Rising Moon

The heroine has never given up the search for her missing sister even though it's been 3 years without any word from her. So when she receives a mysterious photo of her sister out from of a bar in New Orleans the heroine doesn't hesitate to jump in a plane to investigate. There she meets the large intimating black man who serves the drinks and the blind stunningly beautiful owner who instantly snatches up her attention. Normally a woman as plain looking as her could never hope to attract such a man but the fact that he's blind gives her a bit of courage, not that she isn't already courageous as is. Receiving no help from either men, she goes to the detective and upon learning about the multiple missing persons whose last known show more whereabouts were the Rising Moon bar, she decides to take up a job as a waitress at the place. Her instant attraction to the moody and bipolar hero is hot and steamy even from the jump. Though he says he can't get involved with her, he can't seem to keep his hands off of her. And the heroine is not a blushing virgin, even though she is self conscious she knows she wants hero so she pushes for an affair. Both of them say that love is not involves, that their sexual affair will not develop into anything meaningful but the heroine knows that they are just bull shiting each other. Tortured and mysterious but magnetic and deliciously hands on, showing her just how passionately he desires her, the heroine refuses to believe that he could be responsible for anyone's death. But the evidence keeps piling up. On top of the fact that his bar seems to be a common denominator between all the missing people, she's seen him with victims and she knows he has secrets. Secrets that make his weighed down with regret and scars from a suicide attempt. Written in the first person, the reading doesn't find out the truth of what he's so tormented about until the end and even thought the series is about werewolves, the author does a great job at creating doubt about what the hero is. Turns out he's a cursed werewolf. Not a mindless beast but in possession of his mind when she shifts and tortured with the memories of what he did when he was first turned. TO make amends he's been killing all the werewolves he created in an attempt to break the curse. I loved this book so much. The whole atmosphere of Voodoo and New Orleans and wolfs and mystery makes for an interesting read. The chemistry between the two characters was off the charts and I can't say how much I adored the heroine. She was so amazing because she had such a level head on her shoulders and despite the understand doubt about the werewolf myths around her, when presented with the evidence, she doesn't dismiss the truth. She was also a passionate woman, able to take what she wanted despite her insecurities. And the hero was so dark and moody but when he's with the heroine, you could feel how much he loved her despite her denials theirs was anything but a sexual affair and despite the fact that it's all written from the heroine's point of view. Great book. Best of the series by far. show less

I'm not a particular fan of first person POV anyway--I trust very few authors to actually do it right. However, with Rising Moon, I think Handeland finally manages to nail it--as I found myself pulled all the way through to the end.

Private eye Anne Lockheart is obsessed with her sister's disappearance. It doesn't help that on the night Katie vanished Anne had a fight with her that caused her to storm off. So when Anne receives a package in the mail containing a photo of her sister standing in front of a club in New Orleans, she immediately takes off, convinced that she's finally found the trail. This leads her to the Rising Moon, a club owned by the mysterious John Rodolfo. Anne wheedles her way into a job at the club, hoping that she show more might glean more information on her sister's whereabouts in the French Quarter, but things quickly get weird. (more) show less

This far into the series, it's not feeling quite as "fresh" (it's getting rather formulaic) and the big plot twist at the end (revealing the true identity of the male lead) was a bit of a disappointment to me. However, I have greatly enjoyed this series and am hoping the next book picks things up a bit.