Ghost Walker Raoul “Gator” Fontentot, part of an elite Special Forces unit has taken a leave of absence to assist his brother Wyatt and Grand-mere in the New Orleans bayous locate a missing local singer.
No one including the police has been able to find out anything about Joy’s sudden disappearance. Before leaving for New Orleans Gator is asked to expand his search to include Iris “Flame” Johnson who may well be in the same area. Years earlier each member of the Ghost Walkers volunteered for psychic experiments conducted by deceased Dr. Whitney and supported by the U.S. military. What they got was a lesson in cruelty as they became the unwitting subjects in gene manipulation and physical enhancement in addition to psychic augmentation. Flame received similar enhancement as Dr. Whitney conducted horrific research on helpless children prior to his work with the men. This research turned Flame into a potent weapon and a ticking time bomb as purposely implanted cancer genes laid in wait for the proper moment to activate.
After spending considerable time canvassing the bars and nightclubs Joy was known to frequent and learning nothing, Gator found himself facing the possibility of returning to work with no answers. Then fate handed him a break as he came upon Flame while she carried out a robbery of one of the areas better known gang leaders. The two eventually join forces to discern what happened to Joy and perhaps find out what happened to another woman who disappeared two years earlier under similar circumstances.
It’s an uneasy alliance between two powerful, embittered individuals as they both must come to terms with their disturbing past while dealing with unnaturally strong sexual chemistry, chemistry that may be the result of Whitney’s gene tampering. To complicate matters further someone has made an attempt on Gator’s life, Flame has become the focus of repeated kidnap attempts and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell friend from foe. There are unknown Ghost Walkers involved leading Gator to believe that Whitney must have experimented on at least two additional units. Flame has long believed that Whitney is alive and trying to recapture her to continue his “research”. In light of the growing evidence, Gator is beginning to believe she may be right. Circumstances lead him to doubt the honesty of his team members while forcing him to betray Flame so completely that it will destroy the growing bond between them even as they manage to rescue Joy.
Feehan delivers an action packed paranormal romance in her third addition to the Ghost Walker series. The main story is strong with plenty of subplots adding suspense while providing background information new readers to this series will find helpful.
The two main characters have some psychic surprises up their sleeves which prove handy when faced with an assortment of enemies bent on one brand of destruction or another. Repetition made Whitney’s questionable status an overdone plot point but for the most part, this was an entertaining read.
Your Talkback on this Story