Berkley Sensation, $5.99, ISBN 0-425-19125-7
Paranormal Romantic Suspense, 2003
Edge of the Moon suffers from the same flaws as the previous book in the series, Killing Moon. Characterization is on the thin side and the romance rarely develops beyond some vaguely defined attraction between the lead characters. While there is a nicely tortured werewolf hero in the previous book, the paranormal element in this one is a nutcase sorcerer and a vague “energy” entity called the Ayindral.
Detective Jack Thornton, the cop in Killing Moon, is the hero here as he investigates what seems to be a no-nonsense case of missing person. Kathryn Reynolds notices that her tenant Heather is missing and files a report. Upon meeting Jack, both experiences a sizzling attraction even as they are plunged into a case of serial killing and cosmic feud or something like that. I’m still not too sure what the whole Ayindral affair is all about. In this case, Ms York has written perhaps a too down-to-earth story: the Ayindral and the bad guy may be powerful entities, but I’m still wondering what exactly they are doing in this story. Caught in their power struggle are Kate and Jack who, I think, are cosmically-predetermined lovers. When you have sex and the bad guy can immediately sense it, it has been some really powerful cosmic sex, after all. It’s quite amusing that at the end of the day Edge of the Moon and crappy futuristic romances all share the same trait: they are way too preoccupied with the hero and the heroine having sex.
The relationship between Kate and Jack never develop past their initial attraction. I wonder what happens when Ayindral gets bored spying on these two having sex and turn its attention to somebody else – will these two even last a month? I don’t know. Jack is a stock police character and Kate isn’t any better; both of them doesn’t have much of a personality to share between the both of them.
With neither a compelling paranormal element to make up for the threadbare romance and vice versa, Edge of the Moon is a well-written but bland read. Ms York really has to do something really has to be done about her very flat characters.
