Stefanie Gilmour’s Fear the Wolf is the initial entry in the Alex Steward series. The novel tells the story of a woman, Alex, in her twenties at odds with her lycanthropy. Alex finds herself in a traumatic experience when her inner beast first emerges. Having no idea she was a werewolf, she manages to find her way back home where her grandmother reveals lycanthropy runs in the family. Alex, fearing her abilities, leaves home and ends up in Hopewell where she attempts to keep a low profile.
The novel starts with Alex and her two friends, Emma and Anne, having a girls’ night out. Things turn ugly when two guys start following Alex and Emma on their way to their cars. When Alex partially changes not once but twice, and once on video, she tells her story to a supportive supernatural community. But while she is making new friends, she’s starting to lose her two best ones. Anne, who doesn’t know about her dual nature, is asking hard questions. And Emma’s new boyfriend Mitch isn’t what he appears to be.
Fear the Wolf is a terrific debut novel with mystery, horror, and action. The pace hardly slows down as Alex and her new circle of friends investigate what is behind the recent attacks of supernatural creatures. The narrative has a more realistic tone than most urban fantasies, drawing the reader into a world of a powerful, underrepresented community of supernatural creatures. All the elements of an urban fantasy—an introduction into hidden societies, persecution, a sensible magic system—are here. Readers will be turning pages long into the night.
A final world about a series. A proper ending for the first entry of a series, even if some threads are left dangling, is more important to me than most reviewers. This novel wraps up its plot satisfactorily, leaving me both satisfied and awaiting the next book.
Fear the Wolf is a gripping novel of friendship, adventure, and suspense. Alex’s first foray into a broader world is an exciting read that leaves the reader wanting more.