Derek has separated from the pack, the werewolf is one of
those who have now joined with Kate and Curran and their independent organisation.
An organisation – and business – that doesn’t tolerate the slaughter of
families
Julie, Kate’s ward, is certainly not going to stay out of
the action either – even as their investigation reveals horrors they never
expected, backing down is never an option.
A spin off series in the Kate Daniels universe? Give give give give! *grabby hands*
It can be said I did not react to this news with
particular grace and maturity.
In the past I’ve been wary of spin off series because
they don’t always work – the main characters are such a major part of the world
that without them it falls flat. This world has carried the different spin off
stories so well because, even while Kate and Curran are the most amazing, epic characters
imaginable, the other characters in the series are fleshed out enough,
developed enough and interesting enough to easily carry their own stories
Still, I was surprised that this series follows Julie –
Kate’s magic-sensitive ward/sort-of-foster-daughter – and Derrick, the werewolf
who has entered Kate’s shadow for a long time now
Like most of the characters in the main series, they have
been developed, they have had their own storylines, they have their own
histories which are quite involved. But for so much of the books these two have
been very much extensions of Kate and Curran. Which makes it interesting that these
were the ones chosen to expansion – I feel almost like the author has decided
that they need more attention to show that these characters are just as awesome
as everyone else.
And this book does an excellent job of taking both characters and establishing them as individuals. We have Derek’s history, how his path has changed so much with him being involved with Kate (but also, just as important, with his life before Kate) and how his face being scarred changed his life again (we also have an excellent look at the ableism Derek faces – with a woman assuming he will be grateful and servile towards her because his scars mean he should consider himself “lucky” that she’s paying attention to him at all). Woven into the story is Derek’s history, nicely setting him up as his own character and co-protagonist in this series as well as being a lethal fighter who has been forged through terrible experience
