No matter how much the paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same in this #1 New York Times bestselling series: if there’s trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it…
As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, but she must now deal with the affairs of the Pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel, ancient being with godlike powers.
As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend a gathering of leaders from Atlanta’s supernatural factions. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered by a shapeshifter, Kate is given less than twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war that could destroy everything she holds dear...
No matter how much the paranormal politics of Atlanta change, one thing always remains the same: if there’s trouble, Kate Daniels will be in the middle of it… As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate. As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…Another great episode in the ongoing disaster known as Kate Daniels, this one seems to be reaching the culmination of the overarching arc of her story. I do wish that the note in the beginning of book had left some information out, including it at the end of the book instead. But you work with what you have. And in this case you have Kate and Curran both making some serious leaps forward as far as their personal growth goes. Once again Hugh D'Ambray makes an appearance, in fact he steps right into the midst of the business between the Pack and the People. He's created an almost impossible situation for Kate to handle, and timed it when Curran just happens to be out of town on a business trip. Tasked with bringing Kate before her father, willingly, he just can't seem to get past his desire to find out which of the two is better. He has a burning need to determine who learned more from Voron, Kate or him? Unfortunately for him that obsession makes him run the very real risk of pissing off his boss, the all-powerful Roland. Kate's connection to Roland becoming public knowledge created ripples, or in some cases giant waves, in almost all the magical communities. And there doesn't seem to be any sign of things calming down yet; if anything it would appear that the situation is about to get much more interesting before it has a chance in hell of returning to a state close to normal. But even Kate knows normal will never exist for her again. If she survives her father every other player will be gunning for her, testing her boundaries and abilities. For all the work being done to set up what looks like a definitive outcome with one of two solutions, the reality is far stranger than anyone had anticipated. Expectations are met, exceeded, and fall far short in no particular order. As always the excitement is there, the challenges, the strong likelihood of the death of either Kate or Curran, as well as the strong bonds of love. And not just romantic love, but the love between a mother and child, between friends and colleagues, and even the elemental love of life - all these and more are represented as well. This was a good book for the original story arc to end on, as it was beginning to feel played out. There are only so many ways to put the hero or heroine in danger and pull off the daring rescue without things getting stale. Same goes for the tumultuous romance. So though I'm sad to see this story line reach its conclusion (purportedly), at the same time I'm glad it happened before the series was run into the ground. And things ended on an unexpected note, as always.