BLUE TWILIGHT

Author: Maggie Shayne ISBN: 0778321495 3/2005 PARANORMAL Publisher: MIRA

The idyllic town of Endover, New Hampshire, looks innocent. But below its surface a thirst and a desire both powerful and ancient boil fiercely. When two girls go missing, only one person can delve deep enough to find them—Maxine Stuart, a private investigator who has finally started to believe. "Mad Maxie" understands why she was asked to help—no living mortal knows as much about the undead as she. But the dark force controlling Endover can see all, and will use Maxine's knowledge against her to strengthen his hold on the town. Not even the influence of Lou Malone, the man Maxie most desires, can convince her to abandon the crusade against a madman's yearning for power...and resurrected love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Well, for a lover of paranormal romance, especially anything with vampires in it, I sure have missed a pretty great author by not checking out Maggie Shayne. BLUE TWILIGHT, her March release, is fun, complex, and thrilling, and definitely something you can read despite the fact there are a zillion other "Twilight" books out there. What a task it must be to bring a reader up to speed without rehashing the plot of the first book in a series more than a reader can tolerate. Maggie Shayne does a great job of giving you the info without making lovers of the Wings in the Night series, sigh and comment how they "know this already."

The plot takes you on a wild trek to discover just who has hitched on board a coma victim, Tempest aka Storm's, ride back to consciousness. While that is happening, Mad Maxine, Storm's partner in paranormal investigations and pal, is coming to terms with her best friend Lou Malone's reluctance to commit to something deeper. They are all headed to a new location and life in Maine, from New York, when they get a call from an old pal that needs their help in discovering his missing sister. That's a lot of stuff happening already, but thankfully, there is more!

I won't give more away, except to say that I really like where this book leads. It's unique all by itself, but it really makes me want to get my hands on all the other books preceding it. I was a little confused at first by the author's note in the beginning, but after reading the story I understood what she meant. Basically, I need the rest of the books...and soon!

Shannon Johnson