Fear The Wolf

House of Wolves #.5

by James Patterson, Mike Lupica, Ellen Archer (Narrator)

1 hour, 14 minutes

Best-selling author James Patterson and award-winning sportswriter Mike Lupica team up to launch this power-family football thriller, a pregame for their next blockbuster, The House of Wolves.
Meet the Wolf. Joe Wolf. He’s the head of a multibillion-dollar empire—a newspaper, a holding company, a football team—and the head of a family that puts King Lear to shame.

His empire shows signs of crumbling when he’s approached with an "offer" to sell. It’s clear from the start that Joe is going to pay the ultimate price—and maybe more—if he refuses.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Thriller, Sports, Short Stories, Crime

Audible Audio

Published December 8, 2022

About the author

Official 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.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read quite a few JP books each year. I have many series I follow and have been enjoying short stories/book shots. This one takes place in San Francisco, the Wolf family empire includes a football team, not really my thing. Thank you for this "freebie" with Audible, I can skip this series.📰🏈
1 h 14 m

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a new series. This is almost a sneak peek teaser to the main first book. The Wolf Family has three sons, one daughter who wants nothing to do with her family business and the dad. Dad runs The Wolves (NFL football team) and a newspaper. One son runs each, then Thomas and Jenny, the youngest didn’t work for dad…

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this, it is going to be interesting to see how the next book in the series proceeds on.

[Natalie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little over an hour on Audible, so it can’t do too much harm.

The usual for Patterson nowadays …another collaboration with cheesy one-liners added to the stock standard formula.

Enough to engender some intrigue but not enough that I’d rush out to read it.

[Rebecca Hollingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m anxious to hear more.. unfortunately, I’m not a fan of cliffhangers or super short stories that don’t give us any conclusion… to me I don’t believe it should be labeled as a book even a titled .5, because this doesn’t give us anything!!!! Other than some names, and a whole bunch of questions.. 🤦‍♀️

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

June 2023
Audiobook edition
1h 14m (1.3x speed)

This one was a surprise from the start. I'm used to males for Male characters and likewise with females. This one switched things up which was nice. A man that doesn't want to give up his legacy and a countdown before that life ends. Joe wasn't a likeable character, but neither was his family. A lot of miscommunication issues. I did like the military guy, was gutted about him. I'm curious about this one will go. It sounds like Knives out or Succession family drama wise, if that's the case, I'm looking forward to it.

[Tiffany]

Another short story that I won't be providing a star rating for. This one was different in that you jumped straight into the action and the story focused mainly on one person. However, I don't really know why the main character is in such a pickle and don't know who is the person coming for him. It leaves me with many questions, and you're encouraged to read the rest of the series to find out the bigger picture. Not for me.

[Nick Fowkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll revise after finishing House of Wolves

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fear the Wolf by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
1h 14m narrated by Ellen Archer
House of Wolves #0.5

Genre: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Sports > Sports

Featuring: San Francisco, California; Multi-billion Empire, Extortion Football Team, Audible Originals

Rating as a movie: R for adult content

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts: I have read a few of these, find-out-what-happens-next prequel-novellas. Most of them I don't discover until after I read the novel and after reading I'm glad I skipped as the preview gave major spoilers for the novel, like A Witness to a Trial and The Whistler. In this case, I'm glad I read it, there is no major spoiler unless the bad guys are revealed near the middle or end of the novel. As far as I can tell this does exactly what it's supposed to do, set up the novel. I was a little disappointed as reading the first few lines of the blurb for The House of Wolves gave away the ending to this story, but it was still a good ride.

Recommend to others?: Yes. This is a nice little story if you have Audible.

[Foxy]

I am not sure how to rate this short story, and I am not sure if I want to read the whole series or book based on what I read. It shows it is a bit of a thriller, but there were more questions than answers which really didn't motivate me to start being crazy about the series. may I might have had a better attitude had I read 2 chapters of the series.

[Megneto♓️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audible. I would give it 3🌟 Quite interesting but not my usual James Patterson books. I'm use to more tension, whereas I felt this was quite quick.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Fast-paced and entertaining start to the House of Wolves series.

[Paul Botterill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the worst James Patterson book I have read or listened to. Very little plot or character development.

[La'Jacinth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect introduction of a family that seems to be as bad or maybe worst that the Duttons.

The patriarch has built a very prosperous and diverse empire and has basically left the lamb in charge - Jenny Wolf.

I am sooo reading THE HOUSE OF WOLVES.

[Andy Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Audible for the free prequel. There is zero chance that I’d like the main book and upcoming series. I am not a fan of generational financial empire-control struggles. The authors are obviously trying to cash in on this genre following in the wake of a bunch of similar successful tv series. Hard pass.

[Regis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, with uninspired writing, and narration. Will not be continuing with the series.

[Melani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Wolf is a very successful man and wasn't a great Dad to his kids. Someone comes up to him with an offer to sell all his businesses and when he declines everything starts going down hill for him. His kids and ex wife barely talk to him when he starts worrying about his life. He only has a guy he fired from his football team years before in his corner. He starts getting followed and starts getting upset about it all.

This book was an interesting listen. It was very visual which I enjoyed. Patterson and Lupica wrote a good book. It's not my typical being around so much football but having Patterson known for his amazing writing skills I figured I would give it a shot. It probably isn't one I will go out of my way to own but it is a good story nonetheless.

[Jonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew this was a prequel to promote the book The House of Wolves, so I expected some unanswered questions. However, this novella left too many questions to be a satisfying read (e.g., Did Riggs die? Is Joe killed on the boat? Who was sent the killer to Joe's boat?).

This was only available on Audible, so the narrator also had an impact on my rating. I'm not a fan of female narrators in general. Archer was okay, but I would have preferred a male narrator especially since most all of the characters in this prequel were men.

[Baje Bookclub - Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Chapter 1, I knew Joe Wolf would have been someone not to mess with. This short story that is 0.5 to The House of Wolves was an action packed short listen.

Joe shares his life story while fighting to hold onto his beloved football team - The Wolves. Whoever wants his team is not playing - they mean business and strong arming is not out of the question.

Now I can’t wait to read House of Wolves.

[Jessica Hicks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the “bonus prequel” at the end of my edition of House of Wolves was weird and unnecessary and now I see it was a separate thing for some people. There were a lot of things Joe did and said here that were exactly identical to things Jenny did later on and it felt too on-the-nose. Maybe if I’d experienced them further apart like this, it would have been better.

[Sarah McNally · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the actual fuck was this? Seemed more like an advert for how great Tesla is.

Joe Wolf is a dumb ass name for a main character.

What happened to Patterson and his incredible thrillers? The only thrilling part was when it ended. Fml.

Note - i will be reading the follow on novel in the hope that there is no more mention of Tesla.

[Yoly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure 🍿
Will definitely listen to the main story The House of Wolves

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining novella that brings together two authors from diverse genres; murder/mystery and sports. The story sets the stage for another novel that leaves the reader wanting more-in a good way.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This left me curious about the rest of this series. It was the perfect appetizer. I love football and thrillers, this seemed like a no brainer to me and I wasn't wrong. Will definitely be reading the next book in this series.

[Susan Nightingale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this series, but I try to read everything Patterson puts out so I'm hoping the series is better than this little prequel. It's really just a teaser, not a short story so maybe that is why it was a little disappointing.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be a complete story and it was just the start of one, a tease. Wish I knew that from the start. On the bright side, it didn't entice me enough to get the next book so at least I didn't waste more time .

[Charlotte Laver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering this was a book made for audible it was pretty terribly done with a lot of “he said” and “she said” - didn’t need to be told so often who was speaking it was clear from the tones.

Hasn’t made me want to read the rest of the series.

[Db2567 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short introductory novella about a sport team and the wolf family.
Ends in a cliffhanger ready for the book that should be released in January 2023.

[Lynn Cutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[Alex Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great taster for the new series