~REVIEW of Lori Handeland's THUNDER MOON~

Thunder Moon (Nightcreature, #8)

Opening line: A storm beneath the Thunder Moon is both rare and powerful."

THUNDER MOON is the eighth and final book in the Nightcreature series, however I read this book as a stand alone and thanks to Lori Handelands returning cast of characters and generous back story I never felt confused. With a strong female lead, sexy but mysterious love interest, lots of entertaining secondary characters plus an intriguing paranormal mystery to solve this is a good read.

Grace McDaniel is the sheriff of Lake Bluff, Georgia she's a tough, sassy and independent woman with a small sarcasm problem. Written in the first person I found Grace's character and in particular her running internal dialogue to be hilarious, you just never what was going to come out of her mouth next. Although part Cherokee, Grace has never embraced her traditional side and when after a freak thunder storm the elderly residents in Lake Bluff start turning up dead and upon autopsy missing their hearts she is at first reluctant about excepting the supernatural.

Also arriving during the storm is Ian Walker, a Cherokee doctor who blends native with traditional medicine. The pair has immediate chemistry even though there's something about Ian that Grace doesn't fully trust. Ian character is intriguing from the start, he's gorgeous of course but also very secretive. Bearing the mark of a warrior on his back and an eagle feather in his long hair, Ian has hidden powers and a painful past he's trying to overcome.

As the creature preying on the town's residents gains strength it begins to kill not just the old but the young and healthy as well forcing Grace and Ian to team up in a race to find the Raven Mocker. Since this has been written in the first person we get the pleasure of discovering Ian and learning his secrets as Grace does. And although their love story is unconventional due in part to Grace's dominance this only makes for some very steamy love scenes. I don't think I've ever read a romance before where the heroine rescues the hero, so yippee if you like a strong female lead.

I also enjoyed the many other residents of Lake Bluff in particular Grace's partner and his Chuck Norris joke bandit and fans of the series will love hearing about the returning Doc as well as her best friend Claire and husband Malachi. There is also some mention of Dr Elsie Hanover and the Jager-Suchers.

THUNDER MOON has a heavy mystical presence which I loved. Combining Cherokee legends with the paranormal and with all the non-stop action you won't be able to guess `whodunit' until the very end. Cheers