Blue Moon (Nightcreature #1) by Lori Handeland

Miniwa, Wisconsin is under siege, but not by the usual summer tourists. The area's normally shy wolf population has begun stalking human prey, and their victims have been disappearing...or worse. Something is happening in the woods. Something brutal and primitive...

Officer Jessie McQuade has seen plenty in her years on the force—but nothing as intriguing as the gorgeous, naked man she encounters while tracking a rogue wolf. Professor Will Cadotte is a Native American activist. He's also the only man capable of distracting Jessie from her work. And for a cop, distraction—no matter how pleasurable—can be deadly. It's against Jessie's better judgment to accept Will's help in her investigation, yet she soon finds herself doing exactly that—and more. Will's dark, penetrating eyes see into a part of Jessie's soul she never knew existed. It's exhilarating...and terrifying.

Now, as a town's deepest secrets come to light, no one is safe: not friends, lovers, or strangers. And as Jessie follows a bloody trail to the shocking truth, she'll have to decide who she can trust when the moon is full...


Type: Paranormal Romance, Shifters 
Rating: 4 out of 5


Ooooh I liked this one! This was my first time reading Handeland outside of an anthology and I thought it was fantastic! Even being the first book in the series it was easy to get involved in the world she creates and not feel too overwhelmed. I'm always impressed when an author is able to do that and make it seem easy. From the start you know something is amiss in this little town but just not enough to know what exactly, or rather who, is behind it all. Handeland did an amazing job throwing suspicion around and kept you guessing about everyone. So many characters were just a little shady or did random things that were off and made you question their motives. I loved not quite knowing who you could or couldn't trust and that I didn't have every single thing figured out before it happened. I've read a lot of werewolf series but Handeland's take on their creation was a new one for me. I did like that this wasn't your typical "werewolves are hot!" type of book and they had a bit of an ick factor to them.

The heroine and hero were a little different. I liked that they weren't typical and perfect. William actually wore glasses which is something you hardly ever see. He's a drop dead gorgeous professor that gets lost in his thoughts now and again. The whole absentee professor thing was kinda cute. There were a couple really creepy WTF moments with Will when he would just randomly show up places or do a little b&e/stalking that would have totally freaked. me. out. And usually when he just showed up he'd be completely naked. Not that I'm complaining about that but, kinda odd, right? I kept expecting a good explanation for his anti-clothes stance but there wasn't really any reason other than the boy just liked hanging all out there. Ooookay. Jessie is a plain tomboy and a determined cop. She has a very difficult time trusting people because of her family and past. I felt so bad for her during the book when her trust was being tested again and again while she was figuring out what was happening in her town. One thing I did find interesting was that William and Jessie were both insecure about themselves and falling in love. Jessie not finding herself girly and pretty enough for someone like Will and his fear that no one would be with him for anything other than his looks. I did wish we had gotten a little more about how they handled the big reveal at the end of the book. Maybe we'll get a little more of them in the rest of the series. I hope so because I really liked both of them.

Do you have a favorite werewolf series? Do you like your wolves to be the hero or villain of the tale?