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    The Wolf Wants In: A Novel
    The Wolf Wants In: A Novel
    The Wolf Wants In: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Wolf Wants In: A Novel

    Written by Laura McHugh

    Narrated by Suzanne Elise Freeman and Tara Turnbull

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “Calling all fans of Sharp Objects and the third season of True Detective: You need to read Laura McHugh.”—Refinery29 

    “A perfect thriller . . . a thoughtful commentary on America’s opioid crisis and an utterly satisfying mystery.”—Janelle Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY LIBRARY JOURNAL

    Sadie Keller is determined to find out how her brother died, even if no one else thinks it’s worth investigating. Untimely deaths are all too common in rural Blackwater, Kansas, where crime and overdoses are on the rise, and the small-town police force is consumed with the recent discovery of a child’s skull in the woods. Sadie is on her own, delving into the dark corners of a life her brother kept hidden and unearthing more questions than answers.

    Eighteen-year-old Henley Pettit knows more than she’d like to about the seedy side of Blackwater, and she’s desperate to escape before she’s irreparably entangled in her family’s crimes. She dreams of disappearing and leaving her old life behind, but shedding the past is never easy, and getting out of town will be far more dangerous than she ever imagined.

    As more bones are found in the woods, time is running out for Sadie to uncover the truth and for Henley to make her escape. Both women are torn between family loyalties and the weight of the secrets they carry, knowing full well that while some secrets are hard to live with, others will get you killed.

    Like Laura McHugh’s previous award-winning thrillers, The Weight of Blood and Arrowood, The Wolf Wants In is an atmospheric, beautifully told novel that barrels toward a twisting, chilling end and keeps us turning the page to find out how these small-town secrets will unravel—and who will survive.

    Praise for The Wolf Wants In

    “The Wolf Wants In perfectly balances gripping suspense with stunning, lyrical prose—a rare combination, but one that seems to be McHugh’s signature gift. Atmospheric and chilling, this novel takes place in the twisted, destructive wake of the opioid crisis as one woman struggles for justice and another for redemption. A truly thrilling read.”—Jill Orr, author of the Riley Ellison mysteries
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
    Release dateAug 6, 2019
    ISBN9781984885630

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    Reviews for The Wolf Wants In

    3.5/5

    117 ratings42 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Wolf Wants in by Laura McHugh is a mystery story that is told through the narration of two characters, both women and both residents of the small town in Kansas that has declined into apathy from drugs, alcohol and crime. Sadie Keller is determined to find out how her brother died even though it was registered as a “natural” death and eighteen-year-old Henley Pettit wants to escape the town and her family reputation’s for being behind most of the crimes being committed.

      When bones are found in the nearby woods neither woman realizes that time is running out both for Sadie to discover the truth and Henley to make her escape. Family loyalty and dangerous secrets abound in this book as the characters deal with their grief, frustration and suspicions. Using the Opioid crisis as a backbone to the story, the author delivers a solid rural crime story.

      While The Wolf Wants in is an effective mystery, I found that I wasn’t as emotionally drawn in as I would have hoped. The story is dark and gritty but somehow the characters didn’t gel for me. This is the second book by this author that I have read and I can see I will be reading more by her in the future. My slight hesitations regarding this book could very well be from my being so emotionally invested in the previous book that I read.
    • 4/5
      Wow...I was kind of blown away by this book. Highly emotional and full of real people with real emotional baggage, this is definitely not a happily ever after story. If you’ve ever been affected by drug use, especially by someone close to you, you’ll feel the heartache involved here. Although there is so much more to this story, ultimately the battle is far too real for many.
    • 4/5
      Anyone on the fence about reading this book should just start reading it. Excellent character development. I love a great psychological thriller, and this one exceeded my expectations. I will be passing on to my reading buddies.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars. Blackwater, a small, dead-end town in Kansas, somewhere near Kansas City — a town hit hard by the opioid crisis and filled with broken marriages and dark secrets — forms the backdrop of this powerful novel. The story alternates both in time and narration between two characters: Sadie, who is investigating what she believes to be the mysterious death of her brother, and Henley, an 18-year-old who desperately wants to get away from her crime-ridden family.

      McHugh does an excellent job of developing the characters of both Sadie and Henley, and it is this development that forms the backbone of the novel. Their stories compliment each other, with each character playing off the other, to form a compelling and richly-woven tale.

