Savage Nature (Leopard Series #5) by Christine Feehan

Back of the Book Blurb:
When Saria Boudreaux finds a dead body in the Louisiana bayou near her home, her first instinct is to go to the police. But there's a problem: it looks like the victim may have been killed by a big cat - and her brothers are all shape-shifting leopards. Sent by the land's owner to investigate, leopard-shifter Drake Donovan is ready for anything - except the insatiable hunger that rocks him when he meets Saria. Deep in his soul he knows that she is destined to be his mate. Torn between protecting her brothers and finding the truth, Saria treads warily around the powerful shifter. Yet as they venture deep into the mysterious bayou on a hunt for the killer, Saria finds herself longing for Drake's touch and the sweet release of surrender ..

Savage Nature is one of those rare books that has it all - a hot paranormal romance mixed with a very good murder mystery, set in the steamy swamps of Louisiana.  Add an inbred shapeshifting lair, a leadership power struggle, and botanical testosterone growing wild and you have all the makings of a great escape read.

Saria Boudreaux is a great heroine - smart, capable and able to hold her own.  She's basically raised herself since childhood, and knows the swamp better than anyone else.  But lately she has sensed that she is being watched, and her much older brothers, all recently returned home, have been acting strange as well.  Adding to Saria's problems, she's been finding dead bodies in her beloved swamp, and she's afraid one of her brothers may be the murderer.  The victims have been killed by a large cat, and while Saria is clueless about her own shifter status, she knows that her brothers are leopard shifters.  Unable to confide in them, she contacts the powerful man who owns the land they live on (don't think about that decision too much, because it's how Drake ends up in Saria's swamp), and is viciously attacked by a leopard. 

Drake soon arrives, sent by the landowner to investigate Saria's claim.  Pretty soon all hell is breaking loose as Drake and Saria feel an intense sexual attraction, the locals let Drake know he's not welcome through deadly leopard fights and gunshots, a drug-running operation is discovered, and Saria goes into heat.  Drake Donovan is a deliciously animalistic alpha male who happens to be kind and considerate.  He is also strong, smart, experienced and confident, and when he first meets Saria Boudreaux in the Louisiana swamps, he realizes she's not only a fellow shifter, but also his mate. The trouble is, Saria doesn't realize she's a leopard shifter. Or that she is about to go into heat as her leopard prepares to emerge for the first time.  So Drake has to initiate her into the worlds of both leopard shifters and lovemaking - thankfully he is very, very good at both.

The mysteries of the deaths, the drugs, and the history of this Louisiana leopard lair are uncovered as Drake and Saria investigate.  Their lives are in constant danger as they come closer to learning the truth, and their intense attraction creates explosive passion. The action and the sexual tension are relentless, making the book impossible to put down.  This paranormal romance is classic Feehan, and will not disappoint!