This is the first Geonn Cannon book that I’ve read – and it won’t be the last. I’ve seen his name around since the early days of uber and fanfic on the internet but had never picked up anything by him.

Mr Cannon has an easy writing style – he’s definitely been writing for awhile and the characters and plot are well defined and paced with enough going on to keep the reader interested. Ari and Dale are sweet and engaging as a couple and on their own – there’s a wonderful sense of comfort and ease between them that comes out in the writing.

Despite the fact that its the 8th in a series I was quickly drawn into the story and able to understand the backstory and had enough context around Ari, Dale and the characters/events from previous novels to not feel confused or overwhelmed with info dumps.

Ariadne (Ari) Willow is a private investigator with a nose for mystery. (couldn’t resist) As a Canidae, she is able to use her shifter abilities to assist in resolving cases for her clients. Ari is hired to find a celebrity’s stalker and ends up doing double duty as a bodyguard. The mystery works and there’s a reasonable amount of investigation to make it plausible and kept my interest.

From a paranormal perspective, this had actually very little paranormal that moved the story ahead – the main character is a werewolf, but she only shifted a few times and the fact that she is a Canidae really didn’t help with her investigation. If the story hadn’t included the fact that she’s werewolf it would have worked just as well. I’m not sure if that is good or bad – for a paranormal romance, I’d kind of like the paranormal to be integral/essential to the plot. But at the same time, the mystery portion was able to stand on its own without using the paranormal element as a crutch or deus ex machina that solves the mystery without the normal logic/investigation.

From a romance perspective, Ari and Dale are a well established couple but they did have some serious issues in the last book(s) that seem to have challenged the relationship. I don’t run across a lot of “established” couples in lesfic … the books are usually about establishing the relationship and then they ride off into the sunset for the HEA. It’s nice to read about a solid couple that aren’t in the middle of a break up or other angsty drama. Mr Cannon portrays the two as strong independent women with a healthy relationship and both of them are engaging and likable.

The other subplots are related to the past/future books and although I didn’t have the context, I got the gist; and, I hate to say, I want to read the next one to find out what happens next as Mr Cannon sets up the next book in the last chapter of this one. I’m actually interested in reading the series and with 7 previous and more upcoming. That’s a pretty big commitment but I enjoyed the book enough to add the series to my TBR pile. That’s a good sign that this was an entertaining read.