book. To extend this point, our shifter did not grow up knowing about paranormals as he was adopted at an early age. Another difference is that this is not a story of destined mate. It starts out as a story of unrequited love that soon evolves. The author sets up further books in the series as our heroes decide to find out if there are others like him.

I also am interested to see if Zac’s occupation will play in the hunt for more shifters. This is a good start to a new series in my opinion.

The cover art by Scott Carpenter is simply gorgeous. Two well built shirtless men dominate the top two thirds of the cover. The bottom third has a cougar ready to pounce. Nicely done.

Sales Links: eXtasy Books –   All Romance (ARe) –  Amazon   Buy It Here

Book details:
Ebook, 78 pages
Edtion: English
Published: May 1, 2015 by Extasy Books
ISBN: 978-1-4847-0329-4
Series: Shifters and Lovers
Bound to Brody (Shifters and Lovers #1)