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Kylie grew up in the shadow of her brother and two sisters, known as the sweet, quiet werewolf—just the way she likes it. She values her solitude, and she prefers sitting in her garden among the fairies, keeping to herself, and avoiding conflict. Her sisters seek divergence, and she’s content to leave it to them.
But Eerek changes all of that with the scepter, an object that drives its owner mad and brings about great evil. Kylie’s sister, Talia, who runs the Night’s End Preternatural Detective Agency, needs to find it and destroy it—even though it may mean the end of the werewolf clan. Angry because Kylie rejects his amorous advances, Eerek attacks her and turns her into one of the undead using the scepter.
Unable to shift into a werewolf, Kylie goes into hiding, knowing that her sister, Talia, may hunt her down and kill her for what she’s become—because she must feed off humans in order to survive. But once Kylie learns that the clan plans to betray Talia through a deal with Eerek, she destroys them, and she then spends her life watching and protecting Talia from Eerek. For close to a thousand years, Kylie watches from the shadows, longing to speak to her sister, her innocence lost as she seeks vengeance for all that has happened.
It’s hard for an author to take a character from good girl to bad girl without making her unlikable, but M. L. McBryar manages to pull it off with Kylie. In fact, I liked her even more as the bad girl. Though her vampire nature causes her to become tough, she’s never cruel unless deserved, and she still shows compassion.
Destruction of an Innocent spans many centuries and provides background information on Talia Vann and the Night’s End Preternatural Detective Agency, which is the main focus of the Scepter Series. By reading this book, you’ll learn things that weren’t revealed in previous novels.
Once again I read an M. L. McBryar novel in one sitting, engrossed for an afternoon in the story. It moves along at a good pace, with a few surprises, keeping you interested right up to the end. Ms. McBryar also hints at future plot points, which will make you eager to pick up the next volume in the series. I have no doubt that, one day, Talia Vann will be as well known as Laurell K. Hamilton’s vampire hunter, Anita Blake.
Destruction of an Innocent is a fine addition to the Scepter Series, and I look forward to future endeavors by this author.
