Review by CJ

Page count:
308

ISBN:
9780991866618 

A class of mostly army brat seniors are taken into the woods on a survival weekend with their teacher, Sergeant Tim O’Sullivan. When O’Sullivan forces the bullied misfits to join their tormentors on the weekend away, things take a turn that no-one (in the story) expected.

I received Wherewolves as a free review copy from NetGalley and thought the premise of a “realistic werewolf horror” could be an interesting read. And maybe it could be, but this isn’t it. 

Wherewolves is like the kid you see in high school who is trying far too hard to be cool and failing miserably. The slang that comes out of the characters’ mouths is second in tragedy only to the writing for the rest of the novel.

There was not a single likeable character in the whole of Wherewolves. The two who could have been likeable were marginalised into almost non-existence. I was actively hoping each character would be killed off, not only because they were loathsome, but also because every death meant I was closer to the end of the book.

The concept for Wherewolves was good in theory, but in execution it came across as cheap, condescending and tacky. Generally, I try to find at least one good thing to say about a novel, especially one from new or unknown authors, but in this case I’m sorry to say that I can’t. If you’re looking for an enjoyable werewolf story, this is not the droid you are looking for.

Rating: