#ATBR2019 Review: Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine @amazonpub @rachelcaine @jessmapreviews
Wolfhunter River
by Rachel Caine
Thanks so much to Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer for these copies.
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publish Date: April 23, 2019
Kindle Edition
330 Pages
Series: Stillhouse Lake #3
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
She can’t ignore a cry for help. But in this remote hunting town, it’s open season.
Gwen Proctor escaped her serial-killer husband and saved her family. What she can’t seem to outrun is his notoriety. Or the sick internet vigilantes still seeking to avenge his crimes. For Gwen, hiding isn’t an option. Not when her only mission is to create a normal life for her kids.
But now, a threatened woman has reached out. Marlene Crockett, from the remote town of Wolfhunter, is panicked for herself and her daughter. When Gwen arrives in the small, isolated rural community, Marlene is already dead—her own daughter blamed for the murder. Except that’s not the person Marlene feared at all. And Gwen isn’t leaving until she finds out who that was.
But it may already be too late. A trap has been set. And it’s poised to snap shut on everyone Gwen loves. Her stalkers are closing in. And in a town as dark as Wolfhunter, it’s so easy for them to hide…
My Review:
I absolutely love this series! Books one and two came and slapped me in the face and I loved every minute of it and book 3 did the same, just not as hard. ;)
This book starts off, like the other two, with a bang. Instant hookage. Then we get back to Gwen, Sam and her kids. I mean, they've already been through enough but it just NEVER ends. I suppose if you're the wife of a serial killer and then you end up killing him... well, things aren't going to be easy. The author does an amazing job bringing us right back in and the growth you see of each and every character was a pleasure to read.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because after the opening, I had no idea where that story line went. It all but seemed to have disappeared. Instead, we go on a different tangent and Gwen is off helping someone else.. and it took a bit to get to this point. Now, usually you'll get some glimpses of what's going on with said prologue character throughout the read and maybe all books don't need this but I wish there had been just a smidgen of these glimpses here. *shrug* Of course, it does come full circle at the end. At this point though I was like oh, finally. Here we are.
For me, this book wasn't even about this plot line. It had more to do with the relationships between Gwen and her children, Gwen and Sam and how each of these characters grew and that alone makes this book amazing.
Maybe this could be read as a standalone but I would suggest starting from the beginning so you can fully appreciate these characters. And quite frankly, all of these books are absolutely worth the read. I'm really looking forward to seeing where Caine takes us in the next installment.
★★★★
Jessica's Review:
I've been with this series from the beginning and I've been so impressed with all three of them! I would highly recommend picking up Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek prior to this one so that you can appreciate the character growth in Wolfhunter River. However, I don't think it would be terrible to follow as a standalone. Books one and two are fantastic, so you won't be wasting your time!
We're back with Gwen, her kids, and Sam - they've all been through a lot but there's more in store for them! When your ex-husband was a serial killer, it's always hard to move forward and keep his terrible actions in the past. Gwen is back in Stillhouse Lake and trying desperately to live a normal life again, but when she is contacted by a woman in need of her help she immediately heads for Wolfhunter.
In true fashion with books one and two, there is the solid character building and development throughout. I think this installment is more character driven than the others, but there was still plenty of suspense and twists thrown at the reader! That's one thing I can always count on with Caine - a fast-moving and expertly woven thriller. What took off a little bit in my rating was that it felt like there were too many moving parts to this story and got kind of difficult to keep it all straight. Or I felt like we were losing some elements or stories along the way - but Caine did get them all tied together in the end.
WOLFHUNTER RIVER definitely went in a different direction than books one and two, but considering the end of the last book, it was inevitable. I personally loved seeing the characters continue to grow and get more fleshed out as this series progresses, so I'm very curious as to where Caine will take this series next.
4 stars
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