Hotter After Midnight (Paperback)

by Cynthia Eden (Author)
Key Phrases: night butcher, wolf shifter, Cynthia Eden, Paradise Found, Gillian Nemont (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Cynthia Eden's HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT is just that-hot. This book starts out sizzling and erupts in flames page after page. ..A page-turning erotic adventure that you won't want to put down until the end."-Lani Roberts of Affaire de Coeur, 5 Stars -- Affaire de Coeur

"A cross between CSI and Medium, only hotter and with a hero that truly has bite!" -- Jacquelyn Frank, USA Today and NYT Best-selling Author

"Highly sensual and definitely dangerous." -- Shannon McKenna

Product Description
Dr. Emily Drake's patients tend to be a little unusual. Instead of the typical therapist's caseload of midlife crises and mother fixations, Emily treats vampires with blood phobias and sex-demons looking for meaningful relationships. But her gift for recognizing and healing the Other - those creatures of the night that most humans don't even know exist - requires a few house rules. First: Never trust a shifter. Especially not one like Detective Colin Gyth, whose gold-flecked eyes and predatory air make Emily realize how much she's been longing to lose control...Colin can't believe the doctor he's been assigned to work on the Night Butcher murder investigation and is the one person who could expose his true identity as a wolf shifter. Smart, sexy, and stubborn as hell, Emily brings out the alpha male in Colin, unleashing a wild, heady desire that takes them both over the edge.But in the shadows, the Night Butcher waits...eager to spill Emily's blood and taste her terror. And he'll use any means to destroy her, including the one person she has grown to trust...

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Brava (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758226020
• ISBN-13: 978-0758226020
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,013 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining and interesting cross between urban fantasy and romantic suspense, May 4, 2008

By	K. Hinton "avid reader" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Dr. Emily Drake is a person who knows that everything is not as it seems. Known as the Monster Doctor, Emily's patients consist of vampires, shifters, charmers, and demons. As an empath, Emily has the ability to sense the emotions of those who are Other, and uses this talent to help them navigate the trials and tribulations of being Other in a society that views what is different as being dangerous. But when a blue-eyed Shifter turns up at her office, even do-gooder Emily is a little hesitant. Shifters are notoriously volatile and occasionally psychotic, and Emily knows from past experience how dangerous it can be to get involved with one. But when the shifter in question tells her he's a cop, and he's requesting her help with an investigation involving the Other, Emily agrees to play along.

Colin Gyth is a shifter who goes through great pains to hide who he is from those around him. As a cop, he knows how dangerous life is even without admitting to others the beast that he carries inside him. When victims start turning up with their throats ripped out and animal hairs on their bodies, Colin is angry that one of his own could be so cruel. But with the help of the Monster Doctor, he's determined to get to the bottom of things before anyone else turns up dead. Getting to hang out with the beautiful, green-eyed empath is just a perk that comes with the job...

Hotter After Midnight is my first story by Cynthia Eden. I'm always hesitant to try new authors because it's easy to get burned with so many new paranormals popping up every day. This one was a good venture. Hotter After Midnight was a cross between urban fantasy and romantic suspense with all the best elements of each. The mystery was at the forefront of the story, but not over the top or overbearing, and the romance was passionate and intriguing. Colin was an alpha hero just like I like them, all possessive and protective, he made sure that no one went near his lady without answering to him for it. And Emily was a sweet, interesting heroine who I both liked and admired--which is rare. This story is great for anyone who likes paranormals about all types of supernatural beings--vampires, werewolves, demons, etc--but also wants something entertaining and suspenseful to boot.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Paranormal Romantic Suspense is Packing Heat!, May 23, 2008

By	B. Leveto "BevL(QB)" (Northeastern OH, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here's two people who lived their lives feeling like outsiders from the human race--Emily because she could sense The Others and Colin because he didn't know he WAS an Other (he was orphaned as a toddler).

At age seven, Emily discovers her father's body after he blows his head off, then her mother throws her into a mental institution because, being a child, she doesn't know to keep quiet whenever she sees or senses an Other. Now a successful psychologist with a patient roster of Others (fun concept, fun scenes), she finds that she STILL needs to keep her abilities hidden.

Raised in several foster homes after his parents' death, not knowing what he was, not even knowing The Others existed, Colin experiences his first shift at puberty and spends much of his life feeling like a freak, forced to hide and control his animal side. Even later, after he began to sense that he wasn't the only Shifter, he never knew about vampires, charmers, demons, etc. His own partner tried to kill him when he found out what he was!

Set up for some heavy, angsty, get-over-yourself, intense drama, right? They'll be healed by the Power of Lurve and live Happily Ever After, right? WRONG! They don't need to heal. They both have it together. THAT was the hand they were dealt and THIS is who they are now in their separate successful lives. What they find with each other is the chance to be themselves, to be loved and trusted because of, and in spite of, who and what they are. But they WORK toward that trust as they work together solving a series of preternatural murders.

Now, don't get me wrong, the book's not perfect. Eden fell back on the heap big macho wolf finds his mate in the teeny, tiny spitfire of a woman cliché. And the climactic scene confronting the villain was a bit of a let down--WHY'd he do it? Well, it kind of amounts to... "Because He Could.". Acceptable, yes, but I would have preferred something more.

Despite those two quibbles, the second I shut this book, I immediately could see Emily and Colin in a series of books solving preternatural crimes like Savich and Sherlock in Catherine Coulter's romantic suspense FBI series-- only this one's way hotter... and has The Others. Their sidekicks are even already in place-- McNeal, Colin's boss; Dr. Smith, the coroner; and Brooks, Colin's partner. Hell, I could even see this as a TV show.

We learn just enough about Colin and Emily in this book to want to see them work together again. But we aren't subjected to the angst of them working through an overabundance of personal drama. We know who they are and we LIKE them together. This kind of bottled lightning doesn't strike too often. I suspect it's the kind of magic that an author couldn't deliberately set out to catch.

So here's hoping that Ms. Eden (and Brava) will realize the characters are right there, already in place, just waiting for the call telling them they've got another Others mystery to solve.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't want the story to end..., October 11, 2008

By	H. Gracia (Chula Vista, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a new author for me and I wasn't sure what to expect. Wow...I loved it. It has a great, unusual premise of a doctor who can "see" the "others" of the world. I really liked her interactions with her patients...lots of humor in that. The relationship with the detective who turns out to be a wolf shifter is very well explained. I really didn't want the book to end, I was enjoying it that much. I do agree with another reader, though, that the title of the book doesn't really have much to do with the story line. A great read and I'm going to check out this author's other books.