The Last Twilight
A Dirk & Steele series, No 7
Marjorie M. Liu

Avon Books / HarperCollins Publishers
May 31, 2011 / ISBN: 978-0-06-201987-5
Paranormal Romance
Amazon

Reviewed by Linda Young

Doctor Rikki Kinn works for the CDC and is one of the world’s top virus hunters. She is sent to the Congo to investigate a deadly new plague. It is a virus that works like Ebola, only two to three times faster and more deadly. Unknown to her are those who are willing to stop her at any price. Rikki’s past has taught her to trust no one. But when she reaches the small village where the virus was first discovered, she is overwhelmed by the horror of what she sees. She also discovers two men who have been sent by her boss to protect her.

Amiri is a shape-shifter who has been sent to protect Doctor Kinn. He has not been back to Africa for many years. He is also haunted by his past. All he wants is to get this job over so he can return to his quiet self-isolation in the States. He also has trust issues like Rikki because of his past. But when he meets Rikki, he discovers that there is a power even more intense than anything he has ever experienced, the power of attraction and desire that he has for Rikki, his need to protect her, and the realization that she is his life-mate.

Amiri discovers that the man behind it all was part of the group that kidnapped him and tortured him, and is also a man that was supposed to be dead. He also finds out that there are others involved that he never thought to see again. But when he finally manages to get word to Dirk & Steele, he is worried that they won’t be able to make it there in time to rescue Rikki and himself and stop those behind the virus who are determined to kidnap her and kill him.

Liu has a winner here. This book is nonstop action, mystery, and hot sexual tension between Amiri and Rikki. From the first page it revs you up and keeps you turning pages to find out what will happen next. Liu definitely shows how much research and work she puts into her books. This has to be one of the best of this series I’ve read so far in the way she builds her characters, the details of the surroundings, the building desires of the main characters, and the overall story. Liu has fast become one of my very favorite authors. I highly recommend this book.

Reviews of other titles
In The Dark of Dreams, bk 1
Shadow Touch, bk 2
The Red Heart of Jade, bk 3
Eye of Heaven, bk 5
Soul Song, bk 6
The Last Twilight, bk 7
The Wild Road, bk 8
The Fire King, bk 9
Within the Flames, 12