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House of Wolves #1
The House of Wolves
The murder of a billionaire patriarch triggers a bloody battle for control of his empire. For fans of Succession, Yellowstone—and #1 bestselling duo James Patterson and Mike Lupica.
Joe Wolf applies a cutthroat determination to his life’s work, from to building a California business empire to parenting three sons and a daughter. Kill or be killed. So when the patriarch takes a deadly cruise on San Francisco Bay, Joe Wolf’s bloodline becomes SFPD’s lifeline.
Detective Ben Cantor trails the “pack of wolves” as the siblings vie for control of their legacy of power and assets. All four have the means and the motive to commit murder, but only one of them is most like Joe Wolf. Only one of them earned their father’s love.
Lurking in the shadows is the real alpha wolf. That creature survives on instinct. And desire. To kill all the wolves dead.
Joe Wolf applies a cutthroat determination to his life’s work, from to building a California business empire to parenting three sons and a daughter. Kill or be killed. So when the patriarch takes a deadly cruise on San Francisco Bay, Joe Wolf’s bloodline becomes SFPD’s lifeline.
Detective Ben Cantor trails the “pack of wolves” as the siblings vie for control of their legacy of power and assets. All four have the means and the motive to commit murder, but only one of them is most like Joe Wolf. Only one of them earned their father’s love.
Lurking in the shadows is the real alpha wolf. That creature survives on instinct. And desire. To kill all the wolves dead.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2023
4518 people are currently reading
20972 people want to read
About the author
James Patterson
954 books356k followersOfficial US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,400 reviews
February 3, 2023
I kinda enjoyed the story. But no real mysteries or twists. Just ended kinda bleh...
March 11, 2023
Let’s start this off with my usual upfront James Patterson disclosure. I read most of his books and have for several years. Some might ask why and that’s another whole discussion best saved for another day. I have really enjoyed some, liked some, and didn’t really care for others.
In this outing Patterson has teamed up for a second time with Mike Lupica, a veteran sports writer, novelist, and current caretaker of Robert B. Parker’s classic series Jesse Stone, Spenser (taking over from Ace Atkins), and Sunny Randall (handing off to Alison Gaylin).
“The House of Wolves” is the story of the dangerously disjointed, rich, and powerful Wolf family. The father Joe was the patriarchal owner of the San Francisco Wolves NFL franchise and the San Francisco Tribune newspaper. That is until he was found drowned in the bay, somehow falling overboard off his boat. Or did he? It is very apparent from page 5 that he was murdered.
The result hits his fighting selfish children, 3 sons – Danny, Joe, and Thomas; and 1 daughter – Jenny, with a shocking surprise. Jenny, who is the family outcast, has been put in charge of both the football team and the newspaper with her brothers reporting to her.
As with any Patterson novel, the family conflict and drama are unbelievably high as Jenny tries to save her team from a forced takeover, fight off her brothers attempts to undermine her and find her father’s killer. Oh, and did I mention that she is also coaching a high school football team? Nothing is beyond her abilities in this one.
I hope you notice my subtle attempts at sarcasm because there is more to come. This novel is being promoted as “The most suspenseful family saga since Succession or Yellowstone” but it is more like Dynasty in that is unashamedly over the top and any other cliché you want to use. Cliched. Ridiculously silly and excessive. Overblown and lavishly overdone. Too much. You fill in the blank…
The bad news is that there are so many plotlines running over the top of each other, so many cliched characters that are paper thin on any level of authenticity, and so many ridiculous twists and turns that come across as so melodramatic that you feel like you’re reading a science fiction or fantasy novel rather than a thriller. Every character is so unlikeable (except for Jenny and Cantor) and just downright evil in all of their behaviors. There is just no sense of any realism in any way. It’s like pretending the television show “The Office” is based on actual real-life events or that the movie “Blazing Saddles” is a realistic western that actually took place.
This is by far, the most extremely over-the-top novel by Patterson that I have ever read. It was like watching a Saturday Night Live skit on the behavior of sexist, old school NFL owners or watching the famous Dynasty Moldavian wedding murder massacre all over again. Talking about jumping the shark… That alone would make me give this one a two-star rating, mostly out of kindness.
But this review is going to get even more twisted. I cannot believe that I am going to say this, but at the same time, this novel was also the best definition of a “guilty please read” (yes really!). It was saturated with so many characters, twists and turns, and interesting behind the scenes of NFL ownership politics, that I couldn’t put the book down. It was like driving by a really bad car wreck. You find yourself slowing down and taking a look out of curiosity, but then you can’t turn away. You find yourself mesmerized by something you know that you don’t really want to be looking at, but it pulls you in and keeps your attention, no matter how absurdly stupid it is to be wasting time on it.
Somehow Patterson and Lupica did just that. The premise if the book and storylines had potential for an interesting reading experience, but they chose to take the “Friday the 13th / Freddy Kreuger“ absurdity over reality approach to storytelling. And the worst part is that, as bad as I make this sound, I still enjoyed reading it on a level that I cannot explain. It’s almost embarrassing to admit it, but the truth is that a part of me enjoyed this trashy, trashy read. Even though I expected more, it wasn’t a waste of my time.
I apologize for this schizophrenic review. I am sure at this point you are thinking, come on dude, make up your mind. Did you like this book or not? Great question. The truth is that it comes down to this. Was it realistic? No way. But do we read Patterson for that reason? No way. We read him for high level thrillers that help us escape our daily grind and enjoy an exciting thriller that makes us forget about all else. Even if the book is completely unrealistic and full of superficial characters that drive you crazy, he finds a way to keep you reading. This time Patterson, along with Lupica delivered the biggest guilty pleasure that I have read, knowing it was as bad as watching the Fonz jump the shark on “Happy Days” when I was a teenager. Literally.
It deserves 2.5 stars, but since Goodreads doesn’t let us round off our reviews, I will round it up to 3-stars because I am in a giving mood. If you ask me tomorrow, I may round it down instead…
In this outing Patterson has teamed up for a second time with Mike Lupica, a veteran sports writer, novelist, and current caretaker of Robert B. Parker’s classic series Jesse Stone, Spenser (taking over from Ace Atkins), and Sunny Randall (handing off to Alison Gaylin).
“The House of Wolves” is the story of the dangerously disjointed, rich, and powerful Wolf family. The father Joe was the patriarchal owner of the San Francisco Wolves NFL franchise and the San Francisco Tribune newspaper. That is until he was found drowned in the bay, somehow falling overboard off his boat. Or did he? It is very apparent from page 5 that he was murdered.
The result hits his fighting selfish children, 3 sons – Danny, Joe, and Thomas; and 1 daughter – Jenny, with a shocking surprise. Jenny, who is the family outcast, has been put in charge of both the football team and the newspaper with her brothers reporting to her.
As with any Patterson novel, the family conflict and drama are unbelievably high as Jenny tries to save her team from a forced takeover, fight off her brothers attempts to undermine her and find her father’s killer. Oh, and did I mention that she is also coaching a high school football team? Nothing is beyond her abilities in this one.
I hope you notice my subtle attempts at sarcasm because there is more to come. This novel is being promoted as “The most suspenseful family saga since Succession or Yellowstone” but it is more like Dynasty in that is unashamedly over the top and any other cliché you want to use. Cliched. Ridiculously silly and excessive. Overblown and lavishly overdone. Too much. You fill in the blank…
The bad news is that there are so many plotlines running over the top of each other, so many cliched characters that are paper thin on any level of authenticity, and so many ridiculous twists and turns that come across as so melodramatic that you feel like you’re reading a science fiction or fantasy novel rather than a thriller. Every character is so unlikeable (except for Jenny and Cantor) and just downright evil in all of their behaviors. There is just no sense of any realism in any way. It’s like pretending the television show “The Office” is based on actual real-life events or that the movie “Blazing Saddles” is a realistic western that actually took place.
This is by far, the most extremely over-the-top novel by Patterson that I have ever read. It was like watching a Saturday Night Live skit on the behavior of sexist, old school NFL owners or watching the famous Dynasty Moldavian wedding murder massacre all over again. Talking about jumping the shark… That alone would make me give this one a two-star rating, mostly out of kindness.
But this review is going to get even more twisted. I cannot believe that I am going to say this, but at the same time, this novel was also the best definition of a “guilty please read” (yes really!). It was saturated with so many characters, twists and turns, and interesting behind the scenes of NFL ownership politics, that I couldn’t put the book down. It was like driving by a really bad car wreck. You find yourself slowing down and taking a look out of curiosity, but then you can’t turn away. You find yourself mesmerized by something you know that you don’t really want to be looking at, but it pulls you in and keeps your attention, no matter how absurdly stupid it is to be wasting time on it.
