The first story in a new series called Dirk & Steele is an impressive novel very much in the style of Christine Feehan's Dark Series and will definitely be a resident on my keeper shelves.

At the Dirt Market in Beijing, China, Dela Reese is unexpectedly sold an antique riddle box and as she leaves she is accosted by a strange man with fire in his hands who tries to take the riddle box from her, but Dela is no shrinking violet and screaming blue murder manages to get away. Back in her hotel room, after a shower to calm her nerves, she remembers the box and finally after much examination opens the box to swirling lights and a man coalescing from the misty light.

Hari, is an ancient shapeshifter, betrayed and imprisoned for two centuries in the riddle box, a slave to whoever called him, to be used and abused as they saw fit, always to be under another's command, but when Dela touches him softly in wonder and "sees" his soul burning bright despite the pain and suffering of the past millennia, neither can quite grasp the implications. Neither Hari nor Dela are inclined to trust their hearts to another, but through the simple act of extending a compassionate hand, Dela shows by her actions that she neither wishes to be, nor will be, his "master" and Hari's heart begins to thaw and trust that she indeed does not wish to cause him harm of any kind. Surviving another attempt on her life, Dela and Hari, quickly learn more of each others special and unusual talents, talents that many might see as magical but have kept both of them solitary for much of their lives.

When they are confronted again by the man from the Dirt Market, Dela learns first hand of the Magi, the evil wizard responsible for the betrayal and all the pain and suffering Hari has endured over the centuries and knows hate on his behalf, but it's Hari's realization that he would willing give his life for hers without any reservation, or command that gives him pause to thing about just how deep his feelings for Dela are growing. Dela, used to a solitary life, is also pondering the depth and intensity of her feeling towards Hari and each hour they spend together is binding their souls tighter.

With the addition of several friends from the Dirk & Steele Agency to help when Dela and Hari return stateside, and additional attempts on her life for reasons yet unknown there is plenty of action, good plot and character development and lots of sizzling scenes between Dela and Hari.

The Dirk & Steele Agency, a secret agency whose members display a variety of unusual psychic talents is a brilliant venue for future novels, and the addition of the mythical shapeshifters just seems a natural and logical progression. As I read Tiger Eye, one of my primary thoughts was I certainly hope Ms Lui has plans for this to become a series, and about ²/₃rd of the way through I went online to check because I just needed to know this enticing novel would have a sequel, and to my absolute relief, she has indeed written a series with the second novel already out and a third and fourth to follow later in the summer of 2006. I can only see great things for this author and can't wait to get my hands on her next book.

Dela Reese did have some experience with the out of the ordinary in life, but nothing had prepared her for Hari, a man enslaved and kept trapped Djinn fashion in a box for two thousand years. When she buys his box, she accidentally becomes his master, and determines to set him free.

If he is strange to her, she is more so to Hari. Never in his aeons long imprisonment has he known kindness at a master's hand. Before either know what is happening, they are in love, but the man who placed Hari in the box wants him back, and will stop at nothing, murder included, to reclaim the shape shifter.

It is a race against time to set Hari free forever, and stop the evil master's plan. Combining the legend of the Djinn with that of the Selkies, then setting the entire thing in a very exotic location, Ms Liu has created an unusual novel that zips along at a rapid pace.