Synopsis:
Left penniless and alone by the untimely death of her father, Sarah Lowell works as a day nurse at King’s College Hospital. Her daily walk to and from work crosses the Rookery of St. Giles, a dangerous place made all the more frightening by the fact that someone lurks in the shadows, watching Sarah, stalking her like a beast of prey.
Enigmatic surgeon Killian Thayne offers Sarah his protection, but his sensual, commanding presence presents another kind of danger. Killian wears his professionalism like a mask, concealing the darkness buried in his soul. He is drawn to Sarah, lured by her intellect, her dry wit, and yes, her loneliness, for it calls to his own.
Then a patient is found dead, drained of blood. Another soon follows, and another, and rumors paint Killian as the monster who killed them. As evidence mounts and the threatening presence that stalks her draws ever nearer, Sarah must decide if Killian is a man deserving of her love or a sinister creature determined to make her his next victim.
This was a wonderful read – it’s everything I could want from a paranormal romance novel.
The heroine is barely described physically, what we know about her is that she’s intelligent, compassionate and brave. Those three things being far more meaningful and attractive than a fine rack and a set o’ load bearing hips. Sarah, aforementioned heroine, is a young woman who was trained by her father to be a surgeon and after his death she is forced to work in a hospital as a nurse, where she’s generally treated the way you’d expect a young woman to be treated in the Victorian era – poorly.
When she meets Killian, a mysterious surgeon working at the hospital, she can’t help but be attracted to a man who values and respects her opinions and choices.
This is just the best formula for a romance – intelligent woman is respected and smouldered at until sexy times ensue. It works for me every time!
The vampire element of this novel was understated and well done, though I can’t help but think that the book wouldn’t have been all that different without the supernatural aspect. No complaints from me though, it had the right amount of angst without being tiresome.
This story is fast paced and doesn’t hang around long enough to dwell on your usual Victorian melodrama, the mystery is comfortingly predictable and tidy. The enjoyment is in watching Sarah react to the events unfolding around her.
This may be my favourite of all of Eve Silver’s books and is definitely going on the ‘read again’ shelf!
