Title: Lesser Evils
Series: Infected 06
Author: Andrea Speed
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Alternative World
Length: Novel (376pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (5th October 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.
Until recently, Roan was ahead of the curve when it came to reining in the lion that lives inside him. Now his control is slipping at the worst possible times. A new drug has hit the streets—one that triggers unscheduled changes in infected users. Street hustler Holden Krause gets attacked by one of his clients then is surprised to find himself involved in an unwanted, unexpected relationship. And a serial killer begins targeting infecteds in their cat form—something that’s 100 percent legal.
To stop the murders, Roan has to work outside the law. But his newfound thirst for violence makes him worry he might be more like the killer than he thought, and his reluctance to talk about it with his husband, Dylan, puts an extra strain on their relationship. So Roan isn’t just fighting the killer and struggling with his mutating virus… he’s trying to save himself.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3271
Review: This book is part of a series and MUST be read in order. Roan is back and he knows that his control on his lion is slipping. It is getting harder and harder to ignore the need for bloodshed and it doesn’t help matters when infecteds become targets yet again. Holden gets in more trouble than he can handle, but payback is a bitch. Dylan is struggling to get Roan to admit to everything that is happening to him and it puts a bigger strain on their relationship. But, Roan is not just fighting for his life; he is fighting for his very Identity.
I love this series and the way it seems to grow and the characters become more involved in a world that seems to becoming more out of control. Roan and Dylan love each other, but Roan doesn’t want Dylan seeing him at his most brutal. He has Holden for that now, he needs Dylan not to be tainted by his lion side as Dylan is (as far as Roan is concerned) the only thing that is keeping Roan human. In the midst of him fighting the battle to stay human, there is a new drug designed to kill Infecteds and someone is hunting the Infecteds when they are in cat form.
For those of you not familiar with the Infected series I advise you to go and pick up the first book before even trying to read any others, especially this one. There really isn’t much that can be said about this book except bloody hell! Lesser Evil is a story that is as brutal as those that came before it but more despairing, because it forces Roan into a situation that he doesn’t want to be in, and forces him to do things he doesn’t want to do. it also makes him face just how different he is from the other Infecteds and how much humans hate them. Roan and Holden are characters that appeal to your darker side, while the hockey players and Dylan appeal to the fun, happy, more normal side of you.
This book is for those who want a true realistic side of shifters, the brutal, painful changes, and the hate from humans, the self-hate and the primal need of the beast. The push and pull of someone who loves an Infected, like Dylan, who is trying to make Roan share all of himself or the easy acceptance from the crazies (lol) like Hawk, Tank and Scott (hockey players) and Holden, especially Holden, who can easily accept the cold bloodiness of Roan’s Lion. Holden, we see a lot of in this book and we also see his confusion as he finds himself in some kind of ‘relationship’ with someone else who is close to Roan. This book also ends with a huge cliff-hanger, will Roan make it back?
This book I recommend to those who want the dark, brutal side of shifters, where being an Infected is a death sentence, and having friends is a blessing and having someone who loves you is a miracle that feels like a curse.