Sandy M’s review of Darker Than Desire (Secrets & Shadows, Book 6) by Shiloh Walker
Contemporary Romance published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks 3 Mar 15
This is the final book in the Secrets & Shadows series, and things don’t slow down one bit as we discover more and more of what has been going on in Madison for generations – horrible, insidious evil that has affected, first, the children of the town and now the town itself since most everything has been revealed. David has been hiding in plain sight since the night he decided to leave his life and the evil behind, a night when more secrets began.
His father was a monster who stood tall right in the middle of all the evil and David only wanted out. With the help of a close friend, it looked like they just might make their plan work, but everything goes wrong, people end up dead, and the evil is exposed. It’s twenty years later and the killing hasn’t stopped. Someone has been systematically taking justice into their own hands, but suddenly that justice stops and it looks like the evil has returned in full force. The only peace David has gotten over the years is when he’s with Sybil, in her arms and in her bed. She’s the only one who can make him feel anymore.
Though he doesn’t see it, it doesn’t matter to Sybil what happened in his past. Only who David is now, with her, matters. She’s had her trials in life too, so the whispers and stares from those few in town mean nothing to her. She knows her heart and she knows him. And she knows more than he thinks she does. But when deaths that shouldn’t be happening begin, and when David realizes he’s the common denominator with all the killing going on, he tries to do what he thinks is right, and Sybil is having none of it. David is hers and she’ll make sure he knows it.
The emotion is kept high in this last book of the series. You can feel the need David has going through him when he’s near Sybil. It’s like a living thing, something he requires to survive the insanity. Her love is the one thing that keeps him together, especially when he once again experiences tragedy. I had hoped that last relationship with him – one that is so very slowly revealed – would be another that would help David truly come back to life. Thus, I’m very surprised Ms. Walker goes as far as she does with Max. I still want to scream at that twist that I thought really wouldn’t happen. Another very emotional time for David that oozes off the page.
The twists and turns keep coming until the end. I didn’t figure things out until very late in the book, it’s all kept well disguised until revelation is truly necessary. This has not been an easy series to read with all the abuse and death, but it’s been worth every word and this story is my favorite. All of the previous characters we’ve met throughout are here to lend support when needed. I like David and Sybil a lot, even when he decides all the wrong things for them both and it seems she’s finally going to let him have his way. Sybil has known her heart all along, and it’s great to read David’s realization of his love for her, slow as he may be in coming to that thought.
I always anticipate what Ms. Walker will be coming up with after she finishes a series, is there any way she can top what she’s just done. She’s not let me down yet. Her current series is usually my favorite until I crack open the first book of the next one. So you can imagine my anticipation right now.
Grade: B+
Summary:
LUST FOR LIFE
No matter how many times he’s left her in the past, Sybil Chalmers can’t ignore her feelings for the one man who stole her heart years ago. For countless nights, she has waited for him—for his kiss, his touch—and has longed for him to emerge from the shadows of his past. Only when she is in his arms does Sybil really feel alive…and finally, after all these years, that time is now.
A DEADLY DESIRE
He’s a man raised in a world of strict rules and unbreakable traditions and he’s always yearned to break free. But when a family tragedy lures him back home, he finds his one true passion has been there all along. With Sybil, he can explore his greatest potential—and allow her to discover a whole new level of ecstacy. But will a long-buried secret threaten to tear them apart? The only thing he knows for sure is that he will do anything to keep Sybil in his life…and keep her coming back for more…
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
