Jesse Madding has been working for vampire Gideon Keel for two years, assisting him in his investigations.  Their current case, the bizarre death of a city councilman’s son, is the most difficult case they’ve ever worked on.  While checking out a warehouse, Gideon suddenly begins acting strangely, demanding sex in an alley.  Jesse, who’s loved Gideon for years, gladly agrees.  Later, when Gideon realizes he was under the influence of a powerful substance, he feels guilty and angry at himself.  Can the two men prevent the vampire drug Obsidian from destroying the city while coming to terms with their feelings for each other?

I’m going to preface this review by saying that Master of Obsidian is a not for the faint of heart.  If you don’t like hardcore BDSM, torture, blood play, group sex, and the like, then you won’t like this book.  Any and all sensitive readers should stay far away from this one.  If, on the other hand, those things don’t bother you, then read on!  I found the storyline of Master of Obsidian fascinating.  The idea of a drug that tears away all of the vampires’ inhibitions was unusual, and Gideon and Jesse’s quest to uncover the origin of the drug and stop the city’s descent into chaos was suspenseful and entertaining.  Intellectual, caring, and secretly submissive Jesse was an interesting character.  Gideon’s many contradictions made him interesting as well, but not always likeable.  His dark past and sometimes violent present were contradicted by his care for Jesse and his determination to do the right thing, even if he had to do some wrong things to get to the right thing (and believe me, he does a couple of very wrong things in the process of saving the city).  Jamie Craig did a very good job of portraying the many contradictions of the characters, as well as the dark atmosphere of the tale.  Even though I very much enjoyed the overall story, however, I didn’t enjoy the sex scenes all that much.  The first scene, in the alley, was just too rough for me.  I like to read a bit of light BDSM now and again, but Master of Obsidian shows a lot more pain than I like to read about in a sex scene.  I wanted to see more evidence of love, or at least some level of caring, from Gideon.  Near the end of the book, the sex scenes begin to take on a more loving tone.  While the storyline and characters of this book were enthralling, several of the sex scenes and a few of the other scenes left me feeling a bit uncomfortable (and, at one point, downright queasy).  Ms. Craig has created a fascinating world that is a worthwhile read, but please be sure you know what you’re getting before you buy.