Viper Game is book #11 in Ms Feehan's Ghostwalker series. It takes place in the Louisiana bayou and introduces us to a new team lead by Wyatt Fontenot. We first learned of Wyatt when he was a supporting character in book #3, Night Game, which is the story of Wyatt's brother, Raoul "Gator" Fontenot.
In this story, Wyatt has come back home to the bayou at the request of his beloved Grandmere, Nonny. There are strange happenings taking place in their bayou and Wyatt has come to help. Upon his return, Wyatt learns that a new manufacturing business, with shady dealings, has set up next to Nonny's medicinal herb field. When she was gathering herbs, the guards assault her. Wyatt is enraged that anyone would torment his 80 year old Grandmere. So, along with a few members of his team, he goes out to investigate and teach some manners to the guards.......Cajun style.
Early in the book, we learn of a new ghostwalker character, Pepper is a young woman who was taken and adopted by Dr Whitney when she was a toddler. She was taken to France and along with others there, she was used for experimentation. The ending results is that she is as lethal as any ghostwalker but lacks the desire to be a soldier. She is sent to the bayou, along with a set of triplet baby girls who share her animalistic enhancements. When she refuses the demands of her handler, the order is placed that the babies will be terminated.
This story is one of discoveries and was a pleasure to read. My heart broke for Pepper's plight as she had to deal with the painful aspects of the enhancements that Whitney forced upon her physiology. The emotional torment she also went through over her inability to rescue all three babies was a palatable one that you could feel through the telling of the story. Most heartbreaking was the complete lack of knowledge that she had in how to live in the world outside of the lab. As Wyatt helps her through these challenges, he faces many of his own. The enhancements that he went through from Whitney have brought upon him an emotional state that is raw in that he has to tame the animal side of his nature. Already a hot-headed Cajun, Wyatt now faces the territorial and possessive nature of his cat physiology.
One of the major climaxes of the story is the attempt to rescue the babies still in the lab facility. They are out numbered but these ghostwalkers have a deep conviction that the babies will not remain in the lab to be treated as lab rats in the schemes of a man who has lost all sense of humanity.
By the end of the story, we have learned new things about the elusive Dr Whitney. There are other revelations as well that were a surprise that I enjoyed learning about. In the end, we are introduced to another female who is now on her own. She is a ghostwalker as well and will certainly have her own story in an upcoming book. I cannot wait to read more about her.
As always, Ms Feehan has scored high on my list of favorite authors. I am always amazed at how she can have long running series that never lose their attraction. With Viper Game, she has come through again in a big way.
