Dark Whispers by Barbara Sheridan and Anne Cain is a homoerotic contemporary paranormal story.

Daisuki, or Dai, was trouble with a capital T as a teenager, but with the help, sometimes by force, of a police officer Ray Watts he managed to turn his life around. Dai is now a police officer dealing with not only street problems, but also with his younger brother Wei who is running with a very dangerous crowd. Wei is into a local club called the Resurrection where very strange things are going down. At the same time, Liu Sakurai, a centuries old vampire, arrived in town at the request of the local Chinese Mafia to take out a group of young vampires who are cutting into their business and endangering their protection racket. Sakura senses Dai’s anger and is drawn towards not only his looks, but his strengh of character and hidden wildness. As the bodies begin to pile up, Dai gets pulled into the brothers' world and can’t believe that vampires really exist, especially the one he keeps dreaming of, Sakurai. Things are not as they seem, and Dai has difficulty figuring out friend from foe as more people are found dead when the threats become personal. Will Dai unravel the convoluted case before danger strikes? What will become of Dai and Sakura’s attraction?

Ms. Sheridan and Ms. Cain have once again incorporated Japanese mysticism in a contemporary plot with a unique paranormal flare that holds the reader's interest from the start. The character of Sakurai is one that I loved from their earlier stories, but by delving more into his motivation, the reader understands his action more, even the violent actions. I am fascinated that even with all the special abilities the vampires have they are still controlled by their human personalities. The erotic scenes in this story were well written BSDM scenes that did a good job explaining the motivations of everyone involved in the activities. I will be waiting to read more stories by Ms. Sheridan and Ms. Cain.

Reviewed by: Teresa