Somehow Patterson and Lupica did just that. The premise if the book and storylines had potential for an interesting reading experience, but they chose to take the “Friday the 13th / Freddy Kreuger“ absurdity over reality approach to storytelling. And the worst part is that, as bad as I make this sound, I still enjoyed reading it on a level that I cannot explain. It’s almost embarrassing to admit it, but the truth is that a part of me enjoyed this trashy, trashy read. Even though I expected more, it wasn’t a waste of my time.
I apologize for this schizophrenic review. I am sure at this point you are thinking, come on dude, make up your mind. Did you like this book or not? Great question. The truth is that it comes down to this. Was it realistic? No way. But do we read Patterson for that reason? No way. We read him for high level thrillers that help us escape our daily grind and enjoy an exciting thriller that makes us forget about all else. Even if the book is completely unrealistic and full of superficial characters that drive you crazy, he finds a way to keep you reading. This time Patterson, along with Lupica delivered the biggest guilty pleasure that I have read, knowing it was as bad as watching the Fonz jump the shark on “Happy Days” when I was a teenager. Literally.
It deserves 2.5 stars, but since Goodreads doesn’t let us round off our reviews, I will round it up to 3-stars because I am in a giving mood. If you ask me tomorrow, I may round it down instead…
February 1, 2023
I’m not even sure what I just read?? Was there an ending? There seemed like a lot of unfinished business with a whole lot of random characters.
January 3, 2026
4.5 stars. Review coming.
June 23, 2023
About as expected from Lupica & Patterson. A generous 3 of 10 stars
January 27, 2023
Annoying but readable
Although the main protagonist was a female, I feel it was very evident this story was written by 2 old white dudes. Some of the one-liners and final sentences of the chapter made me cringe on several occasions. If I read the phrase “then I bumped him some fist” once more I was going to call it quits. I stayed with the story to find the resolution to the murders but man was it a letdown.
Although the main protagonist was a female, I feel it was very evident this story was written by 2 old white dudes. Some of the one-liners and final sentences of the chapter made me cringe on several occasions. If I read the phrase “then I bumped him some fist” once more I was going to call it quits. I stayed with the story to find the resolution to the murders but man was it a letdown.
February 1, 2023
Expected more from James. Feels like it was written in a hurry to add to yearly expected.
Boring and shallow. I would skip this one from the bunch…
Boring and shallow. I would skip this one from the bunch…
April 21, 2023
For a book about American Football that I know nothing about, I really enjoyed it
January 17, 2023
Edgy, menacing, and tortuously thrilling!
The House of Wolves is a gripping, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of the ruthless Wolf family, especially Jennifer Wolf, a science teacher and high school football coach whose comfortable life gets turned upside down when her father dies unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of both the family’s NFL team and local newspaper which ruffles a lot of feathers and leaves her a target for those who are willing to do whatever it takes, even kill, to get what they want.
The writing is tight and gritty. The characters are secretive, deceptive, stubborn, and driven. And the plot is a sharp, sinister tale filled with twists, turns, power, mayhem, coercion, politics, obsession, greed, lies, secrets, surprises, football, and murder.
Overall, The House of Wolves is a dark, intense, action-packed brilliant start to a new series by Patterson that has everything I’ve come to expect and love about his novels, and honestly, I can’t wait for more.
Thank you to HBG Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The House of Wolves is a gripping, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of the ruthless Wolf family, especially Jennifer Wolf, a science teacher and high school football coach whose comfortable life gets turned upside down when her father dies unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of both the family’s NFL team and local newspaper which ruffles a lot of feathers and leaves her a target for those who are willing to do whatever it takes, even kill, to get what they want.
The writing is tight and gritty. The characters are secretive, deceptive, stubborn, and driven. And the plot is a sharp, sinister tale filled with twists, turns, power, mayhem, coercion, politics, obsession, greed, lies, secrets, surprises, football, and murder.
Overall, The House of Wolves is a dark, intense, action-packed brilliant start to a new series by Patterson that has everything I’ve come to expect and love about his novels, and honestly, I can’t wait for more.
Thank you to HBG Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2023
Ay' Carambe! James, James, James it's like you're not even trying anymore. I'm not sure how these collaborations work: does Patterson come up with the idea and an outline for the story and the co-writer fills in the gaps or the other way around. Either way, someone had some good ideas and a decent start to the story. But somewhere in the middle the story starts to go off the rails and ends (if you can call it an ending) with the reader scratching their head. And MY GOD, don't get me started with the dialogue. It was like a 9th grade writing student penned all the dialogue for the characters. Did every chapter need to end with a snarky remark or sarcasm? It gets pretty stale after awhile. The mystery that starts the book comes to a poorly written, unsatisfying conclusion for the reader. Like I said earlier, scratching my head. Was there even a resolution in here? I'm doing my best to avoid any spoilers. I am giving it a VERY generous three stars because I did enjoy the Football Family storyline and the interesting start to the story. But read at your own risk. Just my two-cents.
May 16, 2023
4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I do love a good James Patterson book! While it definitely wasn’t the best I’ve read, it had all the makings of an entertaining read:
Football? Check
Family drama? Check
Money & power hungry jerks? Check
Toss a load of greed, lies and secrets into the mix and I couldn’t resist.
I love football! It’s my favorite season of the year, so naturally I had to get my hands on this latest Patterson novel.
This story centers around the rich and powerful Wolf family. They are owners of the fictional Wolves NFL football team and the local newspaper. When the Wolf patriarch ends up dead, there are lots of questions. When the reading of the will leads to
a surprise nobody expected, that sends everyone into a tailspin.
Things I liked:
Short chapters that I have come to expect from Patterson and a bad ass female lead that I loved.
Things I didn’t like:
There was no real suspense or thrill happening here. The ending kinda ruined a perfect 5 stars for me. It was rushed and didn’t satisfy me. Will I read Book 2 when it’s released? For sure.
I do love a good James Patterson book! While it definitely wasn’t the best I’ve read, it had all the makings of an entertaining read:
Football? Check
Family drama? Check
Money & power hungry jerks? Check
Toss a load of greed, lies and secrets into the mix and I couldn’t resist.
I love football! It’s my favorite season of the year, so naturally I had to get my hands on this latest Patterson novel.
This story centers around the rich and powerful Wolf family. They are owners of the fictional Wolves NFL football team and the local newspaper. When the Wolf patriarch ends up dead, there are lots of questions. When the reading of the will leads to
a surprise nobody expected, that sends everyone into a tailspin.
Things I liked:
Short chapters that I have come to expect from Patterson and a bad ass female lead that I loved.
Things I didn’t like:
There was no real suspense or thrill happening here. The ending kinda ruined a perfect 5 stars for me. It was rushed and didn’t satisfy me. Will I read Book 2 when it’s released? For sure.
March 13, 2024
The House of Wolves is a book by James Patterson and Mike Lupica which tells the story of a football team and the family that owns it. All the characters are basically untrustworthy and hard to identify with. That said, for fans of football, this is one that should be on their bookshelves.
February 3, 2023
Plain silly
This book was hard to read as it more of a fantasy or science fiction than a crime/mystery. I am sorry I wasted my money.
This book was hard to read as it more of a fantasy or science fiction than a crime/mystery. I am sorry I wasted my money.
January 16, 2023
The House of Wolves by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
8h 47m narrated by Ellen Archer
House of Wolves #1
Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery
Featuring: San Francisco, California; Multi-billion Empire, Extortion Football Teams, Newspapers, Multiple POVs, Investigations, Media, Short Chapters, Sibling Rivalry, Detective
Rating as a movie: R for adult content including violence
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
My thoughts: It's been a long time since I finished a novel in one sitting. I didn't love it but it was exciting enough to hold my attention. My main issue was towards the end there were too many players and the story was longer than I felt it needed to be. I was also confused about the death of Joe as the prequel/preview painted a different picture, but I wasn't mad at it.
Recommend to others?: Sure. This is a nice fast-paced thriller, with money, power, sharks, and football.
8h 47m narrated by Ellen Archer
House of Wolves #1
Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery
Featuring: San Francisco, California; Multi-billion Empire, Extortion Football Teams, Newspapers, Multiple POVs, Investigations, Media, Short Chapters, Sibling Rivalry, Detective
Rating as a movie: R for adult content including violence
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
My thoughts: It's been a long time since I finished a novel in one sitting. I didn't love it but it was exciting enough to hold my attention. My main issue was towards the end there were too many players and the story was longer than I felt it needed to be. I was also confused about the death of Joe as the prequel/preview painted a different picture, but I wasn't mad at it.
Recommend to others?: Sure. This is a nice fast-paced thriller, with money, power, sharks, and football.
January 31, 2023
Meh. I don't agree that the Wolfs are "a family that makes Succession's Roys and Yellowstone’s Duttons seem tame". Goodreads makes it sound like the story is mainly about Detective Cantor, but most of the story is from Jenny's point of view. After her father's maybe murder, Jenny Wolf finds out at the will reading that Joe Wolf left her in charge of his pro football team, newspaper, and the family company. No one in her family was expecting this least of all Jenny. Her brothers Jack and Danny immediately make moves to make Jenny give it all up. Her brother Thomas supports all of Jenny's decisions, until he "jumps" from his office. Detective Ben Cantor is investigating both deaths. What will Jenny's enemies do to get what they want, and what will Jenny do to keep what is hers? #Edelweiss+
February 8, 2024
I enjoyed this book throughly and read a ton of pages today on my flights to and from Utah! I even had fellow Goodreads follower Marl Calida with me. What a trip, but that’s not why we’re here.
Onto the book, two of my favorite authors came together to write quite the exciting storyline. I loved the blend of mystery that tears a family apart while having an underlying sports theme. I thought the book dragged a bit and the ending was a little lackluster, besides that it was awesome.
Onto the book, two of my favorite authors came together to write quite the exciting storyline. I loved the blend of mystery that tears a family apart while having an underlying sports theme. I thought the book dragged a bit and the ending was a little lackluster, besides that it was awesome.
February 14, 2023
Enjoyed this quick read, but felt the ending was a bit abrupt.
March 4, 2023
Basically a family fued about money between siblings and who will inherit a football team.
January 11, 2023
Must Read ASAP
Could be the best....Beth Dutton running an NFL team instead of a hedge fund and ranch. a quick read.
First chapter coincided with real NFL drama almost as if it was rewritten
Could be the best....Beth Dutton running an NFL team instead of a hedge fund and ranch. a quick read.
First chapter coincided with real NFL drama almost as if it was rewritten
January 19, 2023
A football tale
Disappointed in this,not up to James Patterson standards. Its a football story with crime thrown in because James Patterson 's name is on it. As I am not a football fan it did not work for me
Disappointed in this,not up to James Patterson standards. Its a football story with crime thrown in because James Patterson 's name is on it. As I am not a football fan it did not work for me
February 21, 2023
Good read!
July 31, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It fulfilled my dual needs for a good suspense and a sports novel.
Exceptionally strong characters, fantastic, plot, and very easy to visualize – – a really good read.
Exceptionally strong characters, fantastic, plot, and very easy to visualize – – a really good read.
January 31, 2023
Disapponted
I have read many books by James Patterson and felt this book was thrown together''. Nog worth the cost of $14,99
I have read many books by James Patterson and felt this book was thrown together''. Nog worth the cost of $14,99
June 11, 2023
Touchdown!! Not a bad story, it moved quickly and in spite of all the football it kept me turning the pages. I actually liked Jenny.
Didn’t know who Mike Lupica was - now I understand he has replaced Ace Atkins on the Jesse Stone series. I’ll have to check that out. I never liked Ace.
Didn’t know who Mike Lupica was - now I understand he has replaced Ace Atkins on the Jesse Stone series. I’ll have to check that out. I never liked Ace.
March 3, 2024
Here’s to woman running football teams! 🏈
September 19, 2024
Got bought this as a gift, sadly not my kind of thing so a low rating from me
February 4, 2023
Do you like football? Family drama? Strong women characters? If you do, you’ll probably like The House of Wolves. I think it’s the first Patterson/Lupica books for a new series. If I’m correct, I plan on reading the next book in the series. Please let me know your feedback, too.
June 5, 2023
June 2023
Audiobook edition
8h 45m (1.3x speed)
As soon as my credit day email pinged through, I used it on this book. After the prequel, this one immediately went onto my TBR. I guess I was more impatient than I thought. It also made more sense why the prequel had a female narrator. Jenny gets saddled with the lot and there starts the battle against football owners, public opinion, romance and family.
Jack was the worst. Danny was with him, the two brothers out to take their sister down, working for the bad guy who worked for a badder guy. However, Jack used the media and I can't stand paparazzi. I thought maybe since Danny switched sides, that there was a slim hope Jack would find his way and the united family would take down John. It wasn't to be. Jack didn't learn his lesson and if anything became even worse with his own website. Even after the death of his brother, he didn't change. Sure he did the little question asking before getting right back to humiliating his sister.
Danny was pathetic. Out of the siblings he was the weakest link and it showed. The only thing he had going for him was that he was male and a wolf, someone to support other than Jenny. The best thing he did was realise whose side he should be on.
I liked Thomas. I was gutted when he died, but its always a flag when there's a 'there's something I need to tell you call'. Still, it hurt. I didn't believe Jack. He might've felt a little guilty, but I really didn't like Jack. Thomas was my favourite Wolf.
