Thea Harrison – Natural Evil

Novella 3,5 in the Elder Races series, published as ebook in 2011.
Genre: paranormal romance / urban fantasy



Attempted Murder. Passion. Betrayal. It’s a dog-eat-dog world.
Claudia Hunter is on a road trip through the Nevada desert when she sees the body of a dog on the side of the highway. Pulling over to investigate, she quickly determines that the enormous animal is clinging to life. While working to save him with the help of the local vet, Claudia realizes there’s something about the creature that seems more. Other. Wyr. Which makes this case of animal cruelty attempted murder.
Too injured to shape shift, Luis Alvaraz is reluctant to tell Claudia what he knows about his attack, afraid it will only make her a target. But the sheriff is corrupt, and his attackers know Luis is alive and vulnerable. To make matters worse, a sandstorm is sweeping into town, and if they’re going to survive the night, Luis will have to place all his trust in Claudia.
Warning: Take a gorgeous man temporarily stuck in the dog house, add a strong, take-no-prisoners woman, mix in encroaching enemies and a raging sandstorm and stir to combine. Enjoy with a freshly opened can of whoop-ass.


Claudia Hunter is a 40 year old woman, a former Special Forces Colonel, who has been journeying for the past 3 years. She has just seen too much, lost too many fellow soldiers, to keep going on in the army, even though she loved the life. She has no idea why she stopped when she saw a big lump on the side of the road. What she finds when she gets out of her car is a huge dog, badly wounded, but still alive. It would be a mercy to shoot it and put it out of its misery, but something tells here this dog wants to live, there is something about it. And so, with the help of the little bit of telekinetic power she has, she manages to put it in her back seat to take it to a vet. A few minutes later she is pulled over by a sheriff, who is also very tempted to put the dog out of its misery, but reluctantly takes her to the only vet in the vicinity. She still does not trust him, or the vet not to kill the dog. Is it a dog, or is this something more? A Wyr? If so, this is not a case of animal abuse, but attempted murder. And why did the sheriff pull her over? Was he on the lookout for the animal, and if so, why?
Claudia doesn’t trust easily, but she helps the vet to put the dog back together, and accepts his offer of staying in the trailer in his backyard until the dog is well enough to take with her. The vet also beliefs there is something more about the dog, and not only because it is humongous.

Claudia is smart and resourceful and efficient, and she wants to take care of this dog. She is also a bit telepathic, and she tries to get it to talk to her when it awakens. And by doing something very funny, she got him to respond, which made her sure this is not just a dog. I loved that part!

But she also knows, the bad guys won’t give up, and thanks to the sheriff, they will know he has survived. Which means both the vet and herself could be in danger. Not being a damsel in distress, she goes out into town to search for it, and handle things. Which I loved also.

When Luis is healed and is human again, he sure tries to be protective of Claudia, but to no avail. What she proposes is much more logical, and necessary. After all, she can handle herself, and the bad guys. She was Special Forces!

There is a lot of attraction between Claudia and Ruis, and Claudia did not think to ever feel that again. After all, she has not been interested in men for many years now, and Luis is only 27. He has his whole life ahead of him, especially since the Wyr live so long, and she is already halfway through with her life. But Ruis has no intention of letting Claudia slip out of his life again.


I loved this novella very much, and am sorry that it has ended. I enjoyed Claudia a lot, as she is so strong and certain of herself and her abilities. I loved how she took care of the bad guys, and of Luis and how she teased him. I do wonder if she will ever buy him that rhinestone collar after all….

Hero: Luis
Heroine: Claudia
Secondary characters: the vet and the bad guys
Romance: sweet and believable
Plot: surprising
Heat-level: medium
Writingstyle: awesome
Summary: great novella, and a lovely addition to the series

9,5 stars

© 2012 Reviews by Aurian