Dispatch From The Field: Joe says, "Definitely a must read for those looking for a well-written, readable, intelligent, and layered thriller."

Set in the Pacific Northwest, a spellbinding story of family, violence, and unintended consequences from a startling new voice in literary suspense--the author of the highly acclaimed novels The Carrion Birds and The Terror of Living

Sheriff Patrick Drake tried to lead an upstanding life and maintain some semblance of financial stability, until his wife grew ill and they were in danger of losing everything they'd worked for. Single-handedly raising his family in a small mountain town, he was soon hit with money troubles, fell in with some unsavory men--and then was caught and convicted of one of the biggest crimes in local history.

Twelve years later Patrick is out on parole under the watchful eye of his son, Bobby, who just happens to be a deputy sheriff in his father's old department. Bobby hasn't had it easy, either. He's carried the weight of his father's guilt and forsaken his own dreams, and his marriage has suffered for it. Yet no matter how much distance he's tried to put between himself, his father, and the past, small-town minds have long memories--and trouble isn't done with the Drakes. Not too long after Patrick's release, a terrifying threat from his old life reappears, and this time no one will be spared.

With their searing prose, soulful characters, and rich and evocative settings, the novels of Urban Waite prove that he is a worthy heir of America's most admired masters of crime fiction, from Elmore Leonard to Cormac McCarthy to Dennis Lehane.

Joe says:
"A few years ago I read Urban Waite's debut novel, The Carrion Birds and promptly went about recommending it to people. When I saw his latest novel, I snatched it up and began reading it. Sometimes The Wolf takes place in a small town in the forested mountains of Washington State. Bobby Drake is a deputy sheriff who lives his life under the weight of guilt from his father's past. His father, Patrick, was a sheriff in this same town who tried to fix his money troubles by getting mixed up with some very unsavory fellas, and ended serving some serious time for it. He has just been paroled, and Bobby agrees to let his father stay with him and his wife until he can get on his feet. Unfortunately for everyone involved, trouble has followed Patrick and this time no one is going to get away from it. 

Although this novel takes place in a part of the country known more for its wildlife and fogs than fast-paced crime, Urban Waite brings an unrelenting pace to his story, making even mountain-top views rich with suspense. As in previous books, Waite's characters are not one-dimensional. They are flawed and hopeful despite the events happening to them. Other reviewers commented on the sense of place, and I agree: this is most assuredly a novel of the Pacific Northwest, told with an eye of depth only a local can bring out in a novel.  

Sometimes The Wolf is a novel you will read quicker as you near its finish. Waite is a master of pacing. Definitely a must read for those looking for a well-written, readable, intelligent, and layered thriller."