ARC Review--Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine

EDIT: I've since learned there will be another installment, so disregard the "final book" comments! ;) 

She can’t ignore a cry for help. But in this remote hunting town, it’s open season.

Gwen Proctor escaped her serial-killer husband and saved her family. What she can’t seem to outrun is his notoriety. Or the sick internet vigilantes still seeking to avenge his crimes. For Gwen, hiding isn’t an option. Not when her only mission is to create a normal life for her kids.

But now, a threatened woman has reached out. Marlene Crockett, from the remote town of Wolfhunter, is panicked for herself and her daughter. When Gwen arrives in the small, isolated rural community, Marlene is already dead—her own daughter blamed for the murder. Except that’s not the person Marlene feared at all. And Gwen isn’t leaving until she finds out who that was.

But it may already be too late. A trap has been set. And it’s poised to snap shut on everyone Gwen loves. Her stalkers are closing in. And in a town as dark as Wolfhunter, it’s so easy for them to hide…

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Wolfhunter River is the final installment in Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake trilogy. I had thought the series over with the second book, but Rachel still had another story to tell us with Gwen. It was an amazing and chilling mystery that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I love a good mystery and Rachel has proven time and again there’s nothing she can’t master at!

In this one we have Gwen dealing with the aftermath of a bad TV interview. She thought to tell her story about what happened with her ex-husband, Melvin Royal, but it turned into a witch hunt of sorts where she was being attacked by her husband’s crimes. One her biggest haters even comes onto the show with the nastiest surprise of them all.

Throughout this series I’ve had so much sympathy for poor Gwen and her children. They will always be judged by Melvin’s crimes and while I understand where some of the family members were coming from, we’re in Gwen’s perspective, so we can see that some of their actions were just unfounded and cruel.

It’s not long before Gwen receives a strange phone call from a woman she’s never met, Marlene. Marlene is very edgy about something and wants Gwen’s help but Gwen isn’t so quick to jump on thing, her past experiences have warned her against it. But the next thing she knows is that a few days later she gets another call, from a frantic young girl named Vee who says her mother has been murdered and Gwen’s phone number was in her phone’s history and she needs help. Vee is being accused of murdering her mother, but something tells Gwen that there is more to this that what meets the eye, or in this case, ear.

Gwen, Sam, and her kids soon find themselves going to Wolfhunter River, a very small town that has more secrets than you would think possible. As Gwen goes about trying to help Vee out and prove her innocence there are other darker forces at work. Women have gone missing from this little town, reports of a ghost car crash run rampant, and the news is filled with reports of the missing little girl who was kidnapped not too long ago.

My Scooby senses were tingling with all the mysteries in this one! I knew there had to be connections and whatnot but I’d be a terrible sleuth as I never really got the gist of what was going on. Though I was right to suspect one person! Lol. That is without a doubt my favorite part of a mystery read, trying to figure out the whodunit! I might not get the reasoning, but I’m usually pretty good at figuring out who the bad guy/gal is!

The pacing to this one was pretty ideal! It moves along at a nice pace. It starts out a little slow, but once we enter Wolfhunter, things move along at a faster pace. There’s danger at every turn and you truly don’t know who can be trusted in this book.  The ending was also very ideal! It ends in a way that all mysteries should and I feel like we leave the characters in a good place. I do believe this is the final installment and I happy with where things were at. It’s right at the perfect place where you know the characters will be moving on towards their happy ever afters. Rachel Caine reigns supreme when it comes to writing fantastic books and I highly recommend checking out this mystery series of hers!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars


Wolfhunter River releases April 23, 2019