Zombie driving school and werewolf cops

Hi and welcome to your Wednesday fix of Shapeshifter Seductions. This week I will be reviewing “Moon’s Fury” by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp. This is book five of the Tales of the Sazi series. It was first released in 2007 and re-released just a few months ago, so you should be able to find it pretty easily.

But before we get to the book, I want to point out what a fantastic job we have all been doing in making the Others feel welcome and at home with the 21st century. A few weeks ago, a vampire ran a car off the road in Fruita, Colorado. A few days later a leprechaun was spotted at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. (If you’ll remember, there’s a Sazi wolf pack up there.) And just this week a car load of zombies was in a car accident trying to get to a party in Portland, Oregon. While some people think this is a sign of young humans acting like dorks, I just know it’s the contribution of us fantasy writers and you loyal readers making the Others feel like they belong.

Just think about it: a vampire was willing to expose himself to ridicule by trying to hitch hike… Well, maybe it isn’t such a good idea for vampires to be trying to hitch rides, but there was nothing wrong at all with a leprechaun going grocery shopping. Seriously! When was the last time you saw a leprechaun willing to part with his hard earned gold long enough to hit the produce sale at Safeway? And, well, I guess the zombies really need to take driving lessons. But maybe now they will be allowed to join a driver’s ed course. Heck, even the responding police officers were caring. One was quoted as saying, “We are just glad nobody died, even the undead.”

And if you don’t believe me, just do a Google search. Honest to god, all three storied made national news!

So, without further ado, I present “Moon’s Fury”:

The Sazi have survived time immemorial by hiding within the ranks of human society. While there aren’t a huge number of them, they do come to the attention of human authority from time to time. Good thing there are Sazi hidden within those ranks, too.

Cara Salinas is Alpha of her pack of Mexican Red Wolves in western Texas, but she’s also the county sheriff. Adam Muller is Second in the Minneapolis pack of timber wolves and also a beat cop in one of the city’s toughest precinct. When the Sazi Council orders the huge pack in Minnesota to reduce pack size, Adam is sent down to Texas to reconnoiter the area, since half a dozen families were to head down there and join Cara’s pack. Too bad no one bothered to tell Cara about the plan.

Cara has her hands full trying to figure out how to make six families of outsiders work in her small, rural community where everyone knows everyone. To make matters worse, she isn’t feeling nearly as offended at having Adam, a wolf dominant enough to be a pack leader in his own right, in her territory. If that wasn’t enough, she has the new leader of Wolven, Lucas Santiago, breathing down her neck and serial killing Sazi birds kidnapping girls and killing human traffickers!

I enjoyed this book- it has a spicy zing that keeps you turning pages. It takes most of the book for Cara and Adam to admit to their intense attraction to each other and find time to actually act on it. I love the way secondary characters are lively and likeable, adding a lot of depth to this story. Of special interest in the secondary cast is Sam, the Wolven agent/Texas Ranger/ancient bald eagle shifter from the Comanche tribe. He gets plenty of character development to make him easy to like and just enough background info to make you yearn to know his secrets- and he seems to have plenty of them.

Ok, to the nuts and bolts of the story plot. I won’t go too in-depth, but this is the first book of the main story arch. Where the first four books seemed to be hinting of bigger things happening, this book comes alive with hidden plots being revealed. We will get to see a new side of Lucas Santiago, and why he was so sad the Jack Simpson had to die the way he did in book four. We will also get to see a new, darker side of the raptors and snakes as we see a master plot for world destruction- not domination- unfold with them at the heart of it. And thought the general tone of this book is dark and hectic, the hero and heroine have a very happy ending, even though it’s a bit bitter sweet for Cara.

Next week, I’ll be reviewing book six of the series, “Timeless Moon,” where we will meet again the mysterious Aspen/Josette Monier and the husband she’d thought she lost. Untill then, have a safe and festive week. And remember, it’s fine to support the “Others” in your community, but don’t pick up any vampire hitch hikers!

Rebecca Gillan
RebeccaLGillan.com