      True, this is a mystery, with some detective work involved and with plenty of twists and turns, but it is McHugh’s ability to let the reader delve into the persona of her characters that makes this novel a thought-provoking read. I felt as though I really knew the inner workings of these characters, as well as the town in which they grew up and from which they desperately want to escape. Having grown up in Kansas City myself, I was completely absorbed by the characters and their surroundings. All in all, I loved the overall atmosphere that McHugh created, albeit a somewhat depressing one, and I highly recommend this novel. I definitely look forward to reading other of her works.

      Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Sometimes I foolishly put off reading a book because I think it sounds “too smart” or something for me. I made that mistake with The Wolf Wants In, and I was such an idiot! This was such a wonderful, well-written psychological thriller. I don’t know what I was thinking!

      Wolf is told from the perspectives of Sadie and Henley, who both live in the same small Kansas town. Sadie has recently lost her brother, Shane, and she’s looking for answers about how he died—even if no one else seems too concerned. Meanwhile eighteen-year-old Henley comes from a long line of known troublemakers: many of whom are drug dealers and users. She’s determined to leave town and her family behind. But events transpire that make that harder than she envisioned. Overshadowing everything is the town’s opioid crisis and the discovery of a child’s skull in the woods.

      The characters in Wolf are vivid and nuanced. They have such depth and feeling. McHugh captures small town life so well—as well as how easily addiction can ravage families. What I loved was how she layered a mystery against all of this: the result was a completely compelling read. I was totally captivated by this one: definitely recommend! 4+ stars.
    • 4/5
      This is the tale of two women - Sadie Keller who is determined to discover how her brother truly died and Henley Pettit who knows too much about her family's crimes - as their paths merge and crimes are solved. It was an interesting tale of life in a small town and how everyone keeps secrets, though none can be kept forever.
    • 4/5
      Sadie Keller is reeling from the news that her brother died from an apparent heart attack, but he was so young and she didn't think he has heart problems that she keeps her ears open for the possibility of foul play - after all, they barely knew his wife, Crystle, of only about a year. Henley is a young woman just out of school that dreams of leaving the small town and her no-good rotten family with a mom, Missy, who's hooked on drugs and uncles who love her but are pretty much up to no good. In interspersing chapters, readers learn about these women, their families and towns, and what really happened the night Shane died.

      I'd never heard of the author or this book before it was picked for book club - which is kind of fun, because that's at least in part why we join book clubs, right, to read books we might never have chosen otherwise? This one turned out to be a mixed bag for all of us. The cover and front flap make it sound like a thriller, so I waited 'til only a few days before we were going to meet to even start it, expecting it to read fast. Well, the pacing turned out to be a little uneven like she was trying to write both literary fiction giving us a picture of a rundown Midwest small town struggling with opioid addiction and the story of Shane's death. She gave us so many details about Sadie and the Kellers that the first hundred or so pages were quite deliberate, and then only at the end did it pick up as everything came together. The characters were well done, but I'm not sure why she chose to have two narrators, and why one (Sadie's) was first person and the other third. The ending was satisfying and while I'd probably try another of this author's books somewhere down the road, I think this could have been a tighter, better novel than it was.
    • 4/5
      The Wolf Wants in by Laura McHugh is a 2019 Spiegel & Grau publication.

      Engrossing and densely atmospheric!

      Sadie Keller can’t reconcile her brother’s untimely death with his official cause of death.

      Determined to find answers, Sadie is met by one brick wall after another, especially when she tries to confront her brother’s widow.

      Meanwhile, young Henley Pettit dreams of leaving Blackwater, Kansas before she winds up like the rest of her family. As Sadie Keller presses for details about her brother’s death, and the search for a young girl who has gone missing intensifies, Henley knows her window of opportunity for escape is rapidly closing.

      Sadie and Henley may soon discover they are connected to one another, in ways they never thought possible, as explosive secrets boil hot and the threat of danger hangs over them in a tense, heavy shroud.

      Laura McHugh knows how to create a tense atmosphere, while putting the reader right there in the thick of all the drama. The Opioid crisis provides another level of bleakness to the melancholy mood of the story. A mixture of grief, frustration, suspicion, secrets, lies, and politics, are all factors in the desperate search for a missing child, which also exacerbates Sadie’s stress and sense of urgency in finding out the truth about her brother.

