"A wonderful werewolf mystery and romance!"

Neva Grant, a member of the golden werewolf pack, is on the hunt for a killer. Never mind that she's only a waitress and not a law enforcement ranger like her twin sister; Neva is determined to uncover the werewolf responsible for three murders and the attack on her sister. All of the dead women had attended the nightly orgies at the Sinclair estate before their deaths. Evidence seems to point to a Sinclair being behind the murders. Neva knows that there is one Sinclair clansman who has been cleared by authorities and she decides to seduce him to get closer to the Sinclair pack. Although no shrinking virgin, Neva is an innocent compared to the people who regularly attend the "dance".

Duncan Sinclair has returned to the Sinclair mansion on the Ripple Creek werewolf reservation after a decade away. He has come to help investigate the murders that are taking place, despite his distaste for the activities that go on. He's outgrown the debauchery that his brothers and father seem to revel in. When he senses a newcomer to the dance, an innocent, he cannot help but be drawn into it. When he learns that she has an ulterior motive for seeking him out, he vows to do whatever it takes to discover just for whom she's working. No matter how ruthless he must be to accomplish it.

Neva is shocked to discover that she will pay a higher price than anticipated for her decisions. She had meant to keep her regular life separate from her nightly activities at the mansion, but Duncan won't have that. Neva risks losing the respect of her parents once they learn what she's done. The members of the golden wolf pack tend to be more sexually repressed than the other wolf packs and believe in waiting for marriage.

Will Duncan discover Neva's real reason for attending the dance? Just how far will he go to learn the truth? Is there more going on at the Sinclair estate than meets the eye? Is the key to solving the murders something that happened in the distant past? Will Duncan and Neva be able to work together to uncover the killer? Or will their lust for each other get in the way? And is it only moon lust that brings them together or is something more?

Duncan and Neva are consumed by the passion the rises between them. They are well-matched sexually, despite Duncan's reputation. Neva has a wildness lurking within her that is dying to get out. Duncan is more than glad to oblige her desires. He has changed much in his time away. Will Neva look beneath the surface to glimpse the man he is today?

BENEATH A RISING MOON is the first book of Ms. Arthur's that I've read. I can say that it definitely won't be my last. I was completely drawn into her world where werewolves and humans co-exist. Multiple plot twists keep the reader on edge until the thrilling climax. I would love to see a return to this well-drawn world. Give this one a read -- you won't be disappointed!

Sensuality: Explicit sex; sexually explicit scenes: 10.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted August 30, 2003