Wolven (Keepers, #3) (Mills & Boon Nocturne)

by Deborah LeBlanc

[Kim Deister]

The Wolven is the the third and final novel in The Keepers trilogy. The novel focuses on the youngest sister, Shauna, the Keeper of the werewolves. Werewolves are being slaughtered in New Orleans, in horribly brutal ways that leave Shauna and Danyon (the alpha of two of the murdered were) baffled. Neither can imagine who, or what, could be strong enough to subdue and brutalize a wolven. Despite Danyon's attempts to handle the problem on his own, Shauna's stubborness draws them together as they investigate the murders. In the end, it is their undeniable love that saves Shauna herself.

I think this was my favorite novel of the three. There was more focus on characters less integral to the main plot which added dimension and color to the story, one of my favorite's being Lurnell, a friend and client of Shauna. Shauna, being the youngest, had the most to prove as a Keeper and the struggle to be heard, to be respected, was well-developed throughout the story. Of the three, the romantic aspect of the story almost took a back seat to the mystery of the were murders. Once again, the twists and turns kept me guessing to the end, a conclusion that was much darker than the either two novels.

The main men in this series were a vampire, a shifter, and a werewolf. In popular fiction, those races embody the traits of strength and power and virility, a strong sense of maleness. Because of that, the characters were developed to be all of those things not only with others in their own communities, but with their women. They frequently ignored the fact that the sisters were Keepers, strong and capable in their right, even if they were humn. As a strong, independent woman myself, that grated on me sometimes, but it was necessary to showcase the differences between the Others and the human women they loved. In the end, that made the love they found all that much more special.