      The story is dark, and gloomy with very little relief. However, this tone is what makes the story so effective, what creates that emotional intensity that keeps one riveted to the pages, unable or unwilling the put the book down for any length of time. The threads are woven together expertly, drawing everything together for the stunning conclusion.

      Although the novel is maybe a little oppressive, it is a well-executed crime drama packed with bittersweet surprises and emotions.

      Another win for Laura McHugh!
    • 3/5
      Quick read about a small, poor town in Kansas and a few of the families that live there. Sadie, a social worker, is concerned about the death of her brother, Shane. Additionally, she is concerned about her friend, Hannah, who has a daughter and husband that are missing and presumed dead. The town has been devastated by the opioid crisis and many of the residents have drug issues.
      Sadie isn't convinced that Shane's death was a heart attack, and she is trying to get answers from Shane's wife, Crystal, as well as the local detective. She doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. Crystal's family is not the most trustworthy group. They deal drugs while running an auto shop. Henley, a member of the family, is struggling to get by when her mother goes off the wagon and gets back into drugs. She is torn between her feelings for her best friend, Charlie, and Jason - the son of the wealthy grain elevator operator. Henley desperately wants to leave the town and make a better life for herself.
      Sadie discovers a connection between Charlie and Shane, and as she digs deeper, uncovers the truth.
      This was a quick read, and I wanted to like the book more than I did. It was well written, but I found parts of it confusing and difficult to follow. I think some of it could have been crisper, but I appreciated that the author kept the book well under 300 pages.
      #TheWolfWantsIn #LauraMcHugh
    • 4/5
      THE WOLF WANTS IN is a quiet mystery/family drama set in a small Kansas town. Sadie Keller believes her brother has died under suspicious circumstances and wants answers. At the same time police are investigating the discovery of a child's skull found in the woods. Henley Pettit is just looking for a way out of Blackwater, a town of people plagued by the opioid epidemic, including her mother.

      I very much enjoy Laura McHugh's writing style and the way she crafts her atmospheric Midwestern settings. I don't think the mystery & suspense elements in this book were as strong as in her previous novels (The Weight of Blood & Arrowood). There weren't a lot of clues presented until the end, and I was left a bit confused about what happened & why. However, this character-driven book presents a realistic look at how poverty and opioid abuse affects people in small town America. 3.75 Stars

      Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      McHugh presents a novel of suspense, lies, and intrigue. Sadie wants answers. How her brother died. What happened to her friend's daughter and ex-husband. Henley wants out and away from the reputation of her family. Their stories weave together to create a novel that will keep you guessing until the end. A good quick read
    • 1/5
      I seldom give up on a book. Even if its a slow start or I just am not enjoying it, I continue to read it. Especially since I know Library Thing is depending on a review. However, I gave up on this book. I tried to begin to read it 4 times and on the 5th time, I gave up. The beginning is confusing. Characters are introduced without a background and its unsure how they relate to each other. I made it through 4 chapters, and could not continue, hence I can only give it one star
    • 4/5
      3.5 Not sure I would consider this a thriller per say. There are deaths but they result from the actions of the forces at work in this small Kansas town. The force being the opiod crisis which has affected many in towns all over the US. A once prominent town, now so store fronts boarded up, houses needing repair and drugs prevalent. The story is told by two women, Sadie, who wants to know how her brother died, and Henley, who wants desperately to leave town. Her mother regularly disappears into a life of drugs. There is a house on the hill, owned by the biggest and wealthiest employer in town and his young son. There will soon be two other deaths, one a young child.

      The two narrators are fully realized characters, but I had to shake my head at some of their actions. I definitely liked the first part of the book more than the second. Felt that part was tightly plotted, the second half not so much. It quickly appears who the bad guys must be, those at the forefront of the drugs and violence. Maybe there was just a little to much thrown into the mix, though two of the stories do come together. The evil drugs bring, the big bad wolf at the door affecting all in its path, including the innocent.

