Shadow Touch
Title: Shadow Touch
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Dirk & Steele, Book 2
Publication Info: Dorchester, Jan 2006
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Thriller
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3
Ms. Liu is a linguistic genius. Some of her sentences are so beautiful they bring tears to my writer’s soul. I tried to read this book slowly, to savor it, linger over the delicious phrases, but it was too good, too thrilling, not to turn the pages at a heart-stopping rate. I wish I had marked some of the best descriptions so I could share their lusciousness with you. To whet your appetite, a phrase from a scene on the Trans-Siberian Railroad: “In just one night they crossed vast swathes of taiga, steppe, and desert, mountains rising like knives to cut the sky, bleeding clouds across the high horizon,” (p277). Ah! Be still my heart! This is the second book of Ms. Liu’s that I have read. I love her settings. The first book, Tiger’s Eye, was set mostly in Beijing. This book was set partly in Russia. It made me want to visit. Mafia or no mafia.
Before you run out to pick up this book, let me warn you: Ms. Liu uses her significant talent to write a stomach-turning thriller. Yes, there is a romance in it, but don’t expect warm fuzzies. Serial killers, psychotics, murder, torture, mafioso, pain, death – this story is not for the faint of heart or faint of stomach. It kept me on the edge of my seat, a razor of anxiety knifing through my belly. Would they survive? There is a big difference reading about heroes like Ward’s Zsadist and Vishous and Kenyon’s Derek and Kyrian who were terribly tortured in the past – they are wounded loners in need of some serious psychological help, but at least the reader knows they are alive. They lived to tell the tale. Reading about torture in the present is almost more than my delicate sensibilities can handle. Some of these scenes creeped me the F*** out. Aaaaa!
Plot: The synopsis on the back of the book is one of the better ones I’ve read, but here’s mine anyway: Around the world magic is alive, living beside us but hidden. Humans born with psychic powers, shape-shifters, all secreted away, separated, many believing they are alone, freaks. Elena Baxter is one of these. She has hidden her entire life, using her healing gift on the sly but knowing always that someday her strange power would be discovered. The Dirk & Steele Agency was created to find these extraordinary individuals and give them a safe place where they may use their gifts to the betterment of the world, solving crimes, freeing hostages, finding murderers, whatever needs to be done that only they can do. Artur Loginov escaped his tortured past in Russia when he was found by the Agency, introducing him to the only true family he has ever known. Unfortunately not all gifted individuals have the pure motives of the Agency, and a new dark power, the Consortium, starts kidnapping the gifted. Elena is taken. Artur is taken. They find each other in captivity and a bond is formed when Elena uses her healing gift to save Artur’s life. With the help of other prisoners they escape, fleeing across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad to Moscow, with a serial killer hot on their tail. They risk their lives to stop the Consortium from a desperate power play to unite the eight crime syndicates under it’s evil leadership. Phew!
It’s a fast paced adventure from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to gobble up the rest of Ms. Liu’s books!
Tags: "romance novels", Book lovers & reviewers, Dirk & Steele, Marjorie M. Liu, paranormal romance novels
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
March 20, 2008 at 7:02 pm
This is a series I haven’t been able to try or get into. They all look so good but then I look at my already groaning TBR pile and think? Am I ready for yet another series? To get emotionally involved again? So should I or shouldn’t I would you recommend this series for me?
March 20, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I definitely recommend this series. Ms. Liu is an amazing author – some of her sentences are pure art! As a book addict, I also have a huge TBR pile, so I understand the dilemma. But go for it – this series is worth it!