What do you think?
Rate this book
There Are Wolves Here Too
Spilt blood whets the appetite of a ravine at the heart of Haddington Springs, a bedroom community with a closet full of bones.
It’s 1997, and Robin and his two best friends, Steph and Dylan, are ready to dive into their first summer as teenagers. But when Catherine, a classmate’s younger sister, disappears, Robin finds his carefree life of mall arcades, soccer, and slasher movies swapped out for one of paranoia, guilt, and confusion. While parents form search parties and police chase vaporous leads, Robin becomes convinced that there is a darker element at play, one that he might have accidentally set loose. All the while, he is trying to figure out his changing relationships, growing closer to Steph as his friendship with Dylan is increasingly marred by mercurial moods and secrets. Delving into the most awkward and bewildering time of adolescence, Niall Howell’s There Are Wolves Here Too blends coming of age with noir and horror elements as we move with Robin through the difficulties of learning who to trust and when to trust yourself.
It’s 1997, and Robin and his two best friends, Steph and Dylan, are ready to dive into their first summer as teenagers. But when Catherine, a classmate’s younger sister, disappears, Robin finds his carefree life of mall arcades, soccer, and slasher movies swapped out for one of paranoia, guilt, and confusion. While parents form search parties and police chase vaporous leads, Robin becomes convinced that there is a darker element at play, one that he might have accidentally set loose. All the while, he is trying to figure out his changing relationships, growing closer to Steph as his friendship with Dylan is increasingly marred by mercurial moods and secrets. Delving into the most awkward and bewildering time of adolescence, Niall Howell’s There Are Wolves Here Too blends coming of age with noir and horror elements as we move with Robin through the difficulties of learning who to trust and when to trust yourself.
316 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2022
159 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 4, 2024
Listen to Craftwork Episode 6: False Epiphanies, Productivity, & Existential Dread w/ Niall Howell.
Niall Howell gets everything right in this swift, riveting coming-of-age noir: the complications of nostalgia with all its beauty and regret, the intense, romantic disorientation of adolescence. There Are Wolves Here Too draws us into its vividly realized suburban world before extracting its darkness with masterfully restrained technique. The characters live and breathe. The plot is meticulously rhythmed. The dialogue is fresh and real. Filled with haunting sadness, sharp humour, and somber wisdom, this novel is a stunning achievement.
Niall Howell gets everything right in this swift, riveting coming-of-age noir: the complications of nostalgia with all its beauty and regret, the intense, romantic disorientation of adolescence. There Are Wolves Here Too draws us into its vividly realized suburban world before extracting its darkness with masterfully restrained technique. The characters live and breathe. The plot is meticulously rhythmed. The dialogue is fresh and real. Filled with haunting sadness, sharp humour, and somber wisdom, this novel is a stunning achievement.
August 17, 2022
“With his follow up to his stellar debut novel, Only Pretty Damned, Niall Howell not only serves up yet another dazzling showcase of riveting drama told underneath a lingering cloud of criminality, but he also distinguishes himself as one of the finest fiction writers currently working in Canada. There Are Wolves Here Too is a mesmerizing coming-of-age masterpiece.”
September 22, 2022
This is an excellent coming of age story, with a Stand by Me like bent. (As this is one of my favourite movies, that's a huge kudos).
The main character, Robin, is a 13-year-old who lives in a small fictional suburb of Calgary. During his summer, a local girl goes missing. During this time, Robin's relationships with his friends change, and he starts to realize there are scarier things in the world than even the things he encounters when he and his friends watch horror movies.
"There are wolves here too" draws on noir, and horror tropes, but it's a great coming of age story set in the 1990s.
The main character's voice was great, and there's a lot of humour and pathos in this story. I hope lots of people find this novel.
The main character, Robin, is a 13-year-old who lives in a small fictional suburb of Calgary. During his summer, a local girl goes missing. During this time, Robin's relationships with his friends change, and he starts to realize there are scarier things in the world than even the things he encounters when he and his friends watch horror movies.
"There are wolves here too" draws on noir, and horror tropes, but it's a great coming of age story set in the 1990s.
The main character's voice was great, and there's a lot of humour and pathos in this story. I hope lots of people find this novel.
January 7, 2023
I just finished There are wolves here too by Niall Howell @niall1981 and here are my thoughts.
Robin, Dylan and Steph are all set for their first summer as teenagers.. It’s 1997 and everything is perfect. Well, almost perfect. The town bullies always make a beeline for them but other than that, life is good. That is until one of their classmates, Kyle, is out with his little sister Catherine and no one knows what happened to her. She just vanishes.
Robin watches as the parents frantically search for days on end but there are things no one is saying. The ravine is dangerous on the best of days but could there be something more sinister going on? Secrets and lies seem to fill the summer days instead of the carefree days Robin was hoping for.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but I definitely wasn’t surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I loved how lucid and clever the writing was. Some serious talent emanated from the pages. I also thought it was a bit risky to write a coming of age story with a dark noir vibe but it paid off. I was fully invested in what those kids were experiencing and the way they processed what was going on around them. I kinda got a stranger things vibe off the friendship and I totally dug that!
