Werewolves, witchie wolves, gypsies and trigger-happy werewolf hunters roam the landscape of Handeland's snappily written paranormal romance, the third in her Moon series (Blue Moon
; Hunter's Moon
). Dr. Elise Hanover is smart, cheeky and determined to protect humankind from the bloodthirsty werewolf population—even though she's a werewolf herself. Elise has concocted a serum to quell her blood lust, but she still turns furry when the moon is full, a fact that led her to walk away from a promising relationship years earlier. She gets a second chance, however, when her old beau, FBI agent Nic Franklin, arrives at the compound where she's been researching cures for werewolfism. In a breakneck sequence of events, the compound explodes; Elise and Nic flee to Fairhaven, Wis., where a handful of her co-workers are hunting werewolves; and they get caught up in solving the mystery of why so many people have gone missing in Fairhaven. In the process, Elise—Handeland's most appealing heroine yet—learns to embrace her inner canine. Though some of the plot twists will be old hat to those who have read the previous books, and Elise's co-workers have an annoying habit of wanting to shoot everyone (including Elise), this tense, banter-filled tale provides a few hours of solid entertainment. (July)