      ARC from Edelweiss.
    • 4/5
      This is not the type of book you read when you are looking for something light and easy. It's a pretty depressing read which isn't surprising because it deals with tough issues like grief, addiction, and divorce to name a few. It's almost like the town constantly has a cloud over it and the only way to get some sun is to hitch a ride out of there. So much sadness and pain. Life isn't all sunshine and roses though and this book does a good job in reflecting that reality.

      The story takes place in the rural community of Blackwater, Kansas and alternates between the characters of Sadie and Henley. Sadie is grieving the death of her brother and also looking for answers. Henley is eighteen years old and knows the only way she can have a decent future is if she gets away from her family and her godforsaken hometown. But with so many secrets hidden in this town, these two women might never get what they want.

      While I liked both of the female main characters, I was drawn more towards Henley and her story. Henley's relationship with her mother was pretty heartbreaking and you could really identify with her longing to seek out a better life. In my opinion she was the heart of the story.

      I can't quite put my finger on it but there seemed to be something missing in this story and that's the reason it didn't reach great status and sits just at good level. I guess I was left with a feeling of wanting more, even if I'm not really sure what that is in this case. The only small criticism I can really articulate is I thought the character of Jason was not fully developed.

      Overall, a solid read and I do think there is potential for many readers to be able to connect with certain characters or storylines. As grim as the story can be, it is more true to life than many other novels out there.

      Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review!
    • 4/5
      I loved "Sharp Objects" and when I saw that this book had been compared to Gilliam Flynn's novel. I just had to read it. "The Wolf Wants In" did not disappoint!

      This book is set in a small town in Kansas - a town that has been rocked by the opioid crisis. There are two different narrators and three murders which impact families and the community. The narrators (Sadie and Henley) do not know each other, but their stories weave together until they meet toward the end. The book is heavy on family drama and dynamics, but the novel is tied together neatly at the end. For readers who like closure, this is a plus!
    • 3/5
      I'd classify this book as atmospheric family drama. The mood is dark and intense, as we explore topics including alcoholism, drug addiction, and poverty.

      The story alternates between two narrators, but their timelines are slightly out of sync and don't necessarily follow a specific order. You have to pay attention to the month on each chapter's heading to orient yourself. These two narrator's lives converge at about the 1/3 mark, but they remain out of sync. I wasn't a fan of the timeline bouncing around as it did. The method left me feeling a disconnect to the story.

      We start with a character dump, meeting a large cast of family members and friends of both narrators. I kept losing track of who all these people were in relation to the narrator. Some of those who turned out to play important roles never really came alive, and their lack of development left me with more questions than answers.

      The pace is slow for the first 3/4, immersing us in the family dynamics. The last quarter feels rushed.

      This should have been a powerful read, and I've spent the last few days trying to figure out why it didn't grab me like it should have. What I came up with is that the story has the feel of and should have been a sprawling family saga, but it's far too short and trying too hard to fit into the suspense genre. Consequently, the story didn't reach either goal.

      *I received a review copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine.*
    • 3/5
      I really tried to like this book, but I’m glad I finally finished. The storyline was good, but what threw me off of the story was trying to keep up with all of the characters and “who was related to who” and how all the characters knew each other. I honestly have never spent more time with a book, and going back and checking how a character fit into the story.
    • 4/5
      This was an absorbing and interesting family drama/mystery. I liked the alternating voices of Sadie and Henley and couldn't wait to find out how their stories were going to be joined together. Laura McHugh is a fantastic writer and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. I won an ARC of this book from LibraryThing.
    • 5/5
      Who are You? Why are you running—13 years, 11 states, and counting? Why does your mother have so many tightly-guarded secrets? Who, or what, is she afraid of? Is this idyllic New Hampshire farm the settling place she has been seeking? Where running is no longer needed? Or is it something else entirely? These and many other questions are what vex Lucy as her mother whips her from place to place with life-or-death urgency. Truth and trust become shifting commodities. But are their new landlords—the concert pianist father and the puzzle-addicted daughter Gretchen—their final protectors? Have Lucy and her mother finally reached their safe place? Or have they stumbled into a living nightmare?

      This story is so complex and convoluted, it will keep you guessing who is who and what is what from the beginning until the amazing climax. The writing is wonderful, the characters quirky and then some, and the tension thick. Just wow.


      DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series
    • 4/5
      I just can’t get enough of alternating perspective novels. This book beautifully weaves the stories of two women together. A quick paced mystery.
    • 4/5
      This compelling and heartbreaking story paints the picture of life in a working-class town riddled with drug abuse, and the struggle of good (and bad) people trying to make a better life for themselves.

      Sadie is recently divorced and figuring out how shared custody of her tween daughter is going to work when her brother dies and she ends up with his elderly, incontinent dog. When Sadie and her sister Becca start asking questions about their brother Shane's death, Sadie doesn't like the answers.

      Henley has been dealing with life with a drug addicted mom and lowlife relatives with a bad reputation for her entire life, and finding her mother missing on a possible drug binge isn't surprising, but is disappointing for her. Yearning for a way to get away from this town, but not having the financial means, Henley follows in her mom's footsteps of making a living by cleaning house for the town's wealthiest family.

      As Sadie starts pulling on the threads of the story of Shane's death, she keeps running up against Shane's shady wife, Crystle. When Henley hears of Shane's death, she can't help but remember something she witnessed her cousin Crystle do.

      Sadie and Henley each tell their stories with overlapping timelines that jump around slightly enough that give the reader an alternating future and past perspective, while not seeming overly complicated.

      The writing is wonderful, the characters rich and sympathetic. I rooted for these women, the whole while knowing they could easily not get happy endings.

      I won a copy of this book through LibraryThing.
    • 3/5
      Thanks to LibraryThing and Penguin Random House for the ARC of The Wolf Wants In. Originally billed as a thriller I found this more to be a mystery. It is told in the alternating POVs of Sadie and Henley. Sadie's brother has died, supposedly of a drug overdosed, but Sadie is suspicious and begins investigating. Henley is a young teen wanting to escape her mother's drug addiction and the small town poverty she has grown up in. The two stories finally come together at the end but I think it took too long and was not as interesting as I would have expected. It is a quick read, but a bit dark and depressing and overall just an okay read.
    • 3/5
      A good description of McHugh’s latest novel would be - a tight weave. So much so that I had to draw myself a little relationship tree to keep things together. The Pettit family sprawls quite a bit and everyone is connected to everyone else, sometimes in ways that aren’t obvious at first. So be patient, take notes and keep going. Oh and I'm getting to be peeved that writers can't just tell a linear story anymore. It started with the use and abuse of prologues and has continued to the multi-perspective novel that is parceled out in chunks of specific time - a lot of shifting back and forth that in my opinion takes too much of a reader's mental energy trying to keep things straight. It doesn't let you relax into the book. But that's just me.

      The core of the story is about family relationships and dysfunction. Sadie, one of our narrators, recently lost her brother, Shane, to ill health and an opined OD, but she thinks there’s more to it. Shane was married to Crystle, nee Pettit. Henley is the other narrator and is Crystle’s cousin. She gets involved with Jason Sullivan, the son of the town's largest (and pretty much only) employer. He is creepy and controlling, but that’s not much of a surprise considering Henley’s mother Missy who is a drug addict, thief and all around terrible mother.

      Other threads and characters come into play (old disappearances and murder) as Henley tries to find a way out of the dying down and Sadie tries to find answers to Shane’s death. Things knit up nicely and reasonably, no big twists or huge improbabilities. Pretty satisfying overall. There was one development that took me by surprise and that’s hard to do with thrillers these days since I’ve read so many. This is my second book by this writer, but it won’t be my last.
    • 4/5
      This novel takes place in a rural area in Kansas. Like many rural areas in this country there is poverty, drugs and drug overdoses which continue to increase. It's a dark book due to the setting and the combination of people who want to make their lives better and others who are satisfied with the status quo. It's not a light and easy book but an honest portrayal of people who are dealing with the current opioid crisis.

      Shane is dead and the police see no reason to investigate. They are overwhelmed with drug deaths and decided that there was no reason to investigate a death from natural causes. His sisters, Sadie and Becca don't believe that Shane had a heart attack as his wife claimed and don't believe that drugs were involved in his death. Sadie is asking a lot of questions - and each answer brings more confusion and more questions. Shane's wife is not answering any questions and seems to be in a big hurry to give away all of Shane's belongings to her family and friends which seems very suspicious to his sisters.

      Henley is an 18 year old girl who has a dream of escaping small town life. Her mother is an addict and she is often left on her own. She wants to leave her old life and her criminal family behind and find a better life far away. She has just started a relationship with one of the rich boys in town and it may keep her from fulfilling her dreams.

