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Winter Wolves
Returning to Maine from California, Fran Thomas is assigned, by his newspaper editor, to investigate an apparent wolf attack
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 12, 2024
Check out that back cover synopsis: "A pack of ghostly wolves?" "Coldest Maine winter on record?" "Hardboiled reporter...experiencing nightmarish visions?" Yes please. I'll take two. And why is there a demonic bunny on the cover? I can't wait to find out!
Two bad this is more of a procedural than a horror novel. "Hardboiled reporter" Fran is investigating all the brutal and inexplicable killings in a small Maine town during winter. Which is fine, but nearly all the good stuff happens off-page, with Fran always coming on the scene well after the fact. Fran does see one of the murders* in a dream, and another is briefly detailed from the victim's perspective, but mostly there's lots and lots of bland talk about whether it could be wolves or coyotes or wild dogs and "it couldn't possibly be wolves, sir", followed by a death, maybe another dream, followed by more "it couldn't possibly be wolves, sir, really."
Maybe I just went in with wrong expectations. That back cover copy sold me on a wintry supernatural horror novel, and what I got was a bunch of personality-less characters talking about the strange deaths and wolf psychology over coffee in a hotel restaurant. Maybe the final 30-40 pages are brilliant and make the whole thing worth the read in the end, but I'll never know because I was all out of patience and I was tired of constantly falling asleep after reading 5 pages every night.
And oh yeah, I guess that's not a bunny on the cover, but a wolf. Dammit. Still awesome though. If only bookstore owners would realize they shouldn't put price stickers on foil-stamped covers. Savages.
*You might be wondering how animals that act on instinct can premeditatedly "murder" anyone. You'll just have to read the book and find out!
Two bad this is more of a procedural than a horror novel. "Hardboiled reporter" Fran is investigating all the brutal and inexplicable killings in a small Maine town during winter. Which is fine, but nearly all the good stuff happens off-page, with Fran always coming on the scene well after the fact. Fran does see one of the murders* in a dream, and another is briefly detailed from the victim's perspective, but mostly there's lots and lots of bland talk about whether it could be wolves or coyotes or wild dogs and "it couldn't possibly be wolves, sir", followed by a death, maybe another dream, followed by more "it couldn't possibly be wolves, sir, really."
Maybe I just went in with wrong expectations. That back cover copy sold me on a wintry supernatural horror novel, and what I got was a bunch of personality-less characters talking about the strange deaths and wolf psychology over coffee in a hotel restaurant. Maybe the final 30-40 pages are brilliant and make the whole thing worth the read in the end, but I'll never know because I was all out of patience and I was tired of constantly falling asleep after reading 5 pages every night.
And oh yeah, I guess that's not a bunny on the cover, but a wolf. Dammit. Still awesome though. If only bookstore owners would realize they shouldn't put price stickers on foil-stamped covers. Savages.
*You might be wondering how animals that act on instinct can premeditatedly "murder" anyone. You'll just have to read the book and find out!
January 1, 2014
Up in the northern-est part of Maine, news reporter Fran gets a big scoop that mysterious murders are happening in a little town called Steel Town and sets out to write the story. Locals are convinced that it is coyotes or a madman, but Fran and his friend Dr. Wilma believe it to be something else... it looks more like wolves. But wolves have been thought to be extinct in the area for decades. When the murders continue and get more and more grisly, people are convinced that this is too savage to be a man, but too methodical to be an animal. Fran takes it up to discover exactly what is going on in Steel Town.
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It took me a while to really get into this book. I can't decide if I like the writing style or not. His landscapes are well-written. His character interactions... not so much. They seem stiff, and there's a lot of information about them giving that is perhaps meant to fill them out as characters but later isn't of any use to us at all.... I wish he would have spent more time writing the actions sequences. The book spends a lot of its' time gathering clues which is all well and good for a mystery novel, but the rate at which we acquire them is so slow, I found myself wanting the book to go faster. Overall, the read was pretty good, but not something I would recommend or likely read again. So, more like 2.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 3 because I'd like to read something similar.
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It took me a while to really get into this book. I can't decide if I like the writing style or not. His landscapes are well-written. His character interactions... not so much. They seem stiff, and there's a lot of information about them giving that is perhaps meant to fill them out as characters but later isn't of any use to us at all.... I wish he would have spent more time writing the actions sequences. The book spends a lot of its' time gathering clues which is all well and good for a mystery novel, but the rate at which we acquire them is so slow, I found myself wanting the book to go faster. Overall, the read was pretty good, but not something I would recommend or likely read again. So, more like 2.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 3 because I'd like to read something similar.
July 26, 2021
This is a surprisingly literate, well-crafted horror novel. It doesn’t deserve the negativity it’s gotten here, it drags a bit- the author seems more interested in the main character fucking some woman from the harbor town than the wolves- but the story is compelling and the climax is thrilling. It left me with a lot of questions, particularly about Caroline.
It’s really closer to 3.5 stars, but I’m giving it 4 to hopefully bump its rating up a bit.
It’s really closer to 3.5 stars, but I’m giving it 4 to hopefully bump its rating up a bit.
July 26, 2024
I found this to be an enjoyable read with some strange periods where I seem to lose track of what was happening
I understood the wolves and the supernatural parts ( I think) although the end has me a bit stumped
The cover art is great as well. To me it looks like a crazed rabbit
I understood the wolves and the supernatural parts ( I think) although the end has me a bit stumped
The cover art is great as well. To me it looks like a crazed rabbit
January 7, 2025
If I read this about 30 years ago I might have enjoyed it. It doesn't really fit with my reading taste of today... but I liked the cover and it drew me in.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews