boeklogboek: Maya Banks – Whispers in the Dark

The fourth book in the The Kelly Group International series, published Janyary 3, 2012.
Genre: romantic suspense
Cover: I love hot men on my covers, so yes, I love this one.

She came to him when he needed her the most.
She came to him at his lowest point. The voice of an angel, a whisper in the dark. She's the only thing that gets Nathan Kelly through his captivity, the endless days of torture and the fear that he'll never return to his family. With her help, he's able to escape. But he isn't truly free, because now she's disappeared and he's left with an all-consuming emptiness as he struggles to pick up the pieces of his life. Did he imagine his angel? Or is she out there, needing his help as he'd once needed hers?
Now he rushes to save her before it's too late.
Shea has been on the run from people who will stop at nothing to exploit her unique abilities. She never wanted to drag Nathan, who'd already suffered so much, into danger, but she doesn't have a choice so she reaches out to him for help. Finally face-to-face after having already formed a soul-deep bond in hell, their emotional connection is even more powerful than their telepathic one. Nathan refuses to consider ever letting her go again, but she worries they can never have a life free of the dangers that dog her every step. He'll protect her with his every breath, but can he convince her that they are meant to face these threats together?

In the end of the previous book, Nathan Kelly was missing in action. His family still doesn’t know what happened to him, where he is or who has him imprisoned. Not even all the resources of KGI can find a clue. Until an anonymous email points them in the right direction, and they finally can free their brother, and the last of his team.
Nathan does not want to tell anything about the sender of that mysterious email, they will think he has gone mad in captivity. Being tortured for two months, he lost the will to live. Until a female voice in his head started talking to him, giving him courage, and the will to go on, to escape. She even took away his pain, so he could rest. He only knows her first name: Shea. He knows she is in danger herself, though she doesn’t want to tell him. He has his family now, he doesn’t need her anymore, but she is wrong. Nathan does want her in his life, not a day goes by that he doesn’t think of her. Sometimes he almost convinces himself he was just dreaming, but the fact of those emails leading his brother to the rescue, remains.

And then, six months later, she calls to him again. He only gets sensations of huge fear, and disorientation, but he knows it must be Shea. And a few days later, she calls him. She has escaped the place they kept her prisoner and drugged, and she needs his help. She is barely clothed and has no shoes or money or id, and she cannot go on alone. Without a word to anyone, Nathan takes one of KGI´s private planes and comes to the rescue. Together they will keep her safe. But he will need the help of his brothers to find out who is after her, and her sister Gloria. The enemy is too well prepared and equipped to be anything but military.

Of course the Kelly family embraces her wholeheartedly. She was the one who gave them back their brother/son, and for that they will for ever be grateful. But now that Nathan has fallen for her, she will be a part of their family, and they will protect her.
Until she is abducted again, right out of their midst. The Kelly clan will do everything in their considerable power to find her again, and get her out. It helps that they finally know where to start looking: with their favourite CIA agent. He doesn’t respond to their calls or emails, and they have spotted his favourite henchman.

Another team is send to find and protect Gloria, as Shea is frantic with worry about her sister. She won’t respond to her telepathic calls anymore, and she needs to have her safe. Gloria’s powers are stronger than hers, and if they are abused, they can kill her.

I loved this story so much! And this book should really come with a box of tissues. There were some scenes, I was really crying hard. This very fastpaced story had me captivated from start to end, and made me way too late for bed, which I paid for the next day at the office. But this book was totally worth only 5 hours of sleep. I could never have closed it without knowing the end.

I loved Shea, she is such a selfless caring person. To reach out to Nathan in his hour of need, when he is so close to giving up. To take away his pain, and help him plot and plan and safe himself and his last team member, I loved it. She has been on the run for a year now, trying to make a living doing odd jobs that pay cash, keeping contact with her sister to a minimum. If she doesn’t know where her sister is, she cannot betray her location when she is captured. She does not want to endanger Nathan or his family, but she has no one else to turn to. Her parents were murdered by the same persons who want to capture her and her sister. And she doesn’t know who they are, or how they know of them.
Nathan is hurt pretty badly, and it is not easy to recover from being kept naked in a cave, tortured almost daily, deprived of food and water. Especially his twin brother Joe doesn’t like it that he has changed, and won’t confide in him. But Nathan has to work things out for himself, but most especially, he needs to find Shea. His body is slowly recovering, but he will never be the same careless easygoing Nathan again. Before his capture he wanted to go work for his brothers at KGI, now he is not so sure anymore. And so he takes his time, building his own home by hand. Everything has to be very open, as he has gotten a dislike of small, tight places.

The story itself, was so very good, I never did see it all coming. Especially the Resnick angle. I really want to read the next book very soon, as I have to find out all about Gloria. At least, I do hope her book will be next.

I really loved this story, the characters, the suspense, the plot, such evil bad persons, the action. Maya Banks is so good in writing emotion, to make me feel it, to make me fall for the characters. Of course, some steamy love scenes are in here as well.

If you like romantic suspense, even with a psychic twist, you really need to read this one. You won´t be sorry.

10 stars.

Giveaway

As I love this series so much, I have decided to give away this book, or one of the others in this series to one of my followers and commenters on this post. Just leave me a comment, and tell me you want it. I'll pick the winner next Sunday.