Rating: 4.5 stars

Here we are at book 4 of the series and I am still as seriously addicted as I became on Infected Prey. It is a good thing that I already know that another book is being written because if I thought this could even be the last book, I would pull a Roan, and roar at Andrea Speed at full volume. Lucky for all of us that will not be necessary. Andrea, can we talk Book 10?

Roan McKitchen (“….it’s Mc KEE an” as he reminds people) is one of those remarkable characters who is so large, so real, that they live beyond the page. His actions, thoughts, and words leap out at you, grab you by the collar, and shake until they get your attention. With each book, Roan continues to evolve, changes caused by the virus taking him into unknown territory physically and mentally. This is a fascinating take on shapeshifters and it has me hooked.

Paris, Roan’s love and partner, has been dead now for several years and Roan is still feeling the loss. But he has moved on enough to have a boyfriend in Dylan (artist and bartender) who is questioning their relationship. I like the character of Dylan but he’s no Paris and knows it (and the reader knows it). Engaging secondary characters like Holden Fox (prostitute, assistant), Murphy, Gordo, and Gabe from the Police Department – all present and accounted for which is a huge plus as Andrea Speed is as marvelous with these people as she is with her main characters.

Roan is juggling several cases again. The warring leadership of the Church of the Divine Transformation want’s Eli’s computer back, a client of Holden’s has died and it may be murder, and oh yes, there’s a rogue cat on a people eating binge. All demand his immediate attention as does his relationship with Dylan. Roan may deal with some of these issues with quips and pills, but his headaches are getting worse and so is his depression.
Tension and dread ratchet up with each turn of the page. By the time I was halfway through, I had as big a headache as Roan’s, mostly from my imagination. I won’t give any spoilers but the last section of the book was handled totally differently from the other 3. Don’t look for everything to be settled, there are still answers out there I hope to some of the questions posed in this book. But what a way to get the reader engaged and keep them there.

So here I am, on the edge of my seat……waiting and wanting….to see where Roan and the virus take me next. Please, Andrea Speed, don’t make me wait too long.

Blurb from Dreamspinner Press: “Conceived bearing the lion strain of the virus, Roan is the only fully functioning virus child in the country—maybe in the world. But that doesn’t mean he’s okay. He’s still struggling with the death of his husband and the guilt of finding new love; his old enemy, the Church of the Divine Transformation, is becoming increasingly hostile; and he’s taken on a tragic cold case involving a long-missing boy.

As Roan fights to control the lion inside him, his world explodes with all kinds of trouble. The leader of the church is ramping up the violence against him, calling Roan out as a traitor to his kind. There’s a loose Infected terrorizing the city. And Holden, male prostitute and Roan’s unofficial assistant, brings him a case involving the suspicious death of one of Holden’s clients, which puts Roan far too close to a murderer for his state of mind.”

Available from Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance, Fictionwise.