Then there was Jenny, her own worst enemy. She made most of her decisions out of spite or her hot head. She gave her brothers ammunition just by opening her mouth or taking a step out. I didn't like the ex husband, he showed his true covers from the get go after the reading of the will. There was a moment it looked like she would get with the coach and then moved onto the cop. The fact that her I don't care anymore attitude got him fired, doesn't really make her likeable. The best part of Jenny was her team. Not the Wolves, but her high school team. That was when I liked her. She was caring towards her guys and genuinely felt like she was having fun and enjoying life.
The outside interference was annoying. I didn't like John or the chairman. It was a family affair and should've stayed that way. He did get what was coming to him, but it was a shame. Prison would've been more deserved. For characters like this, I'm of the opinion death is too easy. I'm counting Rachel as an outsider even though she did her best to keep it in the family.
As always with family feud issues, the parents get the majority of the blame. A toxic kodoku box family pitted against one another from a young age by the parents. One of which, despite the odds, Jenny comes out on top.
Out of all the guys scattered throughout the book, my favourite is introduced in the endgame of the book. The secret ally with a secret of his own. Except Jenny may have screwed that connection up by warning the Wolves' family motto. Kill or be killed. I can say 100%, this is the first story I've listened to about football that I never once got bored with. It feels like there's a continuation in the wings. One bad guy down, the big bad revealed and perhaps today's ally is tomorrow's enemy. Its a HFN and one that leaves you wanting more.
Audiobook edition
8h 45m (1.3x speed)
As soon as my credit day email pinged through, I used it on this book. After the prequel, this one immediately went onto my TBR. I guess I was more impatient than I thought. It also made more sense why the prequel had a female narrator. Jenny gets saddled with the lot and there starts the battle against football owners, public opinion, romance and family.
Jack was the worst. Danny was with him, the two brothers out to take their sister down, working for the bad guy who worked for a badder guy. However, Jack used the media and I can't stand paparazzi. I thought maybe since Danny switched sides, that there was a slim hope Jack would find his way and the united family would take down John. It wasn't to be. Jack didn't learn his lesson and if anything became even worse with his own website. Even after the death of his brother, he didn't change. Sure he did the little question asking before getting right back to humiliating his sister.
Danny was pathetic. Out of the siblings he was the weakest link and it showed. The only thing he had going for him was that he was male and a wolf, someone to support other than Jenny. The best thing he did was realise whose side he should be on.
I liked Thomas. I was gutted when he died, but its always a flag when there's a 'there's something I need to tell you call'. Still, it hurt. I didn't believe Jack. He might've felt a little guilty, but I really didn't like Jack. Thomas was my favourite Wolf.
Then there was Jenny, her own worst enemy. She made most of her decisions out of spite or her hot head. She gave her brothers ammunition just by opening her mouth or taking a step out. I didn't like the ex husband, he showed his true covers from the get go after the reading of the will. There was a moment it looked like she would get with the coach and then moved onto the cop. The fact that her I don't care anymore attitude got him fired, doesn't really make her likeable. The best part of Jenny was her team. Not the Wolves, but her high school team. That was when I liked her. She was caring towards her guys and genuinely felt like she was having fun and enjoying life.
The outside interference was annoying. I didn't like John or the chairman. It was a family affair and should've stayed that way. He did get what was coming to him, but it was a shame. Prison would've been more deserved. For characters like this, I'm of the opinion death is too easy. I'm counting Rachel as an outsider even though she did her best to keep it in the family.
As always with family feud issues, the parents get the majority of the blame. A toxic kodoku box family pitted against one another from a young age by the parents. One of which, despite the odds, Jenny comes out on top.
Out of all the guys scattered throughout the book, my favourite is introduced in the endgame of the book. The secret ally with a secret of his own. Except Jenny may have screwed that connection up by warning the Wolves' family motto. Kill or be killed. I can say 100%, this is the first story I've listened to about football that I never once got bored with. It feels like there's a continuation in the wings. One bad guy down, the big bad revealed and perhaps today's ally is tomorrow's enemy. Its a HFN and one that leaves you wanting more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2024
I hadn't read a book by James Patterson for awhile, but I'm so glad I read this one. This is a collaboration with Patterson and Mike Lucia and is a best seller for good reason. At over four hundred pages, the novel flows so well that I finished it in three or four days. It's one of the best crime thrillers that I have read for a long time and I highly recommend it.
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