The book took some really interesting turns and kept me on my toes a little bit but it kept a really solid and consistent pace. The dynamic between the friends was realistic and heartfelt but you could feel the fragile cracks that are always there with kids and friendships. I am glad we find out what happens to Catherine at the end because I might have had a minor tantrum had the mystery not been solved.
It was a great book to start out the year with and I hope the rest of the books I read this year measure up! If you like a darkness in your coming of age reads, grab this one TODAY!!
4.5 stars! Thank you @newest.press for sending me a copy of this amazing book!
Robin, Dylan and Steph are all set for their first summer as teenagers.. It’s 1997 and everything is perfect. Well, almost perfect. The town bullies always make a beeline for them but other than that, life is good. That is until one of their classmates, Kyle, is out with his little sister Catherine and no one knows what happened to her. She just vanishes.
Robin watches as the parents frantically search for days on end but there are things no one is saying. The ravine is dangerous on the best of days but could there be something more sinister going on? Secrets and lies seem to fill the summer days instead of the carefree days Robin was hoping for.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but I definitely wasn’t surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I loved how lucid and clever the writing was. Some serious talent emanated from the pages. I also thought it was a bit risky to write a coming of age story with a dark noir vibe but it paid off. I was fully invested in what those kids were experiencing and the way they processed what was going on around them. I kinda got a stranger things vibe off the friendship and I totally dug that!
The book took some really interesting turns and kept me on my toes a little bit but it kept a really solid and consistent pace. The dynamic between the friends was realistic and heartfelt but you could feel the fragile cracks that are always there with kids and friendships. I am glad we find out what happens to Catherine at the end because I might have had a minor tantrum had the mystery not been solved.
It was a great book to start out the year with and I hope the rest of the books I read this year measure up! If you like a darkness in your coming of age reads, grab this one TODAY!!
4.5 stars! Thank you @newest.press for sending me a copy of this amazing book!
May 22, 2025
As someone who grew up in a small Canadian city this was so nostalgic in a way I have never been able to find in any other book or really any other media. Even down to the tragedy that will bring a town together while also creating conspiracy wrapped in secrets. Big fan hope to read more from him soon.
July 17, 2024
This book has such a cozy feeling to it. There's a lot of intrinsically teenage-boy lines that can be a little odd to step into (as a lady) but they all contribute to that small-town satellite vibe.
This is a book that feels very YA until it isn't, and it's good the whole way through.
This is a book that feels very YA until it isn't, and it's good the whole way through.
July 7, 2024
There are Wolves Here Too is a brilliant work that intertwines several threads into a complex tapestry of secrets.
The story primarily follows Robin, a teenager navigating through the plight of puberty, trying to enjoy the summer with his friends, and avoid the bullies.
When a young girl, the sister of a class mate, goes missing, the whole small town that Robin lives in is turned upside down.
Seen through the eyes of the teenager, the impact of the situation on everyone around him is described in great detail.
As the days continue on, the tone of the town becomes more and more somber as parents cling more and more tightly to their children.
Howell does a brilliant job at sprinkling tiny things into the story that make the reader question what is really going on and attempt to piece things together.
As the tension heightens, all the secrets crumble, and the shocking ending leaves the reader both rattled and deeply satisfied.
The story primarily follows Robin, a teenager navigating through the plight of puberty, trying to enjoy the summer with his friends, and avoid the bullies.
When a young girl, the sister of a class mate, goes missing, the whole small town that Robin lives in is turned upside down.
Seen through the eyes of the teenager, the impact of the situation on everyone around him is described in great detail.
As the days continue on, the tone of the town becomes more and more somber as parents cling more and more tightly to their children.
Howell does a brilliant job at sprinkling tiny things into the story that make the reader question what is really going on and attempt to piece things together.
As the tension heightens, all the secrets crumble, and the shocking ending leaves the reader both rattled and deeply satisfied.
June 8, 2023
After absolutely loving Niall Howell's first novel, Only Pretty Damned, I was excited to read his next book, and There Are Wolves Here Too didn't disappoint. It's part crime novel, part coming-of-age story about three childhood friends who have their lives shaken when a little girl from their small town is kidnapped. As all the panicky parents start keeping a close eye on them for their own safety, at first the case of the missing girl mostly seems like a nuisance to the older adolescents' summer routines, until our narrator, Robin, begins to suspect that the abduction is more closely tied to his and his friends' lives than he'd assumed.
Great writing and wonderful characters anchor the story--even the missing girl, glimpsed by the reader only briefly before she's abducted, is an unforgettable little scene stealer. The pitch-perfect dialogue pulled me right into the story that, like adolescence itself, was alternately funny, nostalgic, and frightening.
Great writing and wonderful characters anchor the story--even the missing girl, glimpsed by the reader only briefly before she's abducted, is an unforgettable little scene stealer. The pitch-perfect dialogue pulled me right into the story that, like adolescence itself, was alternately funny, nostalgic, and frightening.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews