Running Hot

Running Hot
By Jayne Ann Krentz

The newest of the contemporary Arcane Society novels has arrived and I finished it in two nights! It has the author’s trademark fast pace and great character development. From the attention grabbing opening line, “Martin was going to kill her” we know that our heroine is not going to have an easy time. While I am always prejudiced in favor of a librarian as leading lady, Grace Renquist is truly likeable; she’s had a rough time and managed to survive on brains and ingenuity. Her incredible ability to read auras, strong even by Arcane Society standards, helps her keep one step ahead of the bad guys. The hero, Luther Malone, is also an aura talent, one who can read the auras of others and use his own to manipulate theirs. This skill came in handy in his former life as a police detective, and still does in his current life as a bartender and sometime J&J operative. Though Luther has a bad leg and uses a cane due to a gunshot injury on a previous J&J case, he compensates well and gets assigned to bodyguard duty when Fallon Jones sends Grace to Hawaii to ID a suspected multiple murderer. Should be a quick, easy job, but things get complicated when the two run into a veritable convention of paranormal talents and realize they’ve stumbled onto a meeting of a small group of members of Nightshade, the renegades within the society who are determined to recreate the legendary Founder’s Formula. Throw in a couple of unexpected assassins with exotic talents and a supporting cast of quirky characters, and even the inimitable Fallon Jones can’t predict where the plot will go next.
Running Hot is another strong entry into the Arcane Society lineup, with an intricate plot and a great cast of characters. Those who haven’t read the previous contemporary Arcane Society books might find the Nightshade plot a little confusing, but Krentz provides enough background to make it manageable. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. Based on a few of Grace’s comments near the end of this book, I am hoping that we will finally get to meet Fallon Jones, and that Fallon will get to meet his match....