Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Wolf Moon, by Ed Gorman

(pb; 1993)

From the back cover:

"It wasn't just the memories of his murdered brothers or the ten years in prison that reminded Chase how much he hated Reeves for double-crossing him after the bank robbery. Chase's face was carved with righteous scars from the bloody night when Reeves's killer wolf had attacked and left him for dead.

"Now he was out of jail and in the same town where Reeves was setting up his next bank heist. The lust for revenge was eating away at Chase's gut, and not even the love of a woman could stop him from the hell-bound path he must follow. For him, no price was too high -- and the sacrifice would be savage. . ."

Review:

Lean and mean, Wolf Moon is a flawed book. It bears all the Gorman trademarks -- the aforementioned barebones writing, occasional quirkiness, relatable and well-fleshed characters, surprising twists -- but in the middle of the book, Gorman blows it when Chase, a level-headed hero, changes unbelievably: he's too dark, too cold, as to be unrecognizable. He becomes an entirely different character.

The emotionally-potent ending rings true, though, making up for that middle section, and making it a worthwhile read. Just don't make it the first Gorman novel you read. Pick up Ride Into Yesterday instead, or something of that caliber.

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