My sister’s sister in law gave her this book to read, and then she recommended it to me. They read the hardcover version, but I totally recommend the audiobook version. The narrator is Australian, as is the main character. I think I’m a total sucker for a good accent, especially in a narrator.
Anyway, let us start with some trigger warnings.
There are animal deaths in this book. Going into a book about wolves, I knew that there would probably be some carnage. I asked my sister approximately how many there were before I started, and I think it was about 5. There are also people deaths, but (sorry) that doesn’t bother me as much as animal deaths.
There is also some relationship abuse and violence. That trigger warning probably should’ve been first, but thankfully I haven’t had that experience in my life, so the animal deaths bothered me more.
So, the plot is cool, and it really does drive the story, but this is definitely a character driven novel. Inti Flynn is the main character. I normally have an issue with strange character names, but Inti didn’t bother me at all. I’m not entirely sure I even knew her name until like a quarter of the way through the book. Inti is head of a wolf reintroduction program. They’re bringing wolves back to the Scottish highlands to help reduce the deer population, and in turn re-wild the area. Apparently the deer are eating all the shoots and baby plants, and they’re never maturing into full greenery. I loved this part of the story. It’s very environmentally friendly, animal / nature loving, etc. Most of the people in this book had a great respect for animals. That speaks to me.
Lots of stuff happens, conflict ensues, at least one person is murdered, there are tons of animals and wolves, and there’s a baby! If you can handle the triggers I listed above, you should totally read this book. Actually you should LISTEN to this book. It’s definitely the book I enjoyed listening to most this year.