Review: 3.5 stars - Hunt's on
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 20, 2012
Holly is a wolfhound shifter and a member of the Shifter Town Enforcement Unit and she is also the 'one that got away' from The Hunter - a wolf shifting serial killer who kidnaps female shifters and then releases them to hunt and kill them on the night of a full moon. It was Holly's insight into the Hunter's 'game' that won her freedom from his clutches, but now the Hunter is playing a new game and all of the old rules are out the window and Holly is his prize.I picked up Cry Sanctuary because I recognized the title - though it turns out that the recognition was of the same title by another author. Still the Kindle sample grabbed me and the story drew me in despite the fact that I generally am not overly fond of romantic suspense, juggling the elements of a romance while managing a decent mystery is tricky business. And while Hart didn't completely pull it off - it was pretty jarring to have a scene with an 'in the moment rape' by the killer of his next victim directly following a scene with some steamy stuff between the leads - I still liked the story for the most part.The reason that I liked the story in spite of the yuckiness, is that the cat and mouse game of Holly's hunt for the Hunter - while he is also hunting her - was well done and the depth of Holly's guilt and grief as she tries to save his next victims make her character feel real as well.As to the romance, it was fine. I liked Caine - the wolf shifter alpha who enters Holly's life when one of his pack mates is kidnapped. And I liked that as Caine comes to know Holly she becomes more beautiful to him - he isn't initially impressed. I also liked that Hart held off on consummating their relationship until well in the book - though I probably would have enjoyed the steamy stuff a bit more if taking a break for some time in the bedroom didn't totally seem to fit with how the case had been consuming her life and I found it hard to accept that Holly could block out the fact that another victim's clock was ticking down.Still, on the whole, I enjoyed Cry Sanctuary and might be tempted to read more from Hart - but I probably won't be backtracking to book one since I prefer my romances one on one.