There is a scent that fills the night, far more delicate than the beat of the heart, more fragile than the whisper of breath escaping human lungs.
The echo that fills the darkness is the scent of blood pulsating through the mortal body.
Commonly overlooked by those among the living, it is a sound fervently sought by those residing on the fringes of the world existing between the living and the undead.
Blood is what the beast craves.
Detective Valentina Kureyev had been assigned to one of the worst murder cases of the century. A serial killer haunted the streets of her city, depositing bloodless corpses throughout the section of town known as Little Europe.
She hadn't a clue to the identity of the culprit.
The case was hopeless.
The terror was real.
As real as Demetri Petronov.
The Professor of Russian Antiquities had been targeted with the murderer's special form of a calling card. Val couldn't turn away from his offer of aide in the bizarre case, even though he whispered tales of 'those that walked on the dark side of the moon' and the beast that hungrily fed on human blood.
He was the primary suspect.
Excerpt
Excerpt:
“Are you responsible for any of the bodies we've found?” She blurted out as she examined his suddenly pale features.
“I asked you for a distraction, not an insult, dorogaya.” He managed with a wry chuckle, the smallest fraction of tenseness appearing to ease from him. Demetri looked down at her upturned face, his eyes heavily lidded, and his expression forbidding.
“It's not an insult, Petronov.” Val responded, her expression serious. “I have to know.”
“Shut up, Detective.” Demetri commanded imperiously in the silkiest of menacing tones. His large hands fell from his ribcage and remained, pale and unclenched, at his sides. The horror threatening to consume him began to wane slowly. “For once, shut that luscious mouth of yours, and don't speak my name aloud.”
Professional Reviews
Samantha Ann at Night Owl Romance
4.25 out of 5
Detective Valentina Kureyev and her partner have set out to solve the worst crime imaginable. Somebody is leaving bloodless corpses all over their part of the city. All leads have resulted in dead ends and no clue as to who would perpetrate such a crime. She receives an anonymous telephone call warning her off the case at the risk of her life but she refuses. Eventually, she determines it was Professor Demetri Daskova who made that anonymous call. What does he know that he isn’t telling her and how does it affect her case?
The author pulls the reader in with this finely crafted tale of intriguing characters coupled with absorbing drama. There is painted an engaging portrait of loss and redemption. The somewhat softer voice used in the sexual encounters between the main characters lends itself to the hero’s origins depicted in the beginning of the book. Expected traits are used in unexpected ways to make this story one that will stay with the reader and lends itself to more than one visit.
Maura at Coffee Time Romance
4 out of 5 cups!
Valentina Kureyev, like her father, is a police detective and also like her father is attached to the neighborhood of Little Europe. A monster is stalking inhabitants of the area and killing them in a particularly horrible way. She has to find and stop him.
Baron Demetri Petronov was a rake and a woman predictably caused his downfall. Now he is a vampire and though cursed tries not to be as evil as his reputation would suggest.
A bloodthirsty monster is stalking the streets and alleys of Little Europe. A priest brings together the unlikely team of a police detective and a vampire in the hopes that the team will be enough to eliminate the evil that threatens them.
This is a very suspenseful tale of two unlikely partners investigating a series of horrible murders. Demetri is a very sophisticated and well mannered vampire and I enjoyed the interplay between him and the foul mouthed detective. Valentina is small but tough and determined to save her neighborhood and the city of the evil that threatens it. The development of the relationship between the two is deftly done. The author creates an ominous and almost oppressive atmosphere that is perfect for the story. The building tension and suspense made it almost impossible for me to put this one down until the last page.
Nobleman's son, Todd Ramble, returns home after years abroad and finds himself falling in love with his step-sister, who was now a grown woman. Unfortunately their love is brutally challenged by his tyrannical father.
