Paranormal/Futuristic
Bond of Darkness
By Cheryl McInnis
Sep 9, 2008 - 3:01:18 PM

For over fifteen years, Texas Ranger Stephanie (Steve) Reynolds has been the on again-off again lover of Ethan Templeton, one of Don Rafael Perez’s enforcers.  Steve is one of the few mortals who know Ethan’s secret, that he is a vampire.  Ethan’s nature has never bothered Steve until she saw him kill a man in cold blood.  Steve’s sense of justice was outraged, and she swore that she was finished with Ethan for good.

Everything changes though, when someone or something begins murdering young women throughout Texas.  Although the police suspect drugs are the reason for the strange deaths, Steve becomes more and more convinced that a vampire is behind the attacks and she is forced to ask for help from the one person she never wanted to see again, Ethan Templeton.

Ethan allowed Steve to walk away from him only because he believed there was no hope for their future together.  Even if she had agreed to live in immortality with him, new vampires can only be created by his patron Don Rafael, who refuses to turn females into vampires.  Even though Ethan loves Steve, he is content to watch her from afar and help her out with cases when he can.  Soon Ethan and Don Rafael realize that the attacks on the young women are the work of an old enemy bent on revenge.  Ethan is torn between his duty to protect Don Rafael and his desire to keep the woman he loves safe.  Ethan tries his best to do both, but he knows that eventually he will have to make a choice; one that may cost him his own life.

Ms. Diane Whiteside has done a marvellous job creating a world of vampires who blend old world sensibilities with modern day thinking.  Her writing is lush and sensual with a smattering of violence and intrigue that is sure to draw her readers in.  BOND OF DARKNESS is the third and final novel in Diane Whiteside’s Texas Vampire series.  An interesting note about the novel is that each one of the previous stories runs simultaneously, so although BOND OF DARKNESS is Ethan and Steve’s story, we also get a glimpse of Don Rafael and Grania’s and Jean-Marie and Helene’s stories, as well.  I haven’t read the two previous novels; BOND OF BLOOD AND BOND OF FIRE, but after enjoying BOND OF DARKNESS, I will be adding them to my must-be-read list.