Wolf's Bluff, by W.D. Gagliani

Once again, we join Detective Nick Lupo on his quest for justice.  Nick suspects there is more to the Wolfpaw Security staff members than meets the eye.  He stumbles into a dangerous situation which follows him back to the North Woods.  Meanwhile, a series of animal attack-like murders in Wausau all point to an obvious killer, but everyone ends up surprised in the end.

Yet another standout book by Gagliani.  With the third Wolf book, we delve deeper into Nick's past, all the while seeing how his condition makes everyone in his present life a potential casualty, either physically or emotionally.  Like the other Wolf books, there is a lot of brazen sexuality and violence, but only insomuch as it furthers the story.  In fact, the raw sexuality is only hinted at, while the actual seductions are a lot more subtle this time around.  The book is more about people relating out of the bedroom, and I really like that switch. 

One thing that is a little sad, but totally necessary, is watching characters we have come to know and feel close to become casualties to the situations in the plot.  Yet, it makes the reader feel all the more connected with Nick, knowing he suffers these same losses.  It was interesting to see some of the plot twists, some I anticipated, others I did not.  We see a lot more militant type action in the book, which may make this particular installment a little more appealing to male readers.

An overarching theme in the book is that everyone has secrets, and no one is quite what they seem, a common theme in the Wolf books, but especially blatant in this one.  I enjoyed this theme very much, and am left to wonder who else among the characters has secrets we will learn later...

All in all, another great book, appealing to all horror, paranormal, and thriller readers.




A copy of this book was provided for review courtesy of the author.