Hrm. On the plus side: I liked both Rikki and Amiri; Amiri is a black African man who is the hero but not exoticised by his ethnicity; there is an acknowledgement of the fact that Africa is a very diverse continent of many different peoples and countries.

On the negative side: the book kind of fizzled to a close rather than ended; there's some rather squirm-inducing gendered violence; Liu nods to the fact that there's more to Africa than exotic diseases and war and violence, but doesn't really show it; and there's an astonishing lack of female black characters considering that this book is set in the Congo. (There is one fairly significant black female character, but she's also problematic.) Great as it is to see interracial PoC/white relationships in romance novels, I wish that Liu would also write some PoC/PoC romances, whether interracial or not. ( )

Doctor Rikki Linn has been scarred both mentally and physically by her time in Africa. Adversity, plague, mercenaries bent on torture and rape.... she might be terrified, but she doesn't let that stop her from doing what she does best. A new outbreak of Ebola sees her heading for the front lines to done haz-mat gear and shoulder her share of the load. But someone is hunting Rikki, and the disease may not be natural - is someone testing bio weapons? And why?

Amiri is thrilled and uneasy to be returning to the land of his birth. Sent by Dirk & Steele to keep one petite doctor safe, he's quick to suspect that there's more at stake than one woman's life. But from the moment he sees Rikki's picture he knows she's something special - more than something special - his.

The Broker and Rictor return, and Dirk & Steele may just have overreached in this, Liu's seventh series installment. Yes, it's a romance - an inter-species, interracial romance, at that. But there's enough gritty, horrifying detail to the action that the romance almost takes second seat. I was up late finishing, but one caution: don't start the series here, it won't make much sense. ( )

I just need to say two things up front regarding this book.
#1-If you aren't familiar with Liu's 'Dirk & Steele' series, you will be oh so lost trying to figure out what's going on in this book. If it sounds interesting, you really need to start with either book 1 or 2. (book order to follow at end)
#2-Can I just say WOW. So much was going on in this book. The Consortium is still around and getting ever 'badder', and the Dirk & Steele operatives are hanging in there.

This book is the story of Amiri, a jaguar shifter, and Rikki, a human doctor for the CDC (Center for Disease Control) who chases down the cause of viral/bacterial outbreaks. The story begins with a bang and the action is non-stop until the very end. Amiri has some serious trust issues as does Rikki. They are on the run pretty early on and must learn to trust each other completely or they won't survive, very edge-of-your-seat! Although this series began with books that had more romance, there is now more suspense. I would have liked to have seen just a little more regarding the Amiri/Rikki story (thus the 4 rating), but still enjoyed it from first to last.

A little backstory: Dirk & Steele is an organization consisting of people with some type of paranormal ability. Elena can heal, there are shifters of all types, fire-starters, mind-readers...just about anything you can think of. They step in when normal humans can't or won't OR if the person in trouble is 'special' like them. Each of the characters begins life feeling a misfit and their stories of finding a place to call home, friends, and love are fabulous. I'm already waiting for book #8!

Books:
#1-Tiger Eye
#2-Shadow Touch
#3-Red Heart of Jade
#4-A Dream of Stone and Shadow (in Dark Dreamers)
#5-Eye of Heaven
#6-Soul Song
#7-The Last Twilight
#8-The Wild Road (July08)
there's also a prequel "Where the Heart Lives" in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon ( )

Book 7 of the "Dirk & Steele" series, this tells Amiri's story. He's a shapeshifter (of the cheetah variety) and native to Kenya-- so he's sent to Africa as part of a two-person bodyguard team for Dr. Regina (Rikki) Kinn, of the CDC. The other Dirk & Steele team member, Eddie, is a pyrokinetic.

The doctor is in the Congo, trying to get to the bottom of a weird illness that's sweeping through a refugee camp. Meanwhile, political struggles, martial troubles in the region, and a group known as "the Consortium" make her work life-threateningly difficult.

It's an entertaining, action-packed read. I consider it more of a thriller than romance, really. ( )