If I have to pitch this book in one line and convince you to read this I’d say, if you like the idea of a badass female main character getting the upper hand and beating a few powerful, rich bad guys, please pick up Werewolf for Hire.
A short novella by Sue Denver following Sara Flores a new PI investigator who is hired by Lillian Knudeen who owns a shooting range with her dead husband Bo. Lillian keeps on telling herself that the unfortunate accidents happening to her are just that, accidents. Coming back from serving in Iraq and the trauma doesn’t help her case either. She thinks she is being paranoid but hires Sara either way. What starts as a goose chase turns into a wild hunt back and forth with people getting caught in the crossfire and getting injured or worse.
Some of the things that I liked about this novella were, firstly, not giving extra attention to the actual hunts and action scenes, and rather focusing on the planning, which I feel is more interesting when it comes to books because we get to explore how the minds of our characters work.
When it comes to mystery, readers will appreciates the nuisances of the plan more than the actual plan. Secondly, there is a well-developed plot. “Werewolf for hire” has enough to keep you on the edge of your seat without adding unwarranted drama.
Thirdly, the sort and crisp chapters. Short chapters are easier to get through and that makes this book much more reader-friendly. There are no unnecessary details, and I feel that, a good mystery isn’t necessarily one written in 500+ pages; captivating the mind of the readers with lesser words sounds better.
One of the major things that worked for me was how the author talked about PTSD. Lillian was stationed in Iraq and she loses one of her feet in an attack. She constantly struggles with anxiety and reminds herself she isn’t there anymore, she is back home safe and they can’t harm her now. Books are a major source of information for people and mention of such severe issues which are often neglected in general discussion only helps in breaking the mould.
The one thing that I felt was missing from this book is the supernatural creatures since this is a book about werewolves and while I didn’t expect a lot of werewolves to make appearances our main character being one, I was expecting a little more of the wolf than we got. Although it nowhere hinders the storyline as a fantasy/sci-fi fan I feel the elements that keep it true to the genre are important. And while I liked the idea that this heavily relied on the plot and characters, the lack of world-building was a little disappointing.
Sara, our main character was my favorite and not just for her strength and not giving up attitude but also for her presence of mind. She was confident of her power and that gave her an upper hand. I love such characters. Other than Sara, I liked Mason (her partner) as well. Although he doesn’t have an active role to play and remains a side character. They made for a good team and also kept me hooked throughout.
Werewolf for hire is a very easy-flowing story with more attention given to the plot details than the world-building. The intrinsic details about the involvement of the police, the investigation conducted by them, and how that creates unwarranted trouble for Sara were quite nicely done. The narration is done in the third person which gives the reader a glimpse into all the characters and their actions can be watched closely, however that takes away the thrill of guessing the next step because you go through each of their minds.
If you’re looking for a supernatural mystery short novella with strong characters and a good plot that makes you think about what happens next, “Werewolf for hire” is the book for you. It makes for a good read and I think keeping the book short was a genius move on the part of the author.
Pros:
- Strong and well-written characters.
- Short and to-the-point chapters.
- Focuses majorly on the plot.
Cons:
- Needed a little more of the supernatural element.
Scribble's Worth 
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