The Thrall Book 3: Touch of Darkness by CT Adams and Cathy Clamp

Tom Doherty Associates/Tor Books
Urban Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 5

Kate Reilly and Tom are finally getting married! Or are they? As everyone knows, life never runs smoothly for Kate, especially with the Thrall still out there and Tom’s werewolf pack convinced Kate and Tom’s relationship is a very bad thing. Kate is about to head off to Las Vegas to marry Tom before having the big church wedding later on at home. When her apartment building collapses in a blizzard, that’s just the beginning of her problems.

Tom’s pack has a new Acca (alpha) and she will do anything to prevent the marriage from taking place. As of that wasn’t enough, Kate discovers the Thrall has reorganized and now instead of having various hives all over the world, they now have one leader over all of them, and that Queen has ties to Kate’s past. Still worse, now society thinks of the Thrall as the good guys since they’ve disguised their plans behind a variety of charity programs designed to put humans at ease and make them trust the Thrall. But wait, there’s more… Kate’s psychic abilities are being blocked just in time for her to discover there is the mystery project the Thrall are working on. And just to add to the stress of preparing to get married and save the world from the Thrall, Kate has discovered a very deadly plan… The Thrall have rescinded Kate’s Not Prey status and now she’s just Prey like the rest of the world. Kate sure has her work cut out for her if she still plans to make it to the church on time!

Of course, Touch of Darkness wouldn’t be a book by stellar writing duo Adams and Clamp without lots of action and adventure and plenty of frightening moments of wondering if our heroine and her team will make it out alive. Several surprises crop up throughout, which leave us breathless with shock. I knew from early on the Thrall were up to some nefarious plan involving the werewolves, all the signs were there, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was until about halfway through the book when I started to suspect the truth. I love a good mystery wrapped up in an urban fantasy story so I was on the edge of my seat, with no fingernails left from biting them in nervous anticipation, waiting for the final shoe to drop and the puzzle to be revealed.

Forget everything you thought you knew about the Thrall and the werewolves, we have a whole new set of rules here. Several dramatic changes have occurred in both societies since the conclusion of Touch of Madness, and everything is turned upside down. This just adds to the confusion Kate and her friends are feeling as they try to learn the new rules at a time when getting them wrong means death. This also serves to up the ante for we the readers as we feel the pervasive fear that comes from one Touch of Darkness.

I’ve been following along on the adventures of Kate Reilly and company since Touch of Evil and while I’m glad to see the story concluded, I’m a little sad too that I won’t get to spend any more time in this world of CT Adams and Cathy Clamp. I’m going to miss visiting these friends of mine. There is one particular part of the conclusion to this book I adored and I was filled with excitement for how that particular issue was completed. I can’t say what it is since it would be a spoiler but I think you’ll know what I’m referring to when you get there as well. All of the loose ends are finally tied up and we see Kate on the brink of having everything her heart could possibly desire. After the dramatic final battle scene, we are definitely left with the feeling that all is right in Kate’s world and all of her friends and family are happy.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, July 2008. All rights reserved.

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