Saturday, January 9, 2021

Cry Wolf Review


Author: Charlie Adhara
Series: Big Bad Wolf #5
Genre: Paranormal Romance Mystery
Publisher: Harlequin/Carina Press
Release Date: Jan. 18, 2020
Order Link: Amazon

My Rating: 4 Shifting Hearts
5 Stars to another Amazing cover!

Special thanks to Carina Press for an arc of this book via Netgalley

Agent Cooper Dayton never thought anything could be harder than solving murders. Until he had to plan a wedding.

Review:
I'll start by saying if you haven't read the previous books in this series, turn around right now and do so.  Cry Wolf will standalone, thanks to the author's expertise at including backstory, but these are character driven books and their development as well as that of the overall story arc is huge - as in do yourself a favor and read the previous books in order.  As to Cry Wolf, it's fantastic - witty, emotional, steamy . . . everything I've come to love about this series taken to a higher level.

Coop is spending the day reconnecting with family at the DC Zoo when some strange events occur culminating with him running into Park's ex, Eli, who claims he's being blackmailed and needs help.  Coop decides to open an investigation as dead "half-shifted" bodies start piling up.  When it becomes clear someone is targeting Coop, he and Park dive into the case. Things get even stranger when Neil, Coop's sorta-ex, shows up on another unconnected case - or is it?  

Readers are drawn into clashing plot lines that twist and careen, old werewolf legends about the coming of a powerful being, and the beautiful love story that is Coop and Park in Cry Wolf.  I enjoyed the expanding werewolf world and legends and the implications they have on our heroes.  The continued development of secondary characters fleshed the story out, leaving me wanting even more.  And the planning of a wedding . . . well, it was everything I've wanted as a reader and more - so emotional and heart touching. The ongoing banter that speaks of a new level of comfort between these guys balances out the scorching hot love scenes.  This book and series are a perfect combination of suspense, paranormal, urban fantasy and male/male romance.  Highly recommended!

Synopsis:
After taking down an old adversary, Agent Cooper Dayton of the Bureau of Special Investigations has earned a break. Not that planning a wedding to his sexy shifter partner, Oliver Park, is necessarily stress free, but it’s better than worrying about the ominous warning, delivered months ago, that Cooper’s life is in danger.

When he’s dragged to an event by his family, Cooper braces for an awkward evening, but instead finds himself in the middle of an ugly feud between Park’s ex and a rebel pack leader. What was supposed to be a quick outing turns into a full-blown murder investigation after the pack leader ends up dead, Park’s ex goes missing, and Cooper and Park are sent a series of disturbing wedding gifts that are somehow connected to it all.

The list of potential suspects is long, and with the bodies piling up, Cooper must turn to the one person he trusts the least: the villain he’s already put behind bars once and who has nothing to lose by lying and everything to gain if Cooper is out of the picture—for good.

About the author:
Charlie Adhara has always loved a good story and, on occasion, a bad one. After getting her degree in neuroscience, Charlie decided she’d much rather study the heart. She now writes contemporary, mystery, paranormal, queer romance. Or some assortment of that. Whatever the genre, her stories feature imperfect people stumbling around, tripping over trouble and falling in love.
Charlie has done a fair amount of stumbling around herself but tends to find her way back to the northeast U.S. After all, home is where the dog is.

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