Review: Dancing with the Devil - Keri Arthur

Having grown up on the tough streets of Lyndhurst, Private Investigator Nikki James believes there is nothing left to surprise her.  That changes the night she follows teenager Monica Trevgard into the shadows and becomes a pawn caught in a war between two very different types of men.  One fills her mind with his madness; the other pushes his way into her heart.  Nikki knows how dangerous love can be but, if she wants to survive, she must place her trust in a man who might destroy her.

For three hundred years, Michael Kelly has existed in the shadows, learning to control his vampiric death cravings.  Nikki not only breaches his formidable barriers with her psychic abilities, but makes Michael believe he may finally have found a woman strong enough to walk by his side.  Will his love be enough to protect her from a madman hell-bent on revenge?  Or will the secrets they keep from each other prove to be the greatest threat of all?

The Nikki and Michael Series:
Dancing with the Devil
Hearts in Darkness
Chasing the Shadows
Kiss the Night Goodbye

For more information visit Keri Arthur's website

Review:
Nikki is a psychic Private Investigator who is smart and street wise having spent several years living on the streets as an orphaned teenager.  She has been employed to find a missing girl but soon finds the case is much more complicated than it seemed.  While tracking Monica she comes into contact with Jasper - someone who is completely crazy and obviously not human. 

Michael has been tracking Jasper for years trying to stop his ruthless killing spree.  When he realises that Jasper is intent on claiming Nikki for his own evil purposes Michael decides to use her as bait to catch him.  It doesn't take long before his feelings for Nikki start to grow and he finds himself wanting to protect her.  Both of them have secrets to hide & Nikki finds it very hard to trust Michael because of things that happened in her past.  She is also incredibly independent and resents what she sees as Michael's attempts to control her.

Despite the strong attraction between them neither Nikki or Michael are looking for love & both are determined to fight their feelings.  But with the threat of Jasper they are going to have to work together if they have any chance of coming through this in one piece.

This was the first book I've read by Keri Arthur but I will definitely be going back for more.  The story had me gripped from the first page & I couldn't put it down, in fact I stayed in the bath for 4 hours to finish reading it!  The action starts on the very first page and continues right through to the end of the book.  Although there are obviously strong feelings between Nikki & Michael their romance isn't the main focus of the book. 

The storyline was very fast paced & kept me on the edge of my seat, it was easy to get into Nikki's head & feel her fear of Jasper and I liked the fact that she was vulnerable despite her psychic abilities.  At times she is in real danger & you really can't tell how how she is going to survive until the end of the book.  Jasper was an excellent villian - he was downright creepy & probably the best villian I've come across in a long time.

I really can't recommend this book enough if you are an Urban Fantasy fan - especially if you like books that are quite dark in places.  I can't wait to read the next book Hearts in Darkness.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
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