Whispers in the Dark: Romantic Suspense with a Paranormal Twist
Title: Whispers in the Dark (A KGI Novel)
Author: Maya Banks
Pages: 352
Genre: Romantic Suspense / Paranormal Romance
Whispers in the Dark, the fourth book in the popular KGI series, sees bestselling author Maya Banks introduce a paranormal twist to her pulse-pounding romantic suspense series. Whispers in the Dark picks up where Hidden Away left off.
Nathan Kelley and some of his fellow soldiers have been captured by the Taliban, and are subjected to torture in the terrorists’ strong hold. Nathan has suffered untold agony at the hands of his interrogators, and has had to endure the mental anguish of watching his brothers-in-arms killed as a means to force him to talk. After weeks of beatings and interrogations, Nathan is almost ready to give up on life when he hears a “whisper in the dark”. (Heh.) Nate hears a voice in his head urging him to hold on. At first, Nathan thinks he’s going mad, but when the voice keeps coming back, and somehow takes the pain of his injuries away, Nathan’s able to keep on going and eventually escape, together with Swanny, the only other surviving member of his team.
The voice Nate hears is Shea’s. She’s got a gift, albeit an unpredictable one, that allows her to link telepathically with certain people, and help to absorb their physical pain. Luckily for Nate, he’s one of those people. Once Nate gets away, he’s anxious to meet his savior in person. However, Shea’s broken off all contact, and Nate is left to stew in his own head, wondering if Shea was a figment of his imagination.
It’s not that Shea doesn’t want to stay in touch with Nate, but she’s got troubles of her own. A shadowy organization wants to capture her and use her gifts for military applications. The same organization is after her sister Grace, who can not only link telepathically with anyone, but who can also heal injuries. Shea doesn’t want Nate to be dragged into her problems, but when she herself is captured and tortured, she instinctively sends a telepathic SOS to Nate, who dashes across the country save her.
This isn’t my first KGI novel, and it was good to see all the close-knit Kellys again. The Kelly family is one that everyone wishes they had – caring without being overly intrusive. (Incidentally, if you’ve never read any of the KGI novels, you can segue seamlessly into the series with Whispers in the Dark, no prior knowledge required.) Shea was a strong heroine – selfless to a fault, caring, and resourceful. Nate was another great tortured (literally) hero who wasn’t afraid of showing how badly affected he had been by his experience. Shea and Nate make a lovely couple, although I can understand why their whole mind-to-mind communication method would drive some readers (and other characters) nuts. (Luckily this is a book and not a film, otherwise all the shots would be of the two gazing soulfully at each other, which doesn’t make for a very exciting movie.)
I enjoyed this book immensely. I like paranormal romances. I like romantic suspense. With an accomplished author like Banks putting both together, it’s a sure-win, at least for me. As with all Banks’ books, the pace was quick, and the plot was twisty with enough surprises to keep everyone entertained. I know some have complained that the paranormal elements beggared belief. I thought they were perfectly fine. They were a big part of the book, but they certainly weren’t too over-the-top. In any case, this is a romance novel – all romance novels (paranormal or otherwise) require the suspension of disbelief. Isn’t that why we love them? Whispers in the Darks sets up nicely for the next book in the series, Echoes at Dawn, coming out in July. It’s Rio and Grace’s story and I’m very much looking forward to it. No doubt there’ll be a paranormal element as well since Grace is a telepathic healer.
