Keira is back in Texas, freshly trained and ready (she hopes) to take up the mantle of Kelly Heir. Before she's able to settle in to her new role, she receives an invitation from a relatively new wolf pack and it's Alpha to a football game in White Rock, the closest town of any size to Rio Seco.

There have been many changes since Keira and Bea used to hang out there on weekends during high school. White Rock has become close-minded and insular. A proselytizing religious group formed in the local church has infiltrated the school board and city council, among other civic groups. Normally that would not be a matter for Clan to handle, but it turns out the church group has it in for anyone not white-bread-Texan, and the local werewolf pack (an eclectic mix of human ethnicity) is missing people who were last seen on land abutting the church's back 40 acres. The wolves could use any help she and her Family can provide to find out what has happened. Keira has been well-schooled by the head of her Clan, but only harsh experience will teach what is truly expected of her as ruler.

BLOOD HEAT is the fourth book in Maria Lima's Blood Kin series. The contrast of the paranormal elements with rural Texas is compelling and realistic, providing a great basis for the strong storyline. Better yet, Lima has a vivid writing style that brings every dusty mile to life. She has a gift for creating characters and connections between them, and then connecting the reader to them on an emotional level. Unlike other series with entrenched characters, I was drawn into their world quickly and seamlessly, even though this was the first of the series I had read. I guarantee it will not be the last.