The Durham brothers are shapeshifters and local law enforcement calls on them for aid in missing person cases. Wolf senses are better at tracking in difficult terrain. Sergius is home one day when the sheriff arrives and tells him a female hiker has gone missing in the surrounding Smoky Mountains. Adding to the urgency, a rogue vampire has moved into the territory, and he isn't fussy whose blood he drinks.

In RESCUE IN THE SMOKIES, Juliana is a smart and experienced hiker, who brought lightweight survival gear even for a day hike and told friends where she was heading. But the camera on her phone drained the battery and she was given wrong directions to a shortcut - then led astray by the vampire to tire her out. Now she's huddled under a tree, jaded, confused and running out of time before exposure sets in - and if someone did find her, could she trust him?

Some excellent naturalist details flesh out the story for us - red wolves have been reintroduced to the Appalachians, providing cover for the shifters, while the bats in the natural caves have a disease called white-nose syndrome, killing them but harmless to humans, and some bats are rabid. The beautiful surroundings are well described and I agreed with the sense of the hiker in taking safety kit - all but a basic compass! The story hinges around werewolves protecting a human girl from a vampire - think we've read that one, but the fact that one of the werewolves wants to keep her as his mate is enjoyable and alluring.

Becca Jameson spent some years editing before settling down to write and has put a fun story together in this latest installment of her Durham Shifters series. The adult content is nicely tempered and hot, but I actually wished there was less of it so we could get on with the action. There are few characters and no sub-plot, but there are references to a previous story in the series, so the author clearly has an ongoing story in her mind which she is giving to us in installments. RESCUE IN THE SMOKIES is a fine read for all those who enjoy werewolf tales and leaves us howling for more.

Book Summary

Sergius Durham and his brothers are legendary trackers in these parts, and only the local sheriff knows why. They�re wolf shifters, attempting to live quietly on their horse farm. A difficult task when they�re summoned every time a hiker goes missing. Serg knows there�s something different about his latest case the moment he touches her left-behind clothing. She is his mate, and nothing will stop him from finding and claiming her�except maybe the repeat-offending nuisance of a vampire who lured her off the trail.