[image error]They called the killer the “Beast of Gévaudan.”

As 1767 grew to a close in the Cevennes Mountains of southern France, sixty-four people had died from their injuries after attacks over three-years by a ferocious creature. Finally, an elderly villager, Antoine de Bauterne, tracked down and shot the animal. It was identified by its unique color and size: a hybrid wolf.

After reading about that unique tragedy, I thought, “There’s got to be a novel there.”

Then came the key idea: Operation Wolfsto...