The Red Heart of Jade (Dirk & Steele #3)

Omigosh, I knew Marjorie picked up a lot from Star Wars, but how the heck does she know the connection between that and Indiana Jones. Only George and I know that stuff. Unless…. there is a real Dirk and Steele type organisation and she is in it and has psychic powers to match. I could describe the connection, but that would reveal big spoilers to the series. If she is in such an agency, it must be called either \”Liu and Butcher\”, or, more likely \”Liu and Cat\” (hmm, Marjorie the clairvoyant and Ivan ..?shapeshifter?. I think I should reread Ivan Cat\’s novels: \”The Burning Heart of Night\” and \”The Eyes of Light and Darkness\”. I will use a little observation and deduction to see what comes up. (Yes, I caught Marjories Sherlockian reference in one of her novels}.

Dean Campbell is a man full of secrets. Secrets about his job: he works for the Dirk & Steele Detective Agency, an agency that appears normal but hides a contingent of men and women who posess otherwordly powers. Secrets about his own powers: Dean is a clairvoyant and with one touch he can find objects, find energy lines and find people across space and time. And secrets about his lost love: twenty years ago he was in love with his best friend Miri, and even when she died in his arms, he never stopped looking for her wherever he went including on his latest assignment. Dean has been asked to travel to Taiwan to investigate a series of murders for Dirk & Steele. People are dying by bursting into flames, and Dirk & Steele suspect that the killer may not be entirely human. Traveling with Koni, his shape-shifting partner, Dean must find out who is doing the killings and stop them before they harm anyone else. But when he arrives, nothing is as it seems. When he dreams of fire, and wakens to find a mark on his chest, Dean realizes how dangerous this mission is going to be. And when he finds a note along with a picture in one of the victim\’s homes, he discovers that the woman he loves might be alive. And in terrible danger. Mirabelle Lee has been hurting for twenty years. She was once in love with her best friend but when he died she somehow found a way to go on with her life. She is now an archaeologist and Miri has recently been called to Taiwan to help excavate the 4,000 year old remains of three mummies. There is one mummy in particular that holds her attention. The lone woman in the group, she has inside of her chest a piece of red jade, imbedded right into her bone. Red jade that contains strange cursive writing, and calls to Miri in a way she can\’t understand. When a man comes after Miri for the Jade, Dean and Miri cross paths for the first time in twenty years. Now that they have found one another again, they must deal with past hurts, present dangers and future uncertainties. Dean will not give up Miri now; he would rather die than see her gone from his life a second time and Miri is just as determined to be with him. With a terrifying enemy after them, and threats coming from every direction, Miri and Dean will have more to worry about than their relationship. Together, they must face a horrible decision, and find a way through it to survive. The Red Heart of Jade is a fantastic read complete with heart-pounding suspense, thigh-clenching romance, skin-tingling magic and an intriguing couple with amazing powers. Marjorie M. Liu has created a fabulously unique world in the Dirk & Steele novels. I feel like I can curl up with her books and become utterly absorbed for hours, traveling along with Miri and Dean and the other agents as they fight for their lives and loves. I love this series, and The Red Heart of Jade is another perfect example of why Marjorie M. Liu is one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend The Red Heart of Jade to any lover of the paranormal! Shannon Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

If you loved Indiana Jones then the lush settings and nearly non-stop action of the Red Heart of Jade will make you giggle with happiness! Dean Cambell, gifted energy visionary and a member of Dirk & Steele global detective agency, is a face we\’ve seen twice before in Liu\’s work in this series. This time he\’s been sent on an assignment to Taipei, Taiwan to \”find\” a pyrokinetic homicidal maniac who has killed 15 residents already. Only, strange things are beginning to happen to him…and the killer doesn\’t turn out to be a gifted human at all, but a shape-shifter, a white dragon. Mirabelle Lee, is a 36 year old archeologist. She is a leading expert in chinese mummies and antiquities and has been called in to Taiwan after a collegue discovered three 4,000 year old mummies, one of which has a strange peice of jade embedded in it\’s chest. In a sudden and explosive discovery Dean and Miri, parted by death as 16 year old kids on the Philly streets, are reunited. A plot starts to be uncovered, tied up with the murders Dean and his shape-shifter associate, Koni, were sent to solve. Now as the three run for their lives, they must solve the mystery of the broken red heart of jade and risk death many times over. The lush descriptions of the lands the characters travel through, from Taiwan to Hong Kong to interior China, are like their own character in this book. While not neccisarily steamy Dean and Miri\’s love definitley pulls at your heart and their quirky personalities, especially Dean\’s odd sense of humor, shine. IF you love shape- shifters, psychics, and magic wrapped around love and adventure this story is for you!

Complex, engaging, baffling and absolutely unresistable! Loved the characters, the mystery, the carefully orchestrated plot, but perhaps most of all the lingering questions surrounding morality and purpose. Looking forward to the next volume in the series.

Dean gets his HEA with Miri. This story was ok for me, actually it was slow and confusing at times. Even now the stories ending is still not clear with the gift and powers Dean and Miri have. I think the author tried to hard and the chase became boring. Also, for this to be a New York Times Best selling author, she might want to think about getting a new editor for this Kindle edition had a lot of errors in the book with misspelling and words out of place. Usually stuff like this doesn\’t bother me because I read a lot of ARC but with the story already confusing and then add the abundance of mistakes it just became irritable. Hopefully the next story will be better. Dont get me wrong, parts of the story were very good and I wanted to know more, I just didnt enjoy being confused to what really happened.

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