      Sadie and Henley don't know each other but their lives become intertwined as the mystery surrounding Shane's death gets closer to being solved. They both have secrets in their lives that may keep them from learning the real truth.

      This story is told in alternating chapters by Sadie and Henley. Pay close attention to the dates because each character's story is told from a slightly time period. Most of Henley's story is before Shane died and Sadie's is after Shane is dead. As the two stories merge, the real truth comes to light.

      My only complaint about this book is that there seem to be too many secondary characters and it was difficult to remember who was who. I would have been happy is Henley had fewer cousins and other relatives. Overall, it was an interesting book and was a ripped from the headlines story about issues in impoverished areas and their escalating drug issues.

      Thanks to librarything for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
    • 3/5
      As in the tale of "Little Red Riding Hood," the wolf is disguised but lies waiting to reveal the truth and fittingly novelist Laura McHugh keeps the wolf at bay until just the right moment and rips off the disguises worn by her characters in "The Wolf Want In." The story circles between Sadie, a sister of the deceased Shane and who is trying to make sense of his death and the unraveling pieces and between Henley, a teenager whose family is intertwined in both Shane's death and the family of the town's principal employer and benefactor. While the story steadily advances, the narrative begins to feel rushed as the pieces are tied together, possibly because the story telling went from real-time to summarizing events. "The Wolf Wants In" is entertaining and a good summer read. I received my copy through LibraryThing's give away program.
    • 4/5
      Two women in a small town are connected by three deaths. Sadie's brother died under what she considers suspicious circumstances. Henley, who wants to escape the town and her sketchy family, carries a secret about all three deaths. Both characters were realistically drawn and relatable, as were all of the minor characters. The mystery was personal and affecting. The two families' dynamics were perfect. A good solid read.
    • 4/5
      I devoured this book in one sitting - I couldn't put it down! The novel is told in the voices of Sadie, who is searching for answers after her brother's death, and Henley, who is eager to escape to a place where her family's terrible reputation doesn't precede her. The Wolf Wants In novel captures the seamy underbelly of a small Midwestern town ravaged by the opioid crisis. I'll read more of Laura McHugh's writing. 4 stars.
    • 4/5
      The Wolf Wants In tells the story of three deaths that occurred in a small Kansas town. Two of the victims were murdered and the third death is considered suspicious by the victim's siblings. The story is told in different time lines by two characters, Sadie is the sister of Shane, whose death is suspicious and Henley is the cousin of Shane's wife Crystal, the two stories eventually cross to reveal what happened to Shane the night he died. The issue of opioid addiction is lightly explored in the book, it is blended nicely into the story without laying blame or offering solutions, only trying to generate understanding for the person. The mystery unfolds with small clues offered up to Shane's sister, who takes the clues and follows through to solving her brother's death. I throughly enjoyed the story until the end; I would rather have seen the solving of the mystery showed to me instead of the author telling what happened in a lengthy narrative, but this didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. The writing flowed and I loved both main characters. Sadie was kind, family oriented and always wanting to help others, her career as a social worker was a perfect fit. Henley was young and vulnerable, making some decisions that weren't the best, but understandable given her situation at home. I highly recommend The Wolf Wants In and I will be reading this author's previous books.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this novel about two women, Sadie and Henley. Told in alternating chapters, The Wolf Wants In is heartbreaking yet hopeful. Although it’s marketed as a mystery, it covers topics such as family, addiction, the choices we make, and small-town life.

      At times, I did find myself getting the 2 main characters mixed up and what month/time it was.
    • 3/5
      This book was initially hard to get into. There were so many names and people thrown at me in the first few chapters, I had to stop and think through who was related to whom and how they fit together with the plot. I went into this book with high expectations after hearing it compared to the S-Town podcast so I was a little disappointed in the lack of shock factor. Yes, the opioid crisis is terrible and yes, poverty and small town rural life is hard but there was nothing particularly shocking in this story to make it stand out from the rest. It was a quick read that I read in one sitting and there was a little mystery that kept me reading but I'm not sure I would recommend it to my mystery/thriller loving friends. In my opinion, this book fits more in the literary fiction genre than a mystery or thriller.