Book Review: Savage Nature

By Sandy Amazeen Apr 21, 2011, 2:10 GMT

Danger lurks in the shadows and desire shimmers in the sultry heat as leopard shifter Drake Donovan is sent to a Louisiana bayou to investigate a murder. He\'s ready for anything except the insatiable hunger that rocks him when he meets Saria Boudreaux, a woman with a compelling motive-and ability-to distract him from the task at hand... ...more

Struggling wildlife photographer and licensed guide Saria Boudreaux knows the Louisiana bayou and its inhabitants like few others. The discovery of three bodies in the swamp, each killed by the suffocating bite of a big cat, a leopard, has Saria worried that one of her shapeshifting brothers could be a serial killer. Unable to turn to anyone local, Saria seeks assistance from an outside source. Help arrives in the form of Drake Donovan, a fighter recovering from a devastating injury that nearly cost him the ability to assume his leopard form.

From the first whiff, Drake is convinced Saria is not only his mate but also a rare female shifter about to take leopard form for the first time. It is also clear that there is an unknown leopard lair in the heart of the bayou and all is not well. As the resident male leopards challenge Drake’s presence he calls for assistance from the rest of his team, all leopard shifters and some with ancient family ties to the troubled lair. As Saria struggles with the surprising revelation about what she is, her attraction to Drake continues to grow amidst increasing fears about who is responsible for the brutal murders.

Drugs, perfumes, jealousy and murder twine together in this steamy addition to the Leopard series. The plot is sufficiently complicated to hold interest without seeming too contrived although the killer probably won’t come as a surprise to most readers. Saria seems to be strong and capable, able to handle most any situation, though she appears to capitulate to Drake quite a bit, particularly in the relationship building process that isn’t consistent with the woman readers are first introduced to. Still, this is a strong addition to the Leoppard series.