The Thief of Mardu

Catam catches the thief, but how much will he lose if he turns her in…?

Isa should never have accepted Harron’s job. The house layout had been wrong and when she got to the safe it was empty. She tripped over the bloody body of Statesman Klin, and then left a bloody handprint on the wall. Even as Isa ran off when the alarm was sounded, she did not initially realise that she had been set up.

Investigations into the Statesman’s murder led Catam to a small time thief. Surprisingly, she escaped his not so subtle attentions at their initial meeting. Catam easily followed her trail; he is Xema and has an extrasensory capabilities. The following morning, he is there when she wakes. However, Catam is unprepared by how quickly he loses control with Isa. He is a pleasure giver and has always been able to dominate any sexual situation. Isa has taken him to unforeseen heights, yet he believes that she is naively unaware of just what she has done. Isa is ecstatic. She has always thought that she was frigid; a freak among her family of pleasurers. She had become a thief because of her lack of sexual flair. Finally, with Catam, Isa has found her wings and is more than ready to explore her newfound sexuality.

Together, they piece together events leading up to Statesman Klin’s murder and quickly realise that Isa is in danger from the real killer. She may even be a target for assassination. Catam has a job to do, and is now torn between his duty to turn the thief in and his body’s instincts to make Isa his woman…over and over again…

Marie Harte’s latest erotic futuristic tale sees a man with a reputation for causing trouble meet his match in a woman who is known for her illegal activities. Although Catam is determined that he will prove Isa innocent of her crime, his erotic education leaves her far from innocent in the art of pleasuring. These scenes are highly explicit and include a touch of voyeurism. The introduction of Catam’s brothers and other members of his crew show Isa a different side to her lover and it is far from what she was expecting. The plot is solid and is as compelling as the eroticism. Catam enjoys the hunt of the bounty hunter as much as Isa takes pride in her stealth as a thief. Both are from opposite areas of the law so a shared future looks impossible. The Thief of Mardu is loosely linked to Lurin’s Surrender but is enjoyable without knowledge of the first. However, both are recommended by this reader and I look forward to Marie Harte’s as yet unnamed, but planned third futuristic story.

Reviewed by: Naomi