PASSION'S PREY – A.C. Arthur
The Shadow Shifters , Book 3
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-54912-1
April 2013
Paranormal Romance

Washington, D.C. – Present Day

Caprise Delgado is doing her dance at Athena's adult nightclub when she sees her brother Nick's friend, Xavier Santos-Markland, or X, in the audience, or rather, she sees him when he grabs her arm after she finishes her routine.  Caprise has been away from her brother for five years, and so far nobody knows where she was.  Now she is living in Havenway, where the head of the Shadow Shifters in the area lives.  Descended from a race of jaguar shifters, or Topetenia, her brother Nick and friend Rome live at Havenway and Rome is the Faction Leader of their group.  Little does Caprise know that the reason she came back to the States has followed her to either get her to return or murder her.

Xavier Santos-Markland, X, is now a member of the FBI and involved in the shifter group headed by Rome and Nick.  X is big, not scared of killing anybody and has very strong and what some might consider twisted urges.  He has nightmares of his childhood that have made him the wounded man that he is today, and he doesn't really know what the love of a parent or a man for a woman is all about.  He can't believe it when he sees Caprise dancing in Athena's, and especially the attitude she has about hiding where she's been for the past five years.  Caprise is always on guard, and sarcastic to a fault, never agreeing about anything and worst of all, trying to deny her shifter side as if it doesn't exist.  When X finds out someone from her past is calling her, she won't tell him who it is, only that it's someone who scares her.

X, Nick, and Rome and other fellow shifters are trying to deal with Rogue shifters who have murdered some of their shifter community, and are spreading a special-made drug.  Their leader is Sabar, and Darel has been his right hand man for years.  Darel is the only person Sabar even slightly trusts and knows he will do whatever he says with no complaint.  But a woman has entered the picture, Bianca, and she could be Sabar's downfall.

Once again A.C. Arthur has brought the jaguar shifters to life and the troubles they face with Rogue shifters invading the country, intent on taking it over with murder or their preferred method, a new drug that they are testing out in Athena's.  A.C. Arthur is slowly ratcheting up the danger to shifters in this country that up until now have lived undercover, just trying to keep to themselves and protecting the humans from the Rogues that have all of a sudden started random murders, not to mention their new drugs that can quickly become addictive.  Rome, Nick and X can feel things gradually getting out of control and don't know yet how to handle the Rogues.

Secondary characters are the other friends of X, who are his best friends and partners.  Sabar and Darel are in charge of some of the Rogue problems, and we starting to meet shifters in other parts of the country who are also dealing with the recent unrest.

PASSION'S PREY is digging deeper into the shadow shifter culture, and here we have two of the most strong-willed people you will ever meet.  Following TEMPTATION RISING (March 2012) and SEDUCTION'S SHIFT (SEPTEMBER 2012), things are turning even scarier and more deadly, and it takes a lot of trust between X and Caprise before either one of them will admit that their relationship is leading to mating and not just enjoying themselves.  If you're interested in the shadow shifters and how they are trying to live their lives in peace and quiet here, A.C. Arthur's Shadow Shifters series will meet your cravings.

Carolyn Crisher