Review--Leader of the Pack

WILDLY INDEPENDENT, SHE'S NOT ONE FOR PACK MENTALITY.

On the outside, Sophie Garou is living every woman's dream: She has beauty, brains, and a big-time position in Austin's most respected accounting firm (not to mention a very sexy, very successful new boyfriend). But there's one thing Sophie would rather keep under wraps: She's a werewolf.

Sophie's life geta little more hairy when her long-estranged father, Luc, arrives in the Live Music Capital to attend the werewolves' annual Howl and reconnect with his daughter. But Luc's plans fall apart after he's accused of murder and arrested by his archrival, Wolffgang, leader of the Houston pack (and one notoriously dirty dog). Wolfgang drools at the thought of Luc's impending execution, but Sophie won't let her father die without a fight. Determined to prove his innocence, she and her friends set out to find the real killer. Along the way, Sophie kust deal with taboo, attractions, Machiavellian intrigues, sinister agendas, and hair-raising betrayals.

This had to be the best book by far in Karen Macinerney's Tales of an Urban Werewolf. While the first two were good and interesting, this one just had more to it. Sophie finally meets the father she never knew and doesn't necessarily draw out the welcome wagon for him, yet she is still curious to get to know the man who contributed to her birth. But when he is suddenly convicted of murder, she is set out to help him. She knows he didn't do it, she has a gut feeling. Which is a stretch, considering she barely knows the man, but what can you do?

While the writing was written very well, I am ashamed that Sophie felt inclined to help her father out. She believes him when he said he was innocent. Yet this was the man who decided not to follow his family out of Paris. Why help him? She felt resentment over the years of not having him around and hated what he did to her mother, leaving her heartbroken and yet she still helps him. Still wants to be daddy's girl. As having a father who didn't really want to be a father, I can honestly say I wouldn't help mine out if he was convicted of murder. I would let the wolves have at him. But I guess I can see in some ways where the two differ. Luc wanted his family out of Paris or else they would be killed while the current Paris pack leader had an "I hate humans" thing going on. We do get to see a different side to Luc and hear what he had to say, but at times I felt like he thought that Sophie had to rescue him because he was her father. And, again, I say the father that abandoned her--in some ways.

But that's besides the point, that was my main dislike of the book. Other than that it was very intriguing. We get to see more of Mark and Sophie is still reeling to know what he is and we finally get to know what he is. And boy was that a surprise. I had some feeling of it, but not in all it's entirety. There are also quite a few twists and turns in the love department, new revelations and all. I won't say who for, but I did see them turning out that way. While it was mildly predictable it was still quite a turn around!

The ending was just as phenomenal. Again, I could see it panning out this way, but again, not entirely. Once events started you could fairly easily guess their turnout. That is what I mean by predictable. I rarely ever can predict the true ending before it starts out. Once the course of actions begin to take place, you know where they are going. Read the book and you will understand what I mean.

While, so far to my knowledge, Karen has no mentioning of a fourth book, I want to say there will be one eventually. Just by the way the book ended, a vague feeling that all has not truly settled down for Sophie and that more is likely to come her way, makes me feel that another book is likely. But again, as far as I know there hasn't been mentioning of one yet. If anyone else does know feel free to leave a comment with